#hearts fc

After 38 games, it’s a fairytale denied for Hearts of Midlothian, who fall at the final hurdle

Faced with the historic title of the first Scottish Premiership winners other than Celtic or Rangers since 1985, the pressure was on, but Hearts remained cool for the most part.

With the Old Firm favourites both underperforming, things looked set for the grandest of dreams, but with a 3-1 loss at Celtic Park on the final day of the season, that dream came undone.

Many would argue that Celtic didn’t even deserve the chance, barely scraping their way to several of the wins as the season progressed - particularly the controversial penalty that saw them edge Motherwell 3-2 just the other night - but once again, it’s an Old Firm victory, and the Scottish duopoly remains undefeated, with Celtic claiming 14 of the last 15 trophies.

Despite being one of the worst teams Celtic have fielded in decades, they’re still on par to win the double, assuming they sweep championship side Dunfermline aside in the Cup final next week, which really puts Scottish football into perspective.

With someone other than Celtic or Rangers potentially winning the cup, there was excitement, even amongst Glaswegian fans. But once again, the boat has crashed, and Hearts can return to Edinburgh second best.