Celtic 0-2 Hearts: Stephen Kingsley on why he didn't watch second half

A Lawrence Shankland header from a Jorge Grant corner handed Steven Naismith's side the advantage in Glasgow's east end before Stephen Kinglsey doubled the visitors' lead on 30 minutes with a well-struck free-kick from distance.

Kingsley, who denied Luis Palma a certain goal in the first half with a well-timed block, picked up an injury and was replaced by Toby Sibbick at the break, but the versatile defender could reflect on a productive afternoon.

Here's everything that Kingsley had to say:

READ MORE: What first Hearts win at Celtic Park in over 5,000 days was like from the away end

On blocking Luis Palma

Yes, it was mine. I threw my body at it. That one is such a reaction thing, you just need to throw your body in the way. To be honest I think a couple of the boys thought that was as big as scoring a goal. I think if they'd scored that one, coming up to half-time, it would have given them a big boost. I was pleased with that one.

On scoring a free-kick at long last

To be honest I always feel like I've got a chance with free-kicks. I'm comfortable with the technique I've got. I've had a couple of chances with them earlier this season which went close, but sometimes you need that bit of luck to see them go in. I've practiced it so much and I've got the technique so I'm always confident and positive. This is the first one in a long time and I'm happy to get the monkey off the back.

On how it made him feel

It was relief. Not so much the free-kick itself. I couldn't have walked up and placed it any better, especially as a lefty. But I think if you watch the celebration back, you can see the relief. It has been awhile since my last goal and I want to help out with goals. As a defender I know my main job, but I want to help out going forward and I feel like I haven't done that enough. I was happy to help the team out today.

On an off-day from Celtic

I think they'll say it themselves, they were off it. They had a massive game and win on Wednesday night. To be honest, anyone that plays the game will know that when you go from a massive high like that, the next game there's always a bit of sluggishness. It's hard to get straight back up for games again. It was a good time to play them for us. But we defended very well. They were having shots but weren't splitting us open regularly. When the first went in it was about the mental side of things for us. I thought we were brave on the ball, especially the first half.

READ MORE: Celtic 0 Hearts 2 | Instant analysis: Set-piece threat, showing steel and punching up

On sensing Celtic's vulnerability

It was something we spoke about before the game. Not just Celtic, any team that has such a high in midweek it's just a natural thing that happens. Subconsciously it is always tough to come back off such a big high and play again at the weekend. We knew we wanted to make this chance count and went into the game really confident.

On the response to losing to Aberdeen

I'm proud of the way the boys defended. We were resolute. You know coming here they're going to have shots and cut you open at certain points, but in general I was really happy with how we defended. We were second best against Aberdeen in a lot of areas but improved a lot. We've been very good defensively this season. We've kept a lot of clean sheets and it's good to get back to that after a couple of defeats. We knew coming here it was an opportunity. You need to have a bit of luck on your side. We went to Ibrox and were leading 1-0 heading into the 90th minute. We've competed well in these big games and felt we were close to getting a positive result. All credit to the boys.

On watching the second half

I was inside. I'm the most nervous person ever watching games so I was getting a bit of physio treatment first and then I was just listening in. I was nervous. But from hearing it, I felt we were strong. You're never comfortable at Celtic Park but I felt we were resolute in our shape. I was quietly confident we had a very good chance of seeing it out. I went out for the celebrations with about 30 seconds to go!

READ MORE: Steven Naismith outlines areas of Hearts display that impressed him in Celtic win

On the busy festive period

We knew we had a lot of games in December. It was always going to be tough, especially going Rangers, Aberdeen, Celtic. Three massive games and we were really disappointed after the Aberdeen loss. This is massive for us to bounce back and get some confidence going again. Now we're heading into a run of games, St Mirren and then Hibs. Nothing needs said about that one. Two massive games coming up and they will be challenging us for that third spot come the end of the season. This has to give us confidence, getting back on track.

On his injury

I hoped I was going to be able to manage it but at half-time it got significantly worse and it wasn't a time I could have been lagging. We needed everyone right at it defensively. I was gutted not to make it out for the second half, but Toby Sibbick went in there and did brilliantly. It's a bit in my groin adductor area. I don't know what it is to be honest. I don't think it's bad, though. Coming off at half-time was the sensible move.