Martin O’Neill admitted he thought Daizen Maeda’s title-changing goal against Hearts had been ruled out when the assistant referee’s flag went up at Celtic Park.
For a few seconds, Celtic’s season hung in the balance.
Maeda had just smashed the ball home deep into stoppage time after Arne Engels’ equaliser dragged Celtic level in the final-day title decider. But the celebrations immediately stalled because players and staff spotted the offside flag on the far side.
Inside the dugout, O’Neill reacted the same way most people inside the stadium did.
He started to celebrate, stopped himself almost instantly and turned back toward the bench expecting the goal to disappear. At that stage Hearts still looked capable of surviving long enough to hand the title away from Celtic.
Instead, Gavin Strachan already believed the goal would stand.
The Celtic coach has spent most matches this season working beside live analysis screens during games and quickly spotted that Maeda had timed his run correctly. That small moment beside the dugout became one of the hidden turning points of the afternoon before VAR officially confirmed the goal.
Once that happened, Celtic Park exploded completely.
The panic vanished. Hearts suddenly had to throw bodies forward desperately and the game became chaotic in the final moments before Callum Osmand added another goal seconds later.
O’Neill spoke about the moment this week.
He said: (Sky Sports), “I held myself back because I saw the flag going up and I saw the emotion in my aides face as if to say it’s not happened.
“And so I turned and came back again and Gavin Strachan, who’s doing a little monitor beside us, he said, no, he’s onside. He’s definitely onside.
“And that was a fantastic moment. So once it was confirmed, then we know that Hearts are just going to throw everything at us.”
The story also says plenty about how Celtic’s coaching structure has worked during O’Neill’s second spell in charge.
Strachan’s role on the touchline has become increasingly noticeable during the run-in with the coaches constantly reviewing live footage and tactical positioning during matches. Celtic looked far quicker reacting to momentum swings late in games compared to earlier in the season under Wilfried Nancy.
Against Hearts, those margins mattered.
Maeda’s movement was tight because Hearts had stepped out aggressively trying to squeeze the final minutes. One defender deeper inside the box kept him onside and Strachan spotted it immediately before most people inside the ground fully realised.
Moments later, the title race was effectively over.
Then came the pitch invasion and complete chaos at Celtic Park after one of the most dramatic finishes to a Scottish season in years.
