Penalty pandemonium sets up Hearts & Celtic showdown for the ages

A huge moment in the Scottish Premiership title race

Even in the early minutes of a tumultuous night that saw Scottish football's mad-o-meter blow up in smoke, there were scenes that suggested another extraordinary chapter in the Hearts versus Celtic title story was nigh.

Every time the cameras panned to sections of the Tynecastle crowd, somebody was in tears, somebody looked in pain, somebody was watching with their head in their hands.

For 12 glorious minutes during the first half, they were champions of Scotland and it all seemed too much. Winning 2-0 against Falkirk and with Celtic losing 1-0 at Motherwell, the perfect picture was forming in front of their eyes.

It became blurred, of course. Everybody knew it would, but it was still a brief glimpse of what-might-be, a tantalising vision of the future they're all praying for.

We now have a denouement at Celtic Park on Saturday, a straight shootout between leaders Hearts and chasers Celtic. A win or a draw for Derek McInnes' team and they are champions.

Forget everything you thought you knew about Scottish football at that point because everything will change if they manage to enter the cauldron in Glasgow's east end and defy Martin O'Neill, his team and almost 60,000 supporters.

O'Neill is intending to leave Celtic soon - and there is no sign at all that he intends to leave quietly.

McInnes rages at 'disgusting' Celtic penalty as title race goes to final day

Draw at Celtic Park will earn Hearts title after Falkirk draw

Controversial 99th-minute penalty keeps Celtic's title hopes alive

It makes no sense that Hearts are still atop the league table with 90 minutes of the season to go. It makes no sense that they have led for the longest time despite having finances that are a mere spit in a bucket compared to Celtic's.

A seismic event, a footballing earthquake, is still possible for them - as is earth-shattering disappointment - but either way you know that the last day of the season is probably going to have some, all, or even more craziness and confusion and rancour as the penultimate night did on Wednesday.

For the people of Hearts and the folk belonging to Celtic, the whole evening was a walk on the wild side; epic, colosally controversial, thunder and lightning to the last whistle. Enough to wake the dead.

Fir Park, where Motherwell were hosting Celtic, was a drama unto itself. Motherwell might have had a penalty, then Celtic might have had one. Both were turned down and both looked like really poor calls.

Things twisted and turned. Celtic drew level through Daizen Maeda and now the gap at the top went from four points to three. Celtic would need a 3-0 win on Saturday to win the title on goal difference.

We looked up the stats. No team has beaten Hearts by three clear goals in the league this season. The last team to do it? Celtic. The team before that? Celtic. And the team before that? Celtic again.

When Benjamin Nygren put Celtic 2-1 up, the picture changed. Celtic only needed a win in their own place and they'd be champions again.

Few at Hearts could see the reality of what was going down in Lanarkshire, though. Motherwell were fighting back, knocking the ball around, playing their incisive passes, stretching Celtic, threatening their lead.

Hearts put three past Falkirk to move within point of title

Five minutes to go and it was all Motherwell. A shot blocked, another shot saved, on the rebound - a goal. When the news hit Tynecastle it was as if Hearts themselves had scored.

As you were, then. Celtic would need to win by three clear goals again. Hearts, meanwhile, were making it 3-0 through Blair Spittal. Professional and clinical. Not a trace of the heat getting to them. Everything was coming up maroon.

Only, it wasn't. The late penalty sparked pandemonium. The game deep in added time, Sam Nicholson of Motherwell, arm in the air and rising above Auston Trusty.

Then, the sight that would have sent a chill up the spine of every Hearts fan - referee John Beaton stopping dead in his tracks with his finger to his ear. VAR on the line.

As Beaton made his way back from the monitor and pointed to the spot with an astonishing amount of conviction given the scant evidence of an offence, a voice among the Motherwell fans was picked up on radio: "The game's done," it said.