Celtic extended their lead at the top of the Clydesdale Bank Scottish Premier League to five points on Wednesday, but only after an ill-tempered 1-1 draw at Hamilton.
The bottom side took the lead through Simon Mensing at New Douglas Park, and Celtic only levelled after the same player was sent off at the death and Anthony Stokes put away a penalty.
The game in fact finished nine versus ten as Celtic’s James Forrest and Hamilton sub James McAllister also received red cards, while the Bhoys have now played three more games than second-placed Rangers.
Neither side were that quick out of the traps and it was Mensing who had the first real opening, but he fired a shot from 16 yards tamely at Fraser Forster.
At the other end, Forrest made a mess of his initial shot from Paddy McCourt’s set-up and the danger was then cleared by the Accies back line.
They then took advantage of that by claiming a shock lead in the 28th minute. Forster tried to clear a lofted centre from Flavio Paixao, but the on-loan Newcastle United goalkeeper failed to sufficiently clear the danger and Mensing pounced to nod the ball home. The goal was allowed despite Bhoys protests that Mensing’s team-mate Martin Canning was in an offside position in front of Forster, leaving visiting boss Neil Lennon raging on the sideline.
Soon after, Forrest wasted a great chance for an equaliser when he blazed over the bar after Tomas Cerny dropped Charlie Mulgrew’s cross, leaving the Glasgow men a goal behind as they went in at half-time.
Forrest’s night got worse when he saw red just four minutes after the restart. The young winger came in very late and caught David Buchanan with his trailing leg as the Accies man made a clearance, referee Willie Collum deciding that he ought to be dismissed.
As parity on the scoreline remained elusive for Celtic, it was restored in terms of players within a minute of the Accies replacing the injured Mark McLaughlin with McAllister. The new man did not have time to work up a sweat before he went through the front of Mark Wilson with a reckless tackle and was rightly ordered to take the same walk as Forrest in a big blow for the strugglers.
Cerny got hold of a fierce 25-yard drive from Stokes before a clearance form Dougie Imrie rebounded off the Irishman and required another save from the home goalkeeper. Daniel Majstorovic headed wide from the subsequent corner, with Celtic pressing for a leveller at last.
And it eventually came, but not before yet more controversy. Mensing saw red for a foul on Emilio Izaguirre in the Hamilton area, leading to huge protests from the home side. However, Collum was not for turning and Stokes sent Cerny the wrong way with his penalty.
Stokes then thought he had scored an even more dramatic winner when he headed home Izaguirre's corner, but the ball had swung out of play before he connected and the points were shared.