Celtic scores penalty in the 9th minute of added time as Scottish title race goes to the last game
The Scottish title race is too close to call going into the final game of the season after Celtic clinched a last-gasp 3-2 win against Motherwell with a penalty in the ninth minute of added time
Celtic scored a penalty in the ninth minute of added time to clinch 3-2 win against Motherwell on Tuesday and set up an epic final day in the race for the Scottish title.
League leader Hearts beat Falkirk 3-0, meaning the title will be decided when the top two meet at Celtic Park on Saturday. Hearts stayed one point ahead of Celtic and will need at least a draw to finish in front.
But it looked to be in an even better position and closing in on its first title since 1960 until the late drama at Motherwell.
Celtic had already fought back from a goal down to lead 2-1 at Fir Park when Liam Gordon made it 2-2 in the 85th.
At that point it meant Celtic would have needed to beat Hearts by at least three goals in the season finale to take the title on goals scored.
Recommended for you
But Kelechi Iheanacho's late penalty means the four-time defending champion can retain its trophy with a win in front of its home fans.
Hearts is bidding to become the first team to break the dominance of Celtic and Rangers in Scotland since Aberdeen in 1985.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.