As every dedicated follower of Scottish football understands perfectly well, a match does not require the highest technical quality to become completely enthralling. It does not need to be a tactical masterclass delivered with poise and composure by world-class athletes. In fact, the experience is often significantly enhanced when it is not.
Gloriously Flawed Football on Display
This fundamental truth was demonstrated vividly at Ibrox today, as well as earlier at Rugby Park, as the latest epic chapter in this remarkable Premiership title race proved to be everything that has made it such a wonderful contradiction: gloriously flawed, manically unpredictable, and all the better for those very imperfections.
The Ineptitude That Made It Possible
Let's be completely honest: the simultaneous struggles of both Celtic and Rangers, evident both on and off the pitch, have created the conditions for this astonishing campaign. Hearts have been magnificent throughout, but would they find themselves at the summit of the table in any other season under normal circumstances?
Derek McInnes and his overachieving squad remain at the top leading the charge, although their 4-2 defeat at Rangers, combined with Celtic's dramatic 3-2 victory over Kilmarnock, means that a mere three points now separate the leading sides as we enter the final quarter of the season. Is there anything more compelling in football?
Rangers' Comeback and Chermiti's Heroics
Twice Rangers came from behind at Ibrox before ultimately pulling away, powered by a magnificent Youssef Chermiti hat-trick in a wonderfully madcap, warts-and-all classic that served as a better advertisement for Scottish football than any marketing expert could possibly have conceived. This particular match, and this entire season, represents how Scottish football was truly meant to be experienced.
There were undeniable moments of quality, of course. Claudio Braga's header for Hearts' second goal was executed with an Alan Shearer-like twist of the neck that sent the ball spinning superbly into the top corner. Djeidi Gassama's lung-bursting box-to-box run that set up Chermiti's last-minute third goal was absolutely sensational.
Chaos and Drama Define the Day
Yet, the match would not have achieved its legendary status without the most chaotic of interludes. Consider Manny Fernandez passing to Nico Raskin when the latter was not looking, an aberration that directly led to Marc Leonard's opening goal. Then there was the impromptu game of pinball in Hearts' six-yard box, where Chermiti and Mikey Moore were both denied before substitute Michael Steinwender unfortunately put the ball into his own net.
The error-strewn drama, the late decisive goals, the bouncing electric atmosphere—we had not witnessed anything quite like this since, well, approximately two hours earlier. That was when two brilliant goals by Tyreece John-Jules and Sebastian Tounekti were complemented by questionable goalkeeping from Kasper Schmeichel, some static Kilmarnock defending, and Julian Araujo's absolutely thrilling 97th-minute winner for Celtic.
Title Race Tightens Dramatically
What an extraordinary day of football it proved to be. Rangers, who trailed by as many as thirteen points at one stage earlier in the campaign, now find themselves just two points off the pace. Celtic will draw completely level if they win their crucial game in hand, although Hearts have already demonstrated repeatedly that they possess the resilience to respond effectively to setbacks.
Don't Overlook the Challengers
Furthermore, we must not forget Motherwell, the team that is arguably the most pleasing on the eye aesthetically. They have lost only a single league match since mid-October and will move to within five points of Rangers and seven points of Hearts if they secure victory in their own game in hand.
You can keep your Bundesliga, your English Premier League, and your Serie A. This might not represent the highest technical quality title race in Europe, but it is surely, without doubt, one of the very best and most entertaining spectacles in football today.
