Odsonne Edouard scored the winner as Neil Lennon’s Celtic kept their eight point lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership table on Wednesday night.
Craig Levein has paid tribute to Celtic’s resilience as they scored a stoppage time winner to beat his Hearts side at Tynecastle – but has suggested to the club’s official website that Neil Lennon was undeserving of a winning start in his second spell at the Glasgow giants.
Lennon looked set to be held to a 1-1 draw in Edinburgh in his first game after replacing Brendan Rodgers on an interim basis until the end of the season, James Forrest’s opener cancelled out by an Oliver Bozanic penalty.
But Odsonne Edouard ensured The Hoops would remain eight points clear of Rangers at the top of the Scottish Premiership table, firing home in the 92nd minute to secure a dramatic triumph.
The result was harsh on Hearts, who performed admirably despite losing Jamie Brandon to a red card on the verge of half-time – a fact Levein alluded to in his post-match news conference.
“It can be a cruel game at times,” said the former Scotland boss.
“To lose it, when I felt that we had coped with just about everything that Celtic had thrown at us, is difficult to take.
“Credit to Celtic, they kept going right till the end and got the win. (But) we had the better opportunities. We had Celtic pinned back for periods of the game
“Celtic didn’t have clear-cut opportunities and anything that they did that got by the defence, the goalkeeper dealt with quite well.
“There are times when you don’t get what you deserve from games and you have periods in seasons where you don’t get what you deserve.”
Celtic were far from their best but displayed the kind of attitude and never-say-die character that is often the difference in title races. Edouard’s goal, like Scott Brown’s last-gasp winner at Kilmarnock earlier in February, means an eighth successive Premiership trophy is surely on its way to Parkhead.
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