The defending champions were 2-1 up on 77 minutes when Trusty was dismissed following a VAR review for denying Landry Kabore a clear and obvious goalscoring opportunity. Referee Steven McLean originally gave a yellow card but upgraded it to red after review.
Hearts went on to level on 87 minutes through Claudio Braga to leave the Jam Tarts six points ahead of Celtic with 15 matches remaining. O’Neill’s side slipped down to third on the back of Rangers 3-0 win over Dundee at Ibrox.
Nevertheless, O’Neill appeared satisfied with a draw. Celtic were held 2-2 in Bologna on Thursday evening after suffering a red card in the first half and by the end his team was clinging on for a share of the spoils.
“Maybe considering the circumstances, I might not disagree that it was a good point,” said O’Neill. “They maybe had the opportunity with us down to 10 men and having played on Thursday night. But overall a draw was probably a fair result.
“I was delighted with the effort of the team, particularly towards the end when we were down to 10 men again. It was a tough old match. I expected to be and that’s exactly what it was. We had a tough time at one minute to three and we still have a tough time now. It’s another game gone past but we are still in it.”
The verdict on Celtic’s red card
On Trusty’s dismissal, O’Neill commented: “I do have an argument with the red card. The referee gave a yellow and was sent over, with VAR obviously re-referring the game. It’s no more a red card than a blue card – which don’t exist.
“First of all, the ball was going away from goal, so the player had to get hold of it and control it. Secondly, and more importantly, we’ve got someone on the cover. That’s what the referee saw in the first place and he was pretty close to it.
“It’s not how it went and it puts you under severe pressure in those last 20 minutes. I didn’t seek out the referee (for an explanation) but given the chance I might do.”
O’Neill handed a debut to Czech striker Tomas Cvancara and he set up the second goal before coming off not long afterwards.
“It was a difficult game for him to come in to,” conceded O’Neill. “I thought his run for the goal was fantastic, absolutely fantastic. He’ll do fine for us during the course of time when he gets to know all his teammates and has a couple of training sessions.
“He’s got really good pace, control and I was really pleased with him. He was holding his hamstring and I was really worried, so that’s why we replaced him.”
Asked whether new signings will come in over the next week, O’Neill replied: “There is a concern. We played 60 minutes on Thursday with 10 men and, not as long but an important time psychologically and physically with 10 again. But they have shown great resolve. I don’t know about your numbers but we would definitely need some people in.”
O’Neill could have another injury on his hands after left-back Kieran Tierney limped off during the second half. “He’s pretty sore but we’ll see how he is for Thursday,” added O’Neill. “Who would be left back? Me! I’ll make a comeback. No. We might need to shift someone over.”
