| Match Pictures | Matches: 1996 – 1997 | 1996-1997 Pictures |
Trivia
- The latest player linked to Celtic was Bulgarian forward Emil Kostadinov then with Fenerbahce. Burns stated that they had dropped their interest in the player on 22/10/96. The club were also offered German midfielder Jurcevic so clearly the word was out that Celtic might be on the hunt for an attacking midfielder.
- Interest in triallist and friend of Jorge Cadete, Jorge Amaral had been dropped after a week long trial.
- Jocky Scott was the caretaker manager of Hibs, the club having sacked Alex Miller at the end of September. Hibs had just beaten Rangers.
- Ex-Celtic Gerry Creaney joined Ipswich on loan from Manchester City and replaced another ex-Celtic player Alex Mathie
- Alan Stubbs captained the team for this game, Burns feeling that the pressure was getting to Peter Grant, who had been captain in the absence of Paul McStay.
- Cadete (hamstring), Tosh McKinlay (suspended), Phil O’Donnell (hamstring) and Paul McStay (ankle) were all out of the game.
- On the following day Celtic defeated Hamilton Accies 4-0 in a BP Youth Cup match at Creamery Park, Bathgate. The Celtic team was Gallagher, Cocozza, McKeown, Potter, Duggan (McColligan 61), Queen (Joyce 69), McBride, McGuiness, Vaugh (Dow 68), Elliot, Fitzpatrick. The Celtic scorers were Queen 10, Elliot 19, Vaugh 36, McBride 73 pen.
Review
One of Andy Thom’s best games for the club against manager-less and dire Hibs side;
Teams
Hibernian:
Reid, Miller, Donald, Wilkins (Dow, 78), Dods, Millen, McAllister, Cameron, Harper, Jackson, McGinlay
Unused Subs: Weir, Renwick
Celtic:
Kerr, Boyd, O’Neil, McNamara, Stubbs (MacKay, 85), Grant, Di Canio, Wieghorst, Van Hooijdonk (Gray, 81), Thom (McLaughlin, 81), Donnelly
Goals: Thom (31, 74), Van Hooijdonk (61), Donnelly (77)
Referee: Herald
Attendance: 14,135
Articles
- Match Report
Pictures
Articles
Hibs suffer Thom-bosis
Scotland on Sunday 27/10/1996
Hibernian 0 – 4 Celtic
JOCK STEIN used to talk about the need for working clothes to be donned for the hard job of getting there, only then giving way to the good suit once you had arrived. Clearly the legendary manager's advice reached Germany.
Maybe it was Andreas Thom's upbringing in the drab former Communist state behind the Berlin Wall, but while others around him choose to fancy-dan it around the turf in a collection of white, red and even green boots, the German eschews everything but good old, solid black.
Those sombre but effective instruments brought Celtic two sublime goals at Easter Road and prompted yet another dismantling of Hibernian by Tommy Burns' side.
Thom is a man of few frills, on or off the park, but he has plenty of substance. Manager Burns has stated that the forward he paid Bayer Leverkusen 2.2m for 15 months ago could be his most influential player in the long struggle for the championship with Rangers
On this evidence, he could be right. Certainly Celtic missed the variation his pace gives the side when he is not around, as was witnessed on Sunday at Tynecastle and for most of the Old Firm encounter at Ibrox two weeks previously.
Burns' only complaint last season was that the German didn't score enough goals. Thom is rectifying that one this time round.
While the red shoes of Paolo di Canio squandered everything that came his way and Morten Wieghorst's green boots couldn't fashion a goal either, Thom's pair gave him just that. A delightful double.
The first, Celtic's opener after 31 minutes, came from his right foot, after his speed had caught the Hibernian marking off-guard before finishing with a shot across Chris Reid's bows. The second, in 73 minutes, was hit from 25 yards with such force that Reid would have needed both Jim Leighton and Andy Goram, the pair who have conspired to keep the young keeper for so long in the shadows, beside him to stop it.
Burns later praised Thom, saying: "Andreas made a huge difference. He has got such composure and he knows when to slow play down and when to speed it up."
Pierre van Hooijdonk and Simon Donnelly weighed in with another two. Poor Reid wasn't worried about the colour of anyone's boots by the end; only from preventing himself being battered black and blue. It is three-and-a-half years since his last Hibs game and he'll probably hope it's another three-and-a-half until his next if this is what happens.
The Edinburgh club have now lost nine goals to Celtic in just two league games this season, though caretaker boss Jocky Scott will not own up to an inferiority complex, reflecting: "That might be a factor but you would have to ask the players that. However, what you can't do is give Celtic the goals of a start that we did and expect to get back. We were too negative in our approach." So, no change there then.
Hibs were simply woeful, folding to complete surrender when Van Hooijdonk put Celtic 2-0 up in the 60th minute.
Just minutes after Di Canio had shown scandalous indulgence in beating most of the Hibs defence, but then himself as well, Pierre van Hooijdonk showed the way it should be done. Donnelly's corner picked out the Dutchman's head and he dispatched the ball into the net with venemous power for his 11th of the season.
The unsettled striker is due to meet Celtic chief executive, Fergus McCann next week, in the company of his agent from Holland, Rob Jansen, to attempt to thrash out a solution to the contract row which has been simmering between club and player for some time now.
Certainly, the goal – Van Hooijdonk's 51st in just 21 months with Celtic – should prove a powerful weapon to bring to McCann's negotiating table.
But the thought of their top scorer leaving has the Celtic supporters in apoplexy. Tabloid rumour has it that Van Hooijdonk could be on the way to Aston Villa for a paltry 3.5m. However, the only numbers game which should matter to Celtic now is sorting out Van Hooijdonk's salary to allow him equity with some of his more expensive colleagues.
The Dutchman could have had a second goal in the 77th minute when he crashed a fierce shot off the bar but Donnelly arrived to ensure that the rebound was not wasted, drilling the ball below Reid's body for Celtic's last goal.
Before then Di Canio had fashioned an excellent opportunity for Peter Grant to score one of his rare goals. But the midfielder appeared to panic and mis-kicked.
Poor Hibs had only a couple of flashes of invention from Kevin Harper to show at the other end but ultimately Alan Stubbs and the Celtic defence were largely untroubled. The former Bolton defender was actually named captain for the day by manager Burns, replacing Peter Grant, and it appears it is to be a more permanent move.
Burns explained later: "The responsibility was dragging Peter down. It's a big thing for him to be captain of this club but his play was being affected and that is why the switch of captaincy to Alan is permanent until Paul McStay returns."