Hearts gave Celtic a bit of a scare at Parkhead. Robbie Neilson’s team took the early lead through Josh Ginnelly. The Hoops came back through an equaliser from Daizen Maeda, who got injured in the process of scoring. In the second half, Kyogo Furuhashi and Sead Haksabanovic found the back of the net to seal the three points and a 3-1 win for Ange Postecoglou’s side.
Celtic are set to face Hearts again though. And this time, they will be traveling to Tynecastle Park, to take on Neilson’s team in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup.
It goes without saying that this game is even more important for Hearts and their only hope of winning some silverware this season. Tynecastle Park is always a difficult place to make the journey to as well.
And it is clear that Neilson is banking on the home support against Celtic. As reported by the club’s official website, the manager told Hearts TV:
"“We need the fans on Saturday. The players were outstanding tonight with the few hundred fans that we had here tonight, so if we can get 17,000 home fans behind us on Saturday, I think that will help us see the game through until the end.”"
Hearts boss makes statement for Scottish Cup game vs Celtic at Tynecastle Park
Celtic will have no illusions about this being a simple game. Hearts are expected to give it their all on the day, and must have taken some positives from the match at Parkhead, even if they lost.
Celtic were not at their best despite winning 3-1 against Hearts. They will need to take their A-game to Tynecastle Park if they are to win though.
Celtic have already won the Scottish League Cup this season, meaning that a potential treble is still on the table. The club must be looking to keep those hopes alive beyond this weekend. For that to happen, they will have to get the better of Hearts.
The good news is, their performance is only expected to improve, after what was pretty much a dull display at Parkhead. Postecoglou’s side could be without a key player in Maeda though.