2011-10-26: Hibernian 1-4 Celtic, League Cup

Match Pictures | Matches: 2011 – 2012 | 2011-2012 Pictures

Trivia

• Quater-finals.
• More injuries with Bangura out for a while added to the list but Rogne back in.
• Celtic finally score from a corner!!!!
• Reports that Scott Brown contract renewal held up due to agent fees stuff!
• More stories abound on Rangers to go into admin; when and not if. Very soon. Was pencilled in for 28th by some, but doesn't look like it at moment.

Review

(dazabhoy 67 of KDS)
Some of the passing last night was a joy to watch. There were a few times when it broke down in the first half around the box but the 2nd half performance was probably Celtics best in a while.

Glad to see young James getting on the score sheet again. If I was Lennon I would have kept him on for the last 10 to see if he could get his hat trick but I can understand where Lennon is coming from as he is still only 20 years young.

The only disappointment was the goal we lost when that went in I thought to myself this is not going to be our night. For the first 5 minutes Hibs attacked us and well our defence just didn’t know what to do. The goal couldn’t be helped from Dan it just hut his leg before he had time to react but its how the ball gets to be in that sort of area so early on in a match. Its as if Celtic don’t wake up at the start of matches which is something we need to get sorted. We need to be ready from the off and start to put a run together in the league.

Back to league business on Saturday now. Looking forward to it after tonight’s performance.

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Hibernian 1 – 4 Celtic: Celts recover from early blip to power on

The Scotsman
By Stephen Halliday at Easter Road
Published on Thursday 27 October 2011 01:00

CELTIC stepped back from the precipice of becoming the latest victim of a League Cup upset to book their place in the semi-finals with considerable ease and more than a little panache.

Nothing is ever simple for Neil Lennon’s schizophrenic team these days, not even a victory as convincing and comprehensive as this one was last night. An own goal in the opening minutes from Daniel Majstorovic put them under real pressure and gave Hibs cause to believe they were on course to join Kilmarnock, Falkirk and Ayr United in the last four.

Colin Calderwood’s side will long rue their failure to add to their lead in a first half which saw Celtic regularly playing their unique version of Russian roulette at the back.

As it was, Lennon was given a Hampden date at the end of January to look forward to by a storming second half display from his players, notably James Forrest whose superb double put them in front.

Further strikes from Anthony Stokes and Gary Hooper did not flatter Celtic’s dominance after the break, while Hibs’ misery was compounded by Ivan Sproule’s dismissal for two yellow cards.

Even before Majstorovic clocked up the latest calamitous contribution of his ill-starred Celtic career, there had been signs that Lennon’s men would be handicapped by their all-too-familiar defensive frailty yet again.

A bright and purposeful opening from Hibs saw David Wotherspoon surge forward from right back in the third minute to find all the space he could wish for to deliver a menacing cross towards the six yard box. Thomas Rogne, making his first appearance of the season for Celtic and partnering Majstorovic in the absence of injured pair Charlie Mulgrew and Glenn Loovens, seemed to get the final touch on the ball as it went wide of Fraser Forster’s right hand post, but referee Willie Collum awarded a goal kick.

It proved only temporary relief for Celtic as Hibs went in front a minute later. Majstorovic was at fault initially, cheaply conceding a corner kick in a challenge with Garry O’Connor when he should have been able to clear the danger more comfortably for his side. Leigh Griffiths drove the corner over from the right with Adam Matthews forced to boot the ball clear at the near post.

It broke to Ivan Sproule whose low shot back across the face of goal found a Celtic defence in disarray and the errant boot of Majstorovic to place the ball beyond Forster into his own net from close range.

Gary Hooper sent Celtic’s first clear opportunity wide from close range in the 20th minute, sliding in to meet Beram Kayal’s cross from the right, as the Parkhead men started to establish some territorial control. But they remained vulnerable to some excellent counter-attacking work from Hibs which could easily have increased their lead before the interval.

Sproule’s pace was instrumental in many of the dangerous raids, the first of them seeing him cut in from the left and have a stinging shot blocked by Rogne with Isaiah Osbourne blazing a 20-yard effort over from the rebound.

Anthony Stokes appeared Celtic’s most likely source for an equaliser. After smashing a 25-yard free-kick just off target, the Irish striker came even closer when he latched on to a Ki Sung Yueng through ball and clipped the outside of Brown’s left hand post with a low shot from around 16 yards. But Stokes should have done better with a header from a Ki corner which he directed wide while under no real pressure from the Hibs defence.

It was the home side who finished the first half in the ascendancy and with just cause to feel they should have enjoyed a more commanding lead. Sproule flashed a shot narrowly wide of Forster’s left hand post before leading another lightning counter-attack and releasing Junior Agogo free on goal. Forster raced out to boot the ball against Agogo and behind for a goal kick.

Hibs’ best chance to double their advantage fell to Griffiths four minutes before half-time. The on-loan Wolves striker was picked out on the left by O’Connor’s tremendous crossfield pass, allowing him to sprint into the penalty area. Griffiths’ final touch saw the ball drift marginally out of his total control and his shot was well saved by Forster.

Hibs were punished for their profligacy as a re-energised Celtic side, inspired by Forrest, overturned their deficit in the opening 15 minutes of the second half. The young Scotland winger had toiled to make a significant impression during the opening 45 minutes, but more than compensated for that with his electric contribution after the resumption.

Celtic were level in the 47th minute, Ki working the ball to Forrest on the right of the Hibs penalty area. A dip of his shoulder saw him wrong-foot Paul Hanlon before sweeping a perfectly struck right foot shot beyond the helpless Brown’s right hand into the corner of the net.

As Hibs tried to respond immediately, there was an unsavoury touchline clash between Sproule and Kayal. Celtic manager Lennon needlessly got involved, too, squaring up to Sproule, before both players were booked by referee Collum.

Celtic, suddenly playing with an intensity and penetration in the contrast to their first half fecklessness, turned the tie around when they made it 2-1 in the 58th minute. Forrest exchanged passes with Stokes to carve open the Hibs defence and guided a low left foot shot beyond Brown at the goalkeeper’s left-hand post.

As confidence flowed through the Celtic ranks, it almost visibly drained from the home side who found themselves further behind. Ki’s corner from the right met with no resistance from the Hibs defender, leaving Stokes with a simple close range header to effectively put the tie beyond his old club’s reach.

It was the cue for many Hibs supporters to make their way to the exits, but for those who remained, the agony was not over as Celtic made it 4-1. Hibs were opened up at the back with ease once more, this time a long ball from Matthews sending Hooper clear to beat Brown with a firm and precise low shot from around 14 yards.

It was all too much for Sproule whose frustration got the better of him when he was sent off in the 72nd minute, foolishly felling Celtic’s captain for the night Mark Wilson with a crude foul which rightly earned him a second yellow card.

Hibernian: Brown, Wotherspoon, Stephens, Murray, Hanlon; Osbourne, Palsson (Galbraith 68), Sproule; Agogo (Sodje 76); Griffiths, O’Connor (Stevenson 76). Subs not used: Scott, Stack.

Celtic: Forster, M Wilson, Rogne, Majstorovic, Matthews; Forrest (Cha 82), Kayal (Wanyama 70), Ki, Ledley; Stokes, Hooper (McCourt 77). Subs not used: El Kaddouri, Zaluska.

Hibernian1-4Celtic Page last updated at 20:12 GMT, Wednesday, 26 October 2011 21:12 UK By Annie McGuire

BBC Sport Scotland Celtic staged another dramatic comeback to dispose of Hibs and claim their place in the Scottish Communities League Cup semi-finals.
A Daniel Majstorovic own goal from an Ivan Sproule shot put the home side ahead at half time.

But a James Forrest double early in the second half reignited the tie.

Anthony Stokes headed home a third before Gary Hooper's strike ended Hibs' hope of a comeback, Ivan Sproule's red card adding to their misery.

Celtic manager Neil Lennon had again shuffled the pack in defence, with Thomas Rogne making his first appearance of the season, coming in for the injured Glenn Loovens while Daniel Majstorovic and Mark Wilson replaced Charlie Mulgrew and Victor Wanyama respectively.

Hibs made four changes, with goalkeeper Mark Brown resuming League Cup duties.

But it was the Celtic goal which was to be troubled first. David Wotherspoon gave an indication of Hibs' intentions early on when he volleyed a shot towards Forster's goal, Rogne doing just enough to guide the ball to safety.

Celtic failed to learn from that scare, and with just five minutes on the clock the home side took the lead from the corner flag. Last weekend's goal-hero Leigh Griffiths' ball in from the right was cleared off the line by Adam Matthews, but only as far as Sproule whose shot deflected off Majstorovic and into the net.
Seconds later the home side had the chance to land another sucker-punch on Neil Lennon's side. Junior Agogo chased down a long ball which Beram Kayal should have handled easily, but a mix-up in the Celtic defence left a stray ball inside the box, Forster controlling it at the second attempt.

Seemingly stunned to have conceded another early goal, Celtic failed to make an impact in the match in the opening 20 minutes. When their chances did come the visitors were frustrated by a lack of clinical finishing by their strike pairing of Stokes and Hooper.

Hooper could have done more when Beram Kayal delivered a cross into the box, the Englishman sliding into a shot which went wide of the post from a mere three yards.

Then Stokes had the chance to equalise: first from a free-kick 30 yards out when his powerful drive was a yard high and wide, then minutes later when his left-foot shot clipped the post and yet again when he headed over the crossbar from a corner kick on the half-hour mark. Strikers Hooper and Stokes were both on target after a frustrating first half But Hibs also had their share of first-half chances, Forster coming under a barrage of chances as the half came to a close.

Sproule continued to look dangerous on the wing and, with 35 minutes gone, he powered down the left and cut inside before sending a shot just a yard over.
The transformation in the second half was to be dramatic.

Indeed there were shades of Celtic's recent league comeback against Kilmarnock when they emerged for the restart. A half-time talking-to seemed to bring new desire to the side, and again it was the 20-year-old Forrest who was the architect of the resurgence.

Ki Sung-Yueng's pass found Gary Hooper at the edge of the box, who played in the Scotland winger: Forrest dancing round Hibs defender Paul Hanlon, to create the space for a perfectly struck shot which flashed past Brown in the Hibs goal.

Twelve minutes later Forrest dug out another crucial goal as he drove towards the Hibs box from the right, then worked a one-two with Stokes before driving low past the Hibs keeper.
With half an hour remaining the floodgates appeared to have opened. Having misfired in the first half, Stokes was more clinical when Ki's corner found him unmarked in the box, the striker heading past a helpless Brown.

Then it was Hooper's chance to redeem himself for a poor first half, the Englishman judging his run to perfection from Matthews' long ball before taking a touch and deftly stroking the ball home to put Hibs into damage-limitation mode.

That wasn't helped when Sproule was sent off after fouling the uncontainable Forrest with 18 minutes remaining. From then on their contribution fizzled out, with Celtic happy to sit on an unexpected three-goal lead, and sail through to next week's semi-final draw.