Sports Poets Society

Jambos have shaken up Scottish football despite Celtic’s victory Hearts’ annual wage bill is only a little more than a quarter of Celtic’s. 17 May 2026 - Sunday Independent (Ireland) Rory Smith Observer Hearts believed, right until what passed for the end. They believed even after a combination of Daizen Maeda had broken their resistance and the intervention of a video assistant referee had shattered their dreams with just two minutes left of a second half that had lasted a week. They believed their story could not, would not end like this. That faith held right up until the moment when Callum Osmand found himself with the ball at his feet, 97 minutes on the clock and the great green expanse of Celtic Park at his mercy, his own private paradise. The stands began to melt as he ran towards Hearts’ unguarded goal, fans pouring onto the field in their thousands, the unbearable tension of the most meaningful game the Scottish Premiership has seen for a generation finally released. The eupho...

ANDREW MILLIGAN/PA WIRE Hearts players are led from the Celtic Park pitch amid wild scenes Time for Scottish football to clamp down SPFL and SFA wobble at the knees when punishing their biggest clubs but there can be no repeat of final-day scenes 18 May 2026 - The Guardian Ewan Murray The placing of a full stop on any league campaign offers cause for reflection. In Scotland, there are reasons to wonder if the grim denouement to a stunning title race will prompt a shift in attitudes on two fronts. Whether a Celtic board which has been castigated for its stewardship regards the securing of another title as vindication is an intriguing question. More immediate is how the champions and others will respond to the grim scenes that triggered an enforced conclusion to the visit of Hearts. The behaviour of a section of the Celtic support is so unruly during dominance that one wonders what on earth may happen if the team struggle badly. The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) “utterly c...

Edinburgh side rescued from ruin by fans need a point to secure a first title in 66 years but a championship for a 74-year-old manager would be a remarkable triumph ‘We know there’s a lot of goodwill towards us trying to win and hopefully we can go and do it’ 16 May 2026 - THE GUARDIAN/ Sport Ewan Murray This Hearts story did not begin with Stuart Findlay’s late winner at Tannadice in August, a stoppagetime intervention from Alexandros Kyziridis against Livingston later that month or the September victory at Ibrox that materially fuelled belief among Derek Mcinnes’s squad. Brian Cormack, Alex Mackie, Jamie Bryant, Donald Ford and Garry Halliday will not feature in the Hearts team seeking to create history at Celtic Park but that quintet set this club on a path that after 16 years has almost – though only almost – reached the ultimate glory point. Cormack and Mackie joked back then, when among a group establishing the Foundation of Hearts, that one day they would watch the team they lov...

Mercredi, Heart a entretenu son rêve de titre  en s’imposant (3-0) à la maison face à Falkirk. Contre toute attente, les joueurs de Heart of Midlothian se retrouvent à un point du titre de champion d’Écosse. Aujourd’hui, au Celtic Park, l’équipe d’Édimbourg pourrait mettre fin à quarante et un ans de domination des deux clubs de Glasgow. 16 May 2026 - L'Équipe MATIAS ARCHAMBEAU Douze minutes. C’est le temps durant lequel Heart a tenu le titre entre ses mains mercredi soir. Puis le Celtic a égalisé avant d’arracher la victoire sur penalty au bout du temps additionnel sur la pelouse de Motherwell (3-2). « J'ai entendu parler d’un penalty à la 96e minute, je n’avais pas besoin de demander pour qui », a lâché Derek McInnes , entraîneur de Heart of Midlothian, vainqueur facile de Falkirk dans le même temps (3-0). Un point sépare désormais les deux clubs. Tout se jouera à Celtic Park ce samedi (13h30). Depuis 1985, le titre de champion d’Écosse n’a jamais quitté Glasgow. Celtic et Ra...

Keir McMeekin is latest Scot to try Gannon-Doak route to glory ... after leaving Hearts for bright lights of Manchester aged 15 "When he first kicked a ball at the age of five,  I was told he was a natural" 15 Oct 2025 - Scottish Daily Mail By JOHN McGARRY Chief Sports Feature Writer THE ball was fired across the turf towards the fledgling midfielder with an almighty lick. How was his touch? Velvet, as it happens. Next? Nothing which followed that morning at Riccarton drew anything more than approving looks from the seasoned professionals who were running the rule over the precocious talent in their midst. Those present recall there wasn’t a trace of fear in Keir McMeekin ’s body when in possession. There was a grace in the way he moved, a natural-born footballer. In a small-sided game, he dropped his shoulder and deceived his direct opponent. Not only could he see the passes others couldn’t, but he also executed them. By the end of the session, he’d made a mark on those team...

https://controcalcio.wordpress.com/2013/10/23/hibs-contro-jambos-leterna-rivalita-ad-edimburgo-da-irvine-welsh-alla-salt-sauce-final/ di Fabio Belli, 23 ottobre 2013 Da sempre in Scozia le squadre di Glasgow sono abituate a dominare la scena quasi incontrastate, ma negli ultimi 30 anni la situazione ha assunto contorni quasi imbarazzanti. Nella prima metà degli anni Ottanta l’Aberdeen di Alex Ferguson ed il Dundee United rappresentarono le ultime alternative al cosiddetto ‘Old Firm‘, l’eterna sfida tra Rangers e Celtic, che ora, in attesa della risalita del club che fa capo ai protestantidella città, è momentaneamente sospesa. Ormai da decenni la capitale Edimburgo fa da comprimaria alle grandi, ma la rivalità tra le squadre locali non è meno sentita, e soprattutto ha contorni simili a quella che si vive a Glasgow. L’anima cattolica e filo – irlandese della città si identifica nell’Hibernian , quella protestante negli Hearts of Midlothian. Noti per avere simpatie progressiste ed operai...