2017-12-07: Hibernian 2-2 Celtic, SP

Trivia

• Celtic remain on top by 5pts fromSevco, but also a game in hand.
• 68 games unbeaten domestically; but this was very close at the death to being lost. Lustig saves the day.
• Celtic were 2 up and lost two goals, with ex-Celt Ambrose scoring the first Hibs goals. Sinclair unlucky not to score a hat-trick.
• Hib's John McGinn (relative of ex-Celtic chairman Jack McGinn) was a star of the match, possible transfer target for Celtic acc to rumours.
• Celtic have played a competitive game every 4.68 days since the start the season Rangers 7.45 days between games Aberdeen 6.52 days between games Hibs 6.20 days between games Still invincible. Not perfect. Not every game is sublime But still invincible
• Today's attendance between Hibernian and Celtic at Easter Road (20,193) was the highest attendance for a League game in almost 25 years, when they drew 0-0 with Hearts on the 2/1/93 in front of 21,657 fans
• Green Brigade post a banner at the match criticising US policy for recognising Jerusalem as the Israeli captial, prematurely and against international consensus. Done to pander to various electorates.
• Celtic clinched a treble at the #ScottishSportsAwards tonight. The Hoops won ‘Team of the Year’, Leigh Griffiths’ two superb free kicks against England earned him the ‘Inspirational Performance of the Year' and Brendan Rodgers was awarded Manager of the Year’.
• Celtic qualified to Europa League, but unseeded, and draw is on Monday coming. Tough draw ahead.
  Fiorentina have joined the race to sign Celtic striker Moussa Dembele. The Serie A side are keen to bolster their attacking options and are considering a January move.
• Three Scottish football clubs have been "named and shamed" for underpaying staff. Motherwell, Greenock Morton and Falkirk were on a list of employers not paying the minimum wage.
• Reports: Brendan Rodgers is poised to make an offer to St Mirren for highly rated winger Lewis Morgan when the transfer window opens next month. A host of clubs are said to be monitoring the 21-year-old
• Patrick Roberts suffered a hamstring injury against Motherwell on 29 November and has been ruled out for three months.
  

Review

"The reason last season was so special was because it was unprecedented.
Folk seem to be forgetting that and are now treating it as the norm. It wasn't. Last season was incredible and folk are complaining that this season is *just* really great. Mental."
Celtic Underground Twitter.

(winds of change of KDS)
Inexplicable last 20 minutes today, going from a dominant almost cruising position to imploding.

Reminded me of some of the Liverpool performances towards the end of BR's reign there.

Fatigue is a definite factor along with the shape & style of play of opposition teams lately. All sitting in deep, all pressing us as much as they can. We have also had players lose form & a bit of confidence.

Still can't get my head round how bad we played in that last 20 minutes today, real bombscare stuff.

However we have yet to taste defeat again this season, are top of the league & have 1 domestic trophy already in the bag

The trouble for the rest of them is that we can definitely get better

(moravcik 67 of KDS)
Honest to god. I mean, I get some of the criticism. It's clear that we're not playing at the same level that we did last year. And yes, we're dropping more points. And yes, the other teams are closer because of that. And yes, we're bloody infuriating at times. And yes, that defence does put the fear of god into you at times. But let's look at it with some perspective, eh?

Why are we not playing as well? Probably because we're a year down the line. Nothing stays the same in football. Other teams have had a year to suss us out and adapt their tactics. Many of the players who sustained a high performance level last season are struggling to do so this season. Why? Because that's what happens in football. If they were able to sustain that level of performance over multiple seasons they'd be unlikely to be playing for us. We're also on an absolutely brutal calendar of football. Other than international breaks, we won't have had a free midweek since the last week in July. Literally. Not one. All those midweek games take their toll. Less recovery time. Continually focussing on the next game, less time working on things on the training ground, developing. I get that some players haven't played all those games. But it all adds up, particularly when you're doing it for the 2nd year in a row. We've been hammered with injuries as well. It's disrupted us as team, and it's disrupted the season of several important players. We've not had anything approaching a settled side. And yeh, I appreciate that some of that is down to BR's selections.

Most importantly, though, last season was an exception. It was a season where pretty much everything fell into place when we needed it. It built up a momentum of its own and carried us all along with it. But it's gone. We can't allow ourselves to believe that the exception should become the norm. It doesn't. Pretty much every other season has spells where we play poorly, drop points, lose. Even under the best of managers. But despite playing poorly at times this season we've still got the first trophy in the bag; we're still on course for a 90 point league season – a respectable league winning tally in most seasons. We're still on course for back to back trebles. We're still unbeaten. We're still in Europe after Christmas. And we still have a bloody good manager, and a good young squad of players that can only get better.

As frustrating as we've been. Just my 2p worth.

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Articles

Hibs 2 – 2 Celtic: Hibs come roaring back to claim point
John McGinn shouts encouragement to his team-mates after Hibs pull a goal back at 2-1. Picture: SNS

Ronnie Esplin

Published: 14:24 Sunday 10 December 2017
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Hibernian fought from two goals behind to grab a 2-2 draw in a pulsating Ladbrokes Premiership encounter with leaders Celtic at Easter Road.
Scott Sinclair appeared to give the Hoops what looked like an unassailable lead with two goals in four minutes after the break.

Celtic's Scott Sinclair celebrates his second goal. Picture: SNS
However, in a dramatic finale former Parkhead defender Efe Ambrose halved the deficit in the 76th minute before 19-year-old substitute Oli Shaw levelled three minutes later with both sides having chances to clinch the win before the end.
It was a well-deserved point for Neil Lennon’s side who had drawn 2-2 at Celtic Park in September while the Hoops extended their unbeaten domestic run to 68 games to go five points clear of Aberdeen as they look forward to Monday’s Europa League last-32 draw.
Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers made two changes after Tuesday’s Champions League defeat to Anderlecht at Parkhead.
Midfielder Olivier Ntcham replaced Stuart Armstrong and there was some surprise that 19-year-old striker Odsonne Edouard and not Scotland striker Leigh Griffiths, replaced Moussa Dembele who also started on the bench.
Playmaker John McGinn was back from suspension and fit-again defender Steven Whittaker and winger Brandon Barker also returned to a Hibs side who almost got caught out with barely a minute played.
Ntcham opened up the Hibees defence with a perfectly-weighted through ball and defender Lewis Stevenson had to put in a saving tackle on Callum McGregor to prevent the Hoops midfielder getting a shot in on keeper Ofir Marciano.
The match swung from end to end on a pitch glazed with frost but in the 18th minute Hibs midfielder Dylan McGeouch gifted his former club a gilt-edged opportunity.
His pass along the edge of his own penalty area was picked up by James Forrest but with only Marciano to beat from 12 yards the Scotland winger bent his shot inches past the post, before Celtic keeper Craig Gordon blocked a Martin Boyle drive.
Sinclair had been quiet in the first-half but in the 53rd minute he escaped Whittaker in the box only to fire straight at Marciano’s legs from 12 yards with Ambrose blocking Tierney’s drive from the loose ball.
However, the former Manchester City and Aston Villa player made no mistake moments later when, after his effort had been blocked, he was on hand to tap into the empty net after Edouard’s drive had crashed back off the post.
Sinclair made it 2-0 when he turned right inside Whittaker again, this time his shot taking a deflection off Marvin Bartley before ending up behind Marciano.
The Hoops winger then had the ball in the net with an angled-drive but the offside flag was up beforehand.
It looked like the Parkhead men would cruise to the final whistle but Ambrose forced the ball over the line from 10 yards with the help of a deflection after Whittaker’s drive had been blocked to his feet.
In the 78th minute, after Marciano had made saves from Celtic substitute Dembele and Sinclair, there was more drama when Shaw, on for Bartley, turned and fired high past Gordon from 12 yards after Stevenson’s cut-back had been deflected into his path.
Dedryck Boyata headed over Marciano’s goal in the final minute of normal time and then fellow Hoops defender Mikael Lustig cleared a Shaw drive off the line after Gordon had dropped the ball.
The match ended with Sinclair passing up the chance of taking home the match ball by blasting over with only the Hibs keeper to beat.

BBC

By Tom English

BBC Scotland at Easter Road Stadium

4 hours ago From the section Scottish Premiership 136

Celtic's goalkeeper Craig Gordon looks concerned as Hibs striker Oli Shaw is left disappointed
Hibs striker Oli Shaw (right) equalised and came close to ending Celtic's unbeaten run

Hibernian scored twice in a breathtaking final 15 minutes as they came from 2-0 down to hold Celtic.

Two Scott Sinclair goals within five second-half minutes appeared to have put Celtic on their way to victory.

The winger pounced after Odsonne Edouard's effort came off the post, then had a shot deflected in off Hibs midfielder Marvin Bartley.

But former Celtic defender Efe Ambrose's shot deflected in off Scott Brown and Oli Shaw fired the equaliser.

It was end-to-end action thereafter, with chances missed at both ends and Celtic relying on Mikael Lustig's clearance off the line from another Shaw attempt in the final seconds to extend their domestic run without defeat to 68 games.

Hibs had also been close to ending that run before drawing by the same scoreline in Glasgow in September – then lost to Brendan Rodgers' side in a thrilling Scottish League Cup semi-final.

The latest draw means the champions end the weekend with their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership from Rangers and Aberdeen reduced to five points, although Celtic have a game in hand.
Celtic's Scott Sinclair scored against Hibs
Scott Sinclair scored twice to put Celtic 2-0 ahead at Easter Road

This was an epic tussle that got better and better as the day wore on. The closing stages were so frenetic it rendered the biting cold an irrelevance.

It was bonkers and utterly brilliant. Maybe – probably – the game of the season.

It was embodied in the personal joust between John McGinn and Brown. McGinn is not the sort to be cowed by anybody and Brown, obviously, is not a man to back away from a challenge from a young dog.

It was an excellent feature of an afternoon that looked all Celtic and then, in a blur, became all about Hibs.

Interestingly, it was a day that came and went without Leigh Griffiths. Edouard, ineffective up front, started the game and, later on, Moussa Dembele came on. Griffiths, back in his old stomping ground, remained on the bench.

Celtic have played some big games in the past six weeks – Champions League matches against Anderlecht, PSG and Bayern Munich, a cup final against Motherwell and high-profile league matches against Aberdeen and this one against Hibs.

Griffiths, the one-time go-to man, has not started any. It would appear that, at the moment, the Scot has fallen to third in Rodgers' pecking order.

The visitors really should have gone ahead early on when Dylan McGeouch had a hair-brained moment in defence, gifting the ball to James Forrest, who was immediately one-on-one with Ofir Marciano.

Given Forrest's fine goalscoring form this season, you would have lumped every last penny on him scoring, but he did not. It was as if he was shocked to get the opportunity then lost all composure when pulling it wide.

Celtic turned the screw slowly. They began to dictate the tempo and Hibs dropped deeper and deeper to survive. Eight minutes into the second half, Sinclair got away from Steven Whittaker and Marciano stopped his shot with his feet, but that opening goal would come soon enough.

It could – and should – have been claimed by Edouard, who hit the inside of a post from close range, but the ricochet off the woodwork fell kindly for Sinclair, who rifled it home.
Hibs head coach Neil Lennon looks shocked against Celtic
Former Celtic manager Neil Lennon thought his Hibs side had clinched a famous win

Four minutes later, Sinclair scored again when the space opened up in front of him and his shot was deflected beyond Marciano.

That looked to be that. But no.

Hibs head coach Neil Lennon thought about bringing on Simon Murray, then changed his mind and launched Shaw instead. Some McGinn excellence was the catalyst for Ambrose's goal.

These were madcap moments. An Ambrose blunder allowed Dembele in and only a Marciano save rescued Hibs.

Marciano saved again within minutes, this time from the hat-trick-seeking Sinclair. Then, the equaliser. Easter Road went berserk.

Celtic got themselves in a disorganised mess at the back and Hibs made them pay. Anthony Stokes and Lewis Stevenson set it up for Shaw. who scored just as he had when coming off the bench against Celtic in the semi-final.

What a thrilling comeback it was – and what a frenetic and sensational endgame too. Dedryck Boyota was fortunate to avoid a second yellow with a late foul and then popped up in the Hibs box to almost head the winner, his effort flying over.

With seconds left, Gordon inexplicably dropped a high ball and, for a moment, it looked certain that Celtic's 67-game winning run was about to end.

Shaw – what a prospect this boy looks – was on to it in a flash and drilled his shot goalwards. Just as the Hibs fans were about to rejoice, Lustig flew in and blocked it.

Even then, there was another thrust. Celtic broke free and Sinclair had yet another chance.

This time, his shot was blasted over to the accompanying gasps of every last man, woman and child in Easter Road. An astonishing, breathless game. Wonderful.