Celtic moved closer to clinching a fifth consecutive Scottish Premiership title following their 3-1 win over Hearts at Tynecastle yesterday.
Colin Kazim-Richards fired home his first league goal for Celtic in the 16th minute but the Hoops were stunned in the 57th minute as Abiola Douda scored a superb equaliser for Hearts following a surging run.
On-loan Manchester City winger Patrick Roberts restored Celtic’s advantage in the 66th minute as he pounced on a loose ball to slot past Neil Alexander.
Leigh Griffiths then took advantage of a John Souttar error to rifle home his 39th goal of the season in the 85th minute to start the celebrations amongst the travelling support at Tynecastle.
Later in the evening, closest rivals Aberdeen beat Motherwell 4-1 to temporarily suspend Celtic’s official confirmation as champions.
However, the Hoops hold a nine-point advantage with three games left and a goal difference that is vastly superior to the Dons’ meaning the title is firmly in the Glasgow club’s grasp.  
Out-going Celtic manager Ronny Deila was delighted to have all but sealed a second title in two years at the club. “I was so happy with the boys today,” Deila said. “We were totally dominant in the first half and could’ve been 2-0 up. There was determination today and the energy was very good. We haven’t reached all our goals this season but this one is the biggest.”  
Elsewhere, Kilmarnock’s 4-0 thrashing of Hamilton means Dundee United need to defeat city rivals Dundee on Monday night if they are to avoid relegation.
Following a bright start, Celtic thought they had taken an 11th minute lead when Callum McGregor fired past Alexander after the keeper had parried a shot from Roberts but the midfielder’s effort was ruled out after a very tight offside decision.
However, the Hoops didn’t have to wait long for another opportunity and Kazim-Richards fired Celtic in front. The Turkish striker showed great skill to control a Mikael Lustig cross on his chest before smacking a half-volley through the legs of Alexander.
Hearts came close to an immediate equaliser but Jamie Walker’s fierce strike was denied by an instinctive save by Craig Gordon.
Griffiths should have restored Celtic’s advantage in the 40th minute when he latched on to a long ball over the top to race in on goal but his shot was brilliantly blocked by the legs of Alexander before squirming out for a corner.
At the other end Gordon made a good save to tip Djoum’s strike round the post after the Celtic defence had allowed him plenty of room.