Hearts dan Celtic Berebut Gelar Juara Liga Utama Skotlandia

Persaingan perebutan gelar juara Liga Utama Skotlandia mencapai babak penentuan yang dramatis di luar Stadion Celtic Park menjelang laga krusial antara Celtic dan Heart of Midlothian.

Sebuah papan iklan unik dari perusahaan perjalanan loveholidays muncul dengan menawarkan liburan mewah bagi suporter Celtic yang bersedia menyerahkan tiket pertandingan mereka. Aksi ini memanfaatkan keterbatasan alokasi tiket bagi pendukung Hearts yang hanya mendapat 752 kursi untuk laga tandang tersebut.

Hearts saat ini berpeluang mengakhiri puasa gelar liga selama 66 tahun, sementara Celtic mengincar gelar ke-14 dalam 15 musim terakhir. Persaingan ketat ini sempat berjalan sengit hingga pekan-pekan terakhir kompetisi setelah Hearts sempat ditahan imbang 1-1 oleh Motherwell.

Manajer Hearts, Derek McInnes, mengonfirmasi tantangan berat yang dihadapi timnya termasuk kehilangan dua pilar penting akibat cedera tendon Achilles.

"I’ve just assumed Celtic are going to win their game, I’ve had it in my head that we’re going to the last game and I’m prepared for that. Listen, there’s no easy games for anybody, nothing’s straightforward. Motherwell are a more than capable team. They were fully committed against us and I’m sure that’ll be the same again against Celtic. We have been trying to hold off a couple of heavyweights for a long time now. We’ve managed to see off Rangers and we’ve got to try and see off Celtic over the next two games. I think the facts show we’re coping brilliantly. We’ve already broken a club record in terms of points tally and we’ve got a Champions League qualifier already secured, but obviously we want to try and go one better now and win the league." ujar Derek McInnes, Manajer Hearts.

McInnes menambahkan bahwa atmosfer pertandingan di Tynecastle Park akan menjadi momen yang sangat berharga dan langka bagi para pendukung sejarah klub.

"It’s nice to be able to hear ‘Hearts could win the league at Tynecastle,’" kata Derek McInnes, Manajer Hearts.

Meskipun Celtic memiliki catatan tren positif dengan lima kemenangan berurutan, pihak Hearts tetap optimistis dapat mengamankan poin yang dibutuhkan.

"I don’t know how many people have been able to say that in their lifetime. The likelihood is we are going to have to win two games or certainly pick up four points." imbuh Derek McInnes, Manajer Hearts.

Sebelumnya, ketegangan juga sempat terjadi saat McInnes melayangkan protes keras terhadap kepemimpinan wasit Steven McLean dalam laga kontra Motherwell di Stadion Fir Park.

"Derek McInnes questioned Steven McLean's decision not to award Heart of Midlothian a penalty in the 1-1 draw with Motherwell, as he revealed two key players have suffered Achilles injuries." ujar Derek McInnes, Manajer Heart of Midlothian.

Di sisi lain, Al Murray selaku perwakilan sponsor menegaskan komitmen penuh perusahaan untuk terus memberikan dukungan moral bagi skuat berjuluk para pemain berkaos marun tersebut.

"We’ve been together with Hearts for the last three seasons, and what the club and its fans are on the brink of achieving is historic. Supporting the underdog is in loveholidays’ DNA, so backing Hearts at a time like this was an easy decision. We’re proudly fully behind the maroon machine." kata Al Murray, Kepala Pemasaran loveholidays.

Sementara itu, spekulasi mengenai masa depan manajer Motherwell, Jens Berthel Askou, sempat mencuat di tengah persiapannya menghadapi laga penentu melawan Celtic.

"I would much rather speak about the game, so the answer will be very short, or as short as I can give it," kata Jens Berthel Askou, Manajer Motherwell.

Askou menganggap rumor ketertarikan klub Prancis, Toulouse, terhadap dirinya merupakan sebuah apresiasi positif atas performa solid skuatnya sepanjang musim ini.

"There has been many things written about this wonderful football club and what we have achieved, and also speculation and links about me and especially a lot of the players, which I all take as a positive sign that we are doing something right. That's all I can comment on or want to comment about that." jelas Jens Berthel Askou, Manajer Motherwell.

Askou menganggap laga melawan sang juara bertahan memiliki atmosfer krusial yang setara dengan sebuah partai final bagi perjalanan timnya.

"We are here to play a football game, a very, very important football game for us, and that's really exciting. Look, we missed out on an opportunity to go to Hampden because we weren't there on the night against St Mirren and play a final, then we missed a good opportunity as the draw turned out in the Scottish Cup to maybe go further because everything that could go wrong went wrong at Aberdeen that night. And this is kind of the closest we get to playing a final this season, so we are extremely excited about that." tutur Jens Berthel Askou, Manajer Motherwell.

Pertandingan krusial papan atas Liga Skotlandia dijadwalkan berlangsung secara serentak di beberapa stadion utama.