FOOTBALL without fans is nothing, so the famous quote from Jock Stein goes. And anyone who was at Tynecastle last night will vouch that it has been much the poorer for their absence.

A famous last-gasp victory for the hosts over Ange Postecoglou’s punch-drunk side had the old stadium – a quarter full as it may have been – absolutely rocking.

From the moment Gary Mackay-Steven’s early opener lit the touch paper, an explosive encounter showed us all exactly what we have been missing over these past 18 months.

A Celtic team largely devoid of inspiration found it in the unlikeliest of places to draw level.

It’s just as well that players don’t have access to social media during the game, because it is doubtful whether the much-maligned right-back Tony Ralston would have had the confidence to do what he did to drag Celtic to parity. A mazy run, a one-two, and one in the eye for his critics as he blasted the ball beyond Craig Gordon.

Given the week that Celtic had endured, Postecoglou might have settled for getting out of town with a point, but John Souttar had other ideas.

Robbie Neilson handed a debut to new signing from Everton, Beni Baningime, who slotted into central midfield alongside Andy Halliday in a 3-4-3 set-up.

Celtic also handed a debut to new arrival Carl Starfelt, with the Swede coming fresh out of quarantine and into the heart of the defence alongside Nir Bitton.

Tynecastle is normally a cauldron on nights like this, and the 5272 home fans allowed into the stadium certainly gave it a go. The home fans were salivating for a sight of SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster prior to the game, with rumours sweeping the Main Stand that he was to stroll onto the pitch to help unfurl the Championship flag.

There is a joke that the Queen thinks the world smells of paint as there is always someone freshening up the walls just before she arrives anywhere. In a similar vein, Doncaster may well think that people in Scotland constantly boo, as it is all he hears wherever he goes. Alas, the Hearts fans were denied their moment to vent, but they had plenty to cheer about.

Gordon led the Hearts side out to loud acclaim, and the Celtic team formed a guard of honour. There will be more than a few Celtic supporters who would have been wishing the keeper was still in the sticks for them, particularly given the way the match ended, but as it was Scott Bain retained his place ahead of Vasilis Barkas.

Starfelt looked a little shaky in the first minute or two, getting under a headed clearance and then swiping fresh air as he attempted to clear a Michael Smith cross. He seemed to settle though, as did the visitors, and it was his pass that started the move that created the first real opportunity.

Some nice play down the left saw Odsonne Edouard play Greg Taylor in behind, and his cutback found David Turnbull 18 yards from goal, but his attempted volley was sliced well wide.

The big Swede didn’t look too clever though as Hearts hit the front soon after, and again, neither did the rest of the Celtic backline.

Starfelt was beaten in a 50/50 by Josh Ginnelly on the edge of the box, and the ball found its way to Liam Boyce. Suddenly, it was panic stations. The striker seemed to have taken too long, and Bitton flew in with a block, but the ball broke to the back post where Mackay-Steven was waiting alongside two teammates to tap into the empty net.

Celtic were screaming for a penalty when Liel Abada took a heavy touch in the area and was bundled over, referee Bobby Madden was having none of it.

It was a fair old ding-dong battle, with both sides trying to get the ball down amid the midfield melee. Smith for Hearts and then Turnbull for Celtic fired over from decent positions, before a Smith cross to the back post saw Alex Cochrane arrive from the opposite flank and smash wide on the half volley.

Celtic had most of the ball, but with Edouard again looking out of sorts and Turnbull unusually looking a little low in confidence, Celtic were looking blunt when they reached the final third.

The second half started the same as the first, with Celtic searching for a spark. You would have got long odds on where they found it.

Ralston played a one-two with Edouard, skipped past a couple of challenges, steadied himself on the edge of the box and buried a left-foot shot beyond Gordon.

Hearts seemed as stunned as everyone else, and the home side lost their way in the game as they struggled to recover from that body blow.

Neilson threw on Peter Haring and Armand Gnanduillet in an attempt to steady the ship, while Postecoglou threw on Ryan Christie and new signing Kyogo Furuhashi for his debut.

It was Christie who almost made an immediate impact, being slid in by a delightful Edouard pass and drawing a decent save from Gordon high to his right.

But then, in the 89th minute, Tynecastle was rocked to its foundations. Hearts won a free-kick in front of the dugouts, Smith floated the ball into the area, and Souttar just wanted it more. With Bain in no man’s land, the defender rose above him and nodded into the empty net.

There was still time for more drama, as Forrest got in behind only to be denied by a brilliant Gordon save, and then the Hearts keeper got down low to claw out Starfelt’s header from the resultant corner. How Celtic could do with a goalie like him...