Celtic put three past Hibernian in efficient victory
Celtic 3 Hibernian 0
Celtic completed a productive passage by mastering Hibernian at Celtic Park, where Callum McGregor, Albian Ajeti and Mo Elyounoussi contributed the goals which allowed Neil Lennon to make a cluster of substitutions with an eye on Thursday’s Europa League play-off in Sarajevo.
A week of intriguing contrasts had seen Rangers deprived of two points by Hibs at Easter Road before beating Willem II 4-0 in the Europa League and then posting a 5-1 victory over Motherwell at Fir Park. The question in this fixture was whether Hibs would extend their disruptive tendency to the other half of the Old Firm or would Celtic respond in kind to Rangers’ display of strength in Lanarkshire.
Had Hibs been as efficient as Celtic at converting chances to goals, the answer might well have been quite different. The visitors created three good opportunities in the opening 45 minutes, first when Kevin Nisbet fed Christian Doidge for a shot which went just over the top, then when Nesbit muscled Shane Duffy off the ball but pushed his finish across the goalmouth and wide and finally when Martin Boyle got a little too much height on his strong angled effort.
The lessons, though, were administered by Celtic, who have the knack of summoning resolution from all quarters when required. As was the case the previous weekend at home to Livingstone, McGregor put them ahead with a shot from outside the box, which angled past Ofir Marciano as the goalkeeper looked slow to react.
Ten minutes before half time Ryan Christie’s intelligent run created an opening for Elyanoussi, whose low effort was parried by Marciano, only for the rebound to fall to Ajeti, who stabbed home from close range, but injured himself in the process. Asked beforehand about his selection – with Odsonne Edouard yet again on the bench – Lennon said: “I just wanted to freshen things up.
“Mohamed Elyounoussi made an impact, Albian Ajeti has made an impact, Edouard is probably not as his best at the minute which is fine. We've got him there if we need him.”
Edouard was duly summoned to replace the injured Swiss striker, with Celtic’s momentum scarcely ruffled and it was a testimony to their effectiveness in front of goal that their first corner kick was won almost on the half time whistle and well after their scoring strikes. Lennon continued to recycle his squad at the restart, with David Turnbull sent on to replace Christie, a change which almost paid a full dividend when the midfielder, lately arrived from Motherwell, struck a rising drive which swirled this way and that before Marciano punched the ball over his crossbar.
The Israeli international goalkeeper was again tested by McGregor, but managed to divert the midfielder’s effort for a corner kick before being bested once more, this time by Elyanoussi. The Norwegian, who scored Celtic’s Europa League winner against Riga in Latvia on Thursday, was played into the box by a delightful pass from Turnbull and placed the ball accurately below the diving goalkeeper.
Hibs might have kept the issue alive when a header from Doidge sat up for him to shoot inside the box but Duffy threw himself across the shot to block and Celtic, underpinned by Elyounoussi’s contribution, eased themselves through the closing minutes to stay tight behind Rangers, with a game in hand in the title race.
Match details
Celtic (3-2-4-1): Barkas; Bitton, Duffy, Ajer; Brown (Ntcham 82), McGregor (Soro 86); Frimpong, Christie, Elyounoussi (Klimala 82), Taylor; Ajeti (Edouard 36). Subs (unused): Bain (g), Griffiths, Rogic, Elhamed.
Hibernian (4-4-2): Marciano; McGinn, Porteous, Hanlon, Doig (Stevenson h-t); Wright, Murphy 53), Gogic, Newell, Boyle; Nisbet, Doidge (Mallan 83). Subs (unused): Barnes (g), Gray, McGregor, Hallberg, Shanley, Gullan. Booked: McGinn, Hanlon.
Referee: Steve McLean
