| Match Pictures | Matches: 2019 – 2020 | 2019-20 Pictures |
Trivia
- Celtic remain two points in front, Sevco won 2-0 in their match away to M’well.
- Rearranged Sunday game due to UEFA Cup action, but not on TV. 3pm kick-off.
- Back to the domestic scene very busy month, nine games planned.
- Minute Applause held for ex-Celtic player Ian Young who passed away this past week. RIP
- Frimpong flourished as a right wing-back in the 3-5-2 formation deployed by Lennon as he reshaped his side in the absence of both Ryan Christie and Mikey Johnston.
- Europa League draw for KO stage on Monday, both Celtic & Sevco in the next round.
- Craig Gordon to return to Hearts in January? He wants first team action, rather than being on the bench. So credit to him, but hope it doesn’t backfire on Celtic.
- Reports: Celtic will run the rule over Union Berlin striker Sebastian Andersson in their Bundesliga clash with Paderborn this weekend, according to reports in Germany. The 28-year-old is a target man striker who joined the Berlin outfit from Kaiserslautern in the summer of 2018 and has netted 22 times in 53 games.
- Green Brigade unveiled a banner aimed at celebrity fan Rod Stewart after the singer congratulated Boris Johnson on his re-election as prime minister. The veteran singer tweeted on the morning after the election to thank fans after his tenth album topped the music charts. In the social media post, he also mentioned Boris Johnson and congratulated. "Thank you once again to my legions of fans who I will never take for granted. Bless you all and a Merry Christmas. Well done Robbie, well done Boris, no hard feelings Pete Townshend! – Rod xxx," he said.
The Banner stated: "Tories not welcome. F*** off Rod" - Former Sevco owner Craig Whyte is vowing to lift the lid on top-flight match-fixing as he hunts a publisher for a book on his reign at Ibrox.
- Ryan Christie has revealed he wants to commit his long-term future to Celtic beyond his current contract which lasts until the summer of 2022
- Scotland International rugby player fails to turn up to court this week, and an arrest warrant is out for him.If this was a football player, the SMSM would be going all fire and brimstone over this. But surely a mistake for those gentlemanly Scottish rugby boys? Double standards!
- Ex-Celt Freddie Ljungberg is the interim manager at Arsenal and is doing poorly. That club are in freefall. Ex-Rangers Duncan Ferguson is the caretaker at Everton, but he is surprisingly doing very well.
- China’s state broadcaster CCTV on Sunday removed Arsenal’s Premier League game aganst Manchester City from its broadcast schedule following Mesut Ozil’s messages that criticised the country’s policy towards its Muslim Uighur minority. Ozil’s posts called Uighurs “warriors who resist persecution” and criticised both China’s crackdown and the silence of Muslims in response. China has repeatedly denied any mistreatment of Uighurs.
Review
Neil Lennon: Celtic's Jeremie Frimpong 'is one of best kids I've seen'
Frimpong flourished as a right wing-back in the 3-5-2 formation deployed by Lennon as he reshaped his side in the absence of both Ryan Christie and Mikey Johnston.
A comfortable win, but a lot of sloppy play today, which was a difficult watch at times.
Frimpong and McGregor good. Forrest was poor with a formation and role he never seemed comfortable with. Ntcham is such a frustrating player. The talent is obvious but he just seems to switch off too often.
Did not like the formation. Bitton in a semi fullback role did not work at all. He got skinned too easy, too often and other teams would punish that. I dare say the system worked as they threatened very little and we should have won by more, but we looked a little lost at times. Maybe if Boli, Ntcham, Edouard and Forrest were closer to their best it would have worked better.
Still, it’s three points. Roll on Wednesday when hopefully we have the options of Christie and Johnston to bring in.
Teams
Celtic
- 67Forster
- 35Ajer
- 2Jullien
- 6BittonBooked at 75mins
- 23Bolingoli-Mbombo
- 8Brown
- 42McGregor
- 30Frimpong
- 21Ntcham
- 49Forrest Substituted forRogicat 84'minutes
- 22Edouard Substituted forGriffithsat 68'minutes
Substitutes
- 1Gordon
- 3Taylor
- 9Griffiths
- 10Bayo
- 13Bauer
- 16Morgan
- 18Rogic
Goals
- Frimpong (39' minutes),
- Edouard (66' minutes)
Hibernian
- 1Marciano Substituted forMaxwellat 45'minutes
- · 21Naismith
- · 25Porteous
- · 4Hanlon
- · 16Stevenson
- · 10BoyleBooked at 72mins
- · 20Hallberg
- · 23Allan · Substituted forMurrayat 79'minutes
- · 14MallanBooked at 84mins
- · 9Doidge Substituted forHorganat 72'minutes
- 22Kamberi
Substitutes
- 7Horgan
- 8Slivka
- 18Jackson
- 24McGregor
- 28Maxwell
- 32Shaw
- 33Murray
Referee:
John Beaton
Attendance:
57,598
Articles
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Stats
Celtic
Hibernian
Possession
Home61%
Away39%
Shots
Home21
Away4
Shots on Target
Home5
Away0
Corners
Home5
Away2
Fouls
Home7
Away8
Articles
Celtic 2-0 Hibs: Frimpong shines as Hoops restore two-point lead at summit of table with win over Hibs
Stephen Halliday
Email
Published: 18:17
Updated: 18:31 Sunday 15 December 2019
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/celtic-2-0-hibs-frimpong-shines-as-hoops-restore-two-point-lead-at-summit-of-table-with-win-over-hibs-1-5062667
Jeremie Frimpong further enhanced his rapidly growing status as a Celtic crowd favourite with another effervescent display as the Scottish champions restored their two-point lead at the top of the Premiership.
The teenager’s summer capture from Manchester City is shaping up as one of the shrewdest pieces of business Neil Lennon has ever done as Celtic manager.
Frimpong opened the scoring in a hard-earned but fully merited victory over Hibs whose hopes of taking something from the game were completely snuffed out by Odsonne Edouard’s 15th goal of the season.
Jack Ross can take encouragement from some aspects of his team’s performance but they were unable to capitalise on their best moments.
Formation reshuffle
Frimpong flourished as a right wing-back in the 3-5-2 formation deployed by Lennon as he reshaped his side in the absence of both Ryan Christie and Mikey Johnston.
The Dutch teenager proved a handful for Hibs from the early moments of the game, regularly forcing Martin Boyle to abandon his own attacking duties for Hibs and drop back to help Lewis Stevenson on the left side of the visitors’ defence.
Celtic captain Scott Brown, perhaps encouraged by his double against his old club in the League Cup semi-final last month, was first to try his luck for the hosts but his 22 yard shot drifted well wide of Ofir Marciano’s right hand post.
Celtic dominate
The Israeli goalkeeper was called into serious action for the first time in the 10th minute when he made a smart save to keep out Olivier Ntcham’s stinging drive from a Callum McGregor pass. When Hibs were unable to clear properly, Ntcham floated the ball back into the penalty area where James Forrest glanced a header wide.
While Celtic largely dominated, Hibs did produce some eye-catching bursts of play which might have seen them snatch the lead.
After a magnificent crossfield pass from Stevie Mallan had picked out Jason Naismith on the right of Celtic’s penalty area, it needed a well timed challenge from Kristoffer Ajer to prevent the Hibs full-back getting a shot away.
Boyle, finding respite from his duties in checking Frimpong’s advances, then displayed excellent footwork to jink away from Nir Bitton and curl a shot narrowly wide of Fraser Forster’s left hand post.
Celtic were soon back on the front foot and Edouard should have made the breakthrough in the 17th minute. Frimpong brilliantly beat Boyle to set up the opportunity but Edouard, untypically, lacked conviction as he slashed a shot well off target.
As Celtic increased the tempo, Forrest saw a shot blocked by Paul Hanlon before turning provider with clever play on the left before feeding McGregor whose low shot was safely held by Marciano.
The pressure was building on Hibs who were struggling to find the counter-attacking situations they had come close to exploiting earlier.
Boli Bolingoli was just as eager as Frimpong to get forward for Celtic and the left wing-back swept a shot just wide of the scrambling Marciano’s left hand post.
Hibs now looked like a side in need of the half-time whistle but it didn’t come soon enough for them as Frimpong finally broke their resistance in the 39th minute. The manner of the goal’s concession would be a source of frustration for Hibs manager Ross.
Ryan Porteous was guilty of losing possession cheaply, allowing Celtic to spring into an attack which saw Edouard’s neat pass find Frimpong bursting into the penalty area where he displayed great composure to slot his low shot under Marciano from close range.
Marciano suffers injury
Hibs were forced into a change at the start of the second half, resuming with Chris Maxwell in goal for the injured Marciano.
Celtic were quickly back into their stride and McGregor might have done better than drag a shot wide of Maxwell’s left hand post after being set up invitingly by Forrest.
Frimpong continued to torment the Hibs defence at every opportunity and he carved out another premium chance for Edouard in the 56th minute only for the striker to again lack his usual finesse as he blazed his shot wildly over.
While a second goal continued to elude Celtic, hope remained for Hibs and they threatened for the first time in the second half when Naismith worked a clever one-two with Christian Doidge on the edge of the Celtic penalty area but could not seriously test Forster with a tame shot.
Some of the spark had gone out of Celtic’s play but they snuffed out the prospect of a Hibs recovery when the finally made it 2-0 in the 66th minute. Edouard, just about to be replaced by Leigh Griffiths who was waiting on the next break in play to make his entrance, made his final touch of the afternoon a telling one as he collected a pass from Forrest and bundled home from around eight yards.
For all that Hibs had conjured up some encouraging moments, it took until the 82nd minute before Forster was forced into his only significant save of the contest. Even then, it was one of his own players who came close to denying the big ‘keeper his clean sheet as he reacted superbly to prevent Christopher Jullien heading a cross from Hibs substitute Daryl Horgan into his own net.
The closing stages were fairly comfortable for Celtic who came close to adding a third when Griffiths spun in the box and sent his shot just wide of Maxwell’s left hand post.
Frimpong 'one of best kids I've seen' – Celtic boss Lennon
BBC
Jeremie Frimpong was hailed as "one of the best kids I've ever seen" by Neil Lennon after his side's Scottish Premiership win over Hibernian.
The full-back, 19, netted the opener in a comfortable 2-0 victory to help keep Celtic two points clear at the top.
Frimpong has played 10 games for Celtic since signing from Manchester City in September on a four-year deal.
"I don't want to big him up too much but everyone is seeing it with their own eyes," manager Lennon said.
"His level of performance is outstanding. He has pace, power, end product and he gets a goal today as well. So he's been magnificent since he came in the door."
Celtic reinstate two-point lead at top
Treble talk banned at Celtic – Christie
Celtic's win over Hibs – their eighth in a row in the league – featured a number of key players that were rested for the club's final Europa League group stage game against Cluj on Thursday.
However, the Scottish champions had to contend without in-form midfielder Ryan Christie as well as Jonny Hayes and Mohamed Elyounoussi.
Lennon doesn't expect the latter two to return before Wednesday's league game with Hearts, but the Celtic manager does hope to have Christie back.
"We're hoping Ryan will be available," he said. "We'll address Jonny [Hayes]. He's still a bit sore in his shoulder.
"Mohamed [Elyounoussi] will not be available and the likes of [Odsonne] Edouard, Bolingoli and Bitton got another hour or more in their legs.
"So it's important that they got match sharp and match fitness. That should go well for us for the next four games."
BBC
By Alasdair Lamont
BBC Scotland at Celtic Park
From the section Scottish Premiership
Highlights: Celtic 2-0 Hibernian
Celtic reinstated their two-point lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership by beating Hibernian to pick up their eighth consecutive league victory.
Rangers momentarily moved in to first place with a 2-0 win at Motherwell, but were usurped after Neil Lennon's side claimed all three points.
Jeremie Frimpong capitalised on a Ryan Porteous mistake to put his side ahead in the first half.
Odsonne Edouard then confirmed the win with his 15th goal of the season.
The result was Jack Ross' second defeat from his first six games in charge of Hibs, who remain sixth in the league table.
Frimpong 'one of best kids' Lennon's seen
Reaction & as it happened
Treble talk banned at Celtic – Christie
Celtic best improved Hibs
Lennon had challenged his side to rediscover their attacking verve, which had rather deserted them in recent matches, although results and trophies have continued to go their way.
Hibernian, though, had not come to Celtic Park to roll over meekly and showed signs of attacking intent of their own before the home side began to exert a level of dominance.
They had to show a degree of patience to find chinks in the purple wall of Hibernian's rearguard and the first time they did that with a sense of purpose, Olivier Ntcham stung the gloves of Ofir Marciano from no more than 10 yards out.
Hibs have not won at Celtic Park for almost a decade but served warning of their own intentions as Martin Boyle cut in from the left and had Fraser Forster diving to his left with a curling shot to which the goalkeeper may have got the faintest touch.
But that was a rare sight of the Celtic goal. The champions had switched to a back three for this encounter and seemed to have an extra man as they swarmed forward in waves.
Frimpong, given even greater licence to bomb forward as a wing-back, was heavily involved, setting up Edouard to fire inches wide and then combining with the same player to break the deadlock after Callum McGregor had forced Marciano into action on a couple of occasions from distance.
Celtic's home form
The goal owed much to over-elaboration from Porteous just outside his own box. The young defender is experienced enough to know not to do that with Edouard around, but he lost possession to the Frenchman, who rolled in Frimpong to calmly slide under the helpless Marciano.
The second goal was also partially self-inflicted as far as Hibs were concerned – Scott Allan giving the ball away midway inside his own half to invite pressure on his defence. Boli Bolingoli's initial cross was just too high for Edouard but James Forrest returned the ball into his path and he gratefully swept it past substitute goalkeeper Chris Maxwell.
Celtic might have scored a third, albeit at the wrong end. Daryl Horgan whipped in a dangerous cross from the left and Christopher Jullien forced his fellow League Cup hero Forster into a marvellous reaction save.
With that, any hopes Hibs had of preventing Celtic from recording their ninth successive home league win vanished.
Man of the match – Jeremie Frimpong
The young man just gets better and better. He is so exciting to watch on that right flank – a constant nuisance to opposition defenders.
He took his goal in a very composed fashion and was a creative force throughout. His deadline day signing is looking more and more like the best piece of business of the summer by the club.
'We were comprehensive' – reaction
Celtic manager Neil Lennon: "The only criticism is that we missed easy chances – we were far more comprehensive than 2-0."
Hibernian head coach Jack Ross: "I have said to the players that I don't want a mindset that we are happy to come to places like this and get a pat on the back and say we were competitive but lost.
"But we were playing against a good team with good players. I thought they were at it today which meant we had to play reasonably well to stay in the game and we did that."