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Trivia
- Celtic returned to the top of the Bank of Scotland Premier League.
Review
Celtic survived an early scare after 30 seconds when Magnus Hedman spilled Riordan's cross, but the Swedish international reacted quickly to clear the ball with his foot.
Celtic went ahead through in-form striker Hartson after 18 minutes. Stilian Petrov sent in a pacey corner with the big Welshman rising to powering an unstoppable header past helpless Simon Brown in the Hibs goal.
Bobo Balde could have sealed the points in the 56th minute when he got on the end of Thompson's free-kick, but he headed over the bar.
Camara then had his fierce effort saved by Brown after good work from Aiden McGeady and Hartson. But Hibs pressed the home side throughout the game and earned a deserved equaliser on 75 minutes. Riordan sent in a corner which was flicked on to Caldwell who volleyed in from two yards to set up a tense final period.
Then, with the clock ticking down, Hartson popped up again to force the ball into the net from a McGeady pass to give Celtic the points they needed to leapfrog Rangers.
Teams
Celtic:-
Hedman, McNamara, Balde, Varga, Valgaeren, McGeady, Petrov (Camara 48), Lennon, Thompson, Hartson, Sutton.
Subs not used:- Marshall, Sylla, Juninho Paulista, Laursen, Maloney, Wallace.
Goals:- Hartson 18, 83.
Hibernian:-
Simon Brown, Beuzelin, Murray, Caldwell, Glass, Murphy, Rocastle, Shiels, Whittaker, O'Connor, Riordan.
Subs:- Alistair Brown, McCluskey, Morrow, Murdock, McDonald, Orman, Shields.
Goal:- Caldwell 75.
Att:
Referee:- I Brines
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
Pictures
Articles
Celtic 2-1 Hibernian
BBC
Celtic returned to the top of the Bank of Scotland Premier League thanks to a John Hartson double.
The Welsh striker sent a powerful header into the Hibs net after 18 minutes at Celtic Park.
Hibs matched the hosts throughout a tight contest and bagged a deserved leveller on 75 minutes, with Gary Caldwell volleying in from two yards.
But Hartson struck again in the 83rd minute with a close-range strike that took the hosts to the top of the SPL.
Celtic manager Martin O'Neill made three changes to his side after the 2-2 draw at Dundee last week.
English duo Alan Thompson and Chris Sutton returned from suspension, while Stanislav Varga came back after injury.
They replaced the dropped Henri Camara and injured pair Stephen Pearson and Didier Agathe.
Easter Road boss Tony Mowbray kept striker Derek Riordan in his line-up, despite his arrest after a late-night disturbance in Edinburgh in the early hours of Wednesday.
Garry O'Connor and Stephen Glass also came in for Alen Orman and Sam Morrow.
Celtic survived an early scare after 30 seconds when Magnus Hedman spilled Riordan's cross, but the Swedish international reacted quickly to clear the ball with his foot.
Celtic went ahead through in-form striker Hartson after 18 minutes.
Stilian Petrov sent in a pacey corner with the big Welshman rising to powering an unstoppable header past helpless Simon Brown in the Hibs goal.
But the visitors hit back and Steven Whittaker came within inches of pulling his side level as he swung in what looked like a cross and watched as the ball came back off the upright with Hedman well beaten.
Craig Rocastle then broke clear of Petrov in the 30th minute, but pulled his ambitious shot well wide from 30 yards.
Bobo Balde could have sealed the points in the 56th minute when he got on the end of Thompson's free-kick, but he headed over the bar.
Camara then had his fierce effort saved by Brown after good work from Aiden McGeady and Hartson.
But Hibs pressed the home side throughout the game and earned a deserved equaliser on 75 minutes.
Riordan sent in a corner which was flicked on to Caldwell who volleyed in from two yards to set up a tense final period.
Then, with the clock ticking down, Hartson popped up again to force the ball into the net from a McGeady pass to give Celtic the points they needed to leapfrog Rangers.
Celtic: Hedman, McNamara, Balde, Varga, Valgaeren, McGeady, Petrov, Lennon, Thompson, Hartson, Sutton. Subs: Marshall, Sylla, Juninho Paulista, Laursen, Camara, Maloney, Wallace.
Hibernian: Simon Brown, Beuzelin, Murray, Caldwell, Glass, Murphy, Rocastle, Shiels, Whittaker, O'Connor, Riordan. Subs: Alistair Brown, McCluskey, Morrow, Murdock, McDonald, Orman, Shields.
Referee: I Brines
O'Neill hails Hibs performance
BBC
Celtic 2-1 Hibernian
Celtic boss Martin O'Neill paid tribute to Hibs after watching his side pushed close at Parkhead by the skillful Edinburgh outfit.
The win saw the home side leapfrog Rangers in the league, but O'Neill said it was a hard-fought contest.
He said: "Let's be honest about this, they (Hibs) were brilliant, absolutely brilliant today."
"They passed the ball brilliantly and played with great freedom and with a great desire."
After declaring himself "pleased" with the win, O'Neill added: "Even when we got the first goal, you felt they were never out of the game.
The Hoops' boss also thanked his double-scoring hero John Hartson.
He said: "John is in sparkling form at the moment and he took his second goal magnificently."