Neil McCann believes VAR officials were ‘guessing’ over whether Kyogo’s opening goal in Celtic’s 3-1 win over Hearts was valid – but told Hoops fans he wants fringe calls to be made .
With just four minutes on the clock, Brendan Rodgers’ men took the lead when Hearts struggled to clear their lines at a corner, allowing Reo Hatate to pick out compatriot Kyogo to head home from close range. With Jambos skipper Lawrence Shankland on the goal line, Hearts goalkeeper Zander Clark acted as his team’s penultimate man, with replays showing he had narrowly played through Kyogo.
Former Rangers and Hearts winger McCann was unconvinced by the lines drawn by VAR, but added he was happy to see the Japanese star given the benefit of the doubt. Speaking on Sportscene, he said: “I think they’ve just guessed that Zander’s (Clark) big foot is there. But I want to give the advantage to the attacker.
-“I’m going to drop that one, which will please all the Celtic fans listening at home. The problem for me is that if Hearts are so resolute on set pieces, how can they take their eyes off someone like Kyogo and not come for him is a problem and they have been duly punished. »
The Hoops have now taken a six-point lead at the top of the Premiership ahead of Rangers’ clash with Kilmarnock on Sunday and McCann has no doubt they are in control. He added: “What Celtic did today was put massive pressure on Rangers tomorrow against a Kilmarnock team that Derek McInnes has put together so well.
“That’s what happens when you get to the end. If you play before your rivals in the title race, you have to put on the pressure. The first goal was crucial for Celtic and he took all that away and let them play. with freedom.”
