Resilient Celtic time run perfectly to win race after eight-month chase

Breaking news from the world of sport: Resilient Celtic time run perfectly to win race after eight-month chase Figure caption, Celtic lift Premiership trophy after dramatic final dayByTom English Scotland's chief sports writerPublished52 minutes agoFor eight months Celtic chased Hearts at the top of the Scottish Premiership. Eight months, a game of catch-up for 32 games, 2,880 on-field minutes, 48 hours. They stayed in the fight, somehow.

Kicking and screaming, they won matches they looked like they weren't going to win, dug out key goals in the dying seconds, triumphed over their own mediocrity at times, driven on by Martin O'Neill. Somewhere in the city, somebody is chiselling away at a statue of the 74-year-old. Somewhere in the city you hope, also, that security people are poring over footage of Celtic fans on the pitch.

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The invasion was an outpouring of emotion but it careered so far over the line as to be an outrage. An investigation will be launched; swift and with proper punishments, you'd hope. Certainly, Hearts staff were enraged.

They got on their bus and got out of there as fast as they could. They deserved a whole better than that. We'll be hearing plenty more about those scenes.

Celtic stun Hearts with late double to snatch title in astonishing finale Truth stranger than fiction as O'Neill leads Celtic from hostility to happiness Published1 hour agoLatest Celtic news, analysis and fan views But this was O'Neill's piece de resistance - his moment, his day. Last-day dramas are nothing new to him. In a previous life at Celtic Park he lost two titles in the last match of the season.

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This one went to the wire as well. Only a dozen minutes of normal time remained in this season to end all seasons - Celtic were drawing, which meant that Hearts were winning. They piled forward, the late-goal kings of Scotland, the 90th-minute heroes, but nothing was sticking.

With 11 minutes left, Kelechi Iheanacho hit a post. With 10 to go, Benjamin Nygren forced a dramatic save out of Alexander Schwolow. Time ticked on, slowly.

Hearts were champions with nine minutes to play, eight minutes, seven minutes. Six, five and four minutes on the clock and Hearts were winning the league, smashing to smithereens that established order; history-makers, epoch definers. From their first league game under Brendan Rodgers and onwards - through the turbulence of O'Neill part one, the calamity of Wilfried Nancy and then O'Neill part two - Celtic had been playing for 57 hours since the start of the season.

The story has climbed to the top of the sports agenda, with fans and analysts following closely.