HEARTS 3 FALKIRK 0: Champagne still on ice for Hearts after another ride on title rollercoaster

Having waited 66 years to get their hands on the league title, Hearts will have to hold off for another couple of days if they are to finally quench this most incredible thirst.

On a night of nerve-shredding drama felt across the country, Derek McInnes’ side held up their side of the bargain by recording a routine victory over Falkirk at Tynecastle.

For a glorious and chaotic period midway through the first half, Tynecastle was in party mode when news came through that Celtic were losing at Motherwell.

It was said last year that the Oasis gigs at Murrayfield may well have been the biggest party ever witnessed in Edinburgh. That was until Hearts set about making history over this most magical of seasons.

Champagne supernova or champagne on ice? It will have to be the latter for now. Celtic’s last-gasp scramble to pilfer three points from Fir Park felt entirely in keeping with events of a chaotic campaign.

Ahead of a final-day shootout at Parkhead, Hearts thought they would travel to Glasgow with a three-point cushion over Celtic and six goals better off.

But the late penalty drama in North Lanarkshire changed all of that. Hearts now know they will need to avoid defeat in the final-day showdown if they are to finish the season as champions.

What a night this was. A rollercoaster of emotions, where history looked like it was unfolding before your eyes, only for it all to be ripped away and put into cold storage.

Perhaps it was fated to be this way. After all the thrills and spills of the past nine months, perhaps it was destiny that Hearts should have to go to Celtic and earn their title on the final day.

They couldn’t have done any more last night. Frankie Kent and Cammy Devlin set them on their way to victory, with both players scoring in the first half.

The irony was that neither Kent nor Devlin would have been guaranteed to start this match had it not been for the cruel injuries suffered by Craig Halkett and Marc Leonard last weekend.

Blair Spittal added a third late in the second half, by which point all eyes were glued to mobile phones trying to ascertain what was happening at Fir Park.

In the end, you couldn’t even call it an anti-climax. It was a night that scrambled the mind, made you leap around in your seat with nerves — and made you thirsty for more. Utterly intoxicating.

Hearts will finish the season unbeaten at home. The players stayed to applaud the fans at full-time. If they can finish the job at Parkhead, that’ll be nothing compared to the open-top bus tour that would follow.

The atmosphere in the streets around Tynecastle was different than it had been in the victory over Rangers last week.

In the couple of hours before kick-off, there was still plenty of hustle and bustle, but it wasn’t as raucous as was witnessed on that Bank Holiday Monday.

There was a very definite sense of tension in the air. There was also a queue of people about 100 yards long backed up along Gorgie Road waiting to get into the Tynecastle Arms.

A pre-match pint to settle the nerves and take the edge off was clearly the order of the day for many, though many others would have been turned away with the pub bursting at the seams.

But the stadium soon found its voice as Hey Jude and all the scarf-twirling was followed by another thunderous rendition of The Hearts Song by Colin Chisholm.

Hearts didn’t start the match well at all. They looked jittery and were struggling to string two passes together at one point.

Falkirk had the ball in the net after four minutes when Calvin Miller fired low into the bottom corner, only to be flagged for offside. It was an early warning, particularly given that Hearts had fallen behind in each of their last five league matches. That run would not be extended to six.

With half an hour on the clock, Kent rose to meet an Alexandros Kyziridis corner and bullet a header into the back of the Falkirk net.

Tynecastle had lift-off. That opening goal came around 10 minutes after news had filtered through that Motherwell had taken the lead against Celtic.

There was enough noise and energy reverberating around Tynecastle to power the national grid for the next six months.

Chants of ‘Motherwell, Motherwell, Motherwell’ echoed around the stadium.

‘We shall not be moved’ was the cry from 20,000 Hearts supporters watching history unfold before their eyes.

Four minutes later, Hearts doubled their lead. Claudio Braga tried to get a shot away, only for the ball to break for Devlin.

The best player in the country over the first half of the season prior to picking up an injury, Devlin’s deflected finish wound up in the back of the net.

Dreamland. In the stands, grown men were in tears. In the area around the press box, punters were checking their phones and desperately asking for updates on what was happening at Fir Park.

News of a Celtic equaliser didn’t go down well, much like someone breaking wind at the dinner table. Squeaky bum time, indeed.

Falkirk went close to pulling one back when the lively Miller fired towards the top corner, with Alex Schwolow tipping the ball over easily enough.

Taking a 2-0 lead down the tunnel at half-time, Hearts were holding up their end of the bargain. They came into this match knowing that’s all they could do.

The second half was all about what was happening at Fir Park. Could Motherwell write their names into Scottish football folklore and shatter Celtic’s title dreams just as they had done 21 years ago?

The key focus for Hearts was also to try and keep their foot to the floor and boost their goal difference as much as possible. This was most definitely not a night for coasting, counting down the 90 minutes.

In the opening minutes of the second half, it took a fingertip save from Falkirk keeper Nicky Hogarth to prevent Lawrence Shankland from making it 3-0.

Shankland also flashed a header just wide as word came through that Celtic had turned the game on its head and taken the lead at Motherwell.

Devlin was having a fine game in midfield, demonstrating why he had been so influential in that first chunk of the season.

Alongside him, Beni Baningime was also a powerful presence breaking up the play.

Hearts were banging on the door but they couldn’t find a way through to add any further goals. But the drama was not finished yet. Not by a long shot.

With just under ten minutes remaining on the big clocks dotted around the four corners of the stadium, a deafening roar went up. Motherwell had equalised.

On the touchline, McInnes waved his arms to rally the troops. Blair Spittal then curled one into the far corner to make it 3-0. Utter jubilation.

The late penalty to Celtic was a blow, but Hearts still believe resolutely that this is on.

And why shouldn’t they? History remains firmly within their grasp.