HIBS 1 CELTIC 2
TWO GOALS inside two whirlwind minutes propelled Celtic to a crucial triumph over Hibs at Easter Road this afternoon.
But they were forced to survive a nervy second-half after the hosts had been awarded a ridiculous VAR-assisted penalty-kick which was put away by Martin Boyle in the 56th minute.
Daizen Maeda and Arne Engels were the men on the trigger to gain first-half control of an encounter where the aggressive Edinburgh side had attempted to make life extremely difficult for the champions.
The Hoops left with all three points to give Martin O’Neill a 100 per cent domestic record over five games and it looks as though the Irishman’s farewell party has been delayed until Wednesday night when Dundee are the visitors to Parkhead.
CAPITAL SHOW…Martin O’Neill arrives at Easter Road before another success.
Boyle had an amazing miss from six yards following an inviting left-wing cross from Nicky Cadden just moments after Maeda had a goal ruled out for offside in the 11th minute.
Yang Hyun-jun, who was outstanding again after his performance against Feyenoord during the week, had gone just too early when Luke McCowan released him on the left.
The South Korean picked out Maeda who tucked it away from close range, but the assistant referee had already signalled for offside in the build-up and referee Nick Walsh had no hesitation in nullifying the effort.
But there was absolutely nothing questionable about the Hoops’ opener in the 27th minute after a dreadful blunder from rival keeper Raphael Salinger. He was sloppy with a pass out of his box and Reo Hatate pounced to take possession.
He dragged the ball to his left before unselfishly whipping a low cross to compatriot Maeda and the speedy raider made no mistake smack in front of goal.
Hibs were still reeling when they went two down after some great work by the visitors with Marcelo Saracchi surging forward down the left before knocking a pass in front of the ever-willing Yang.
He hit the byeline before sending over a superb cross and Arne Engels raced in to get his head to the ball to send an unstoppable effort raging high into the net from six yards.
The Belgian midfielder received a kick in the face in the process and that wayward challenge saw Jamie McGarth’s name go into the book.
NUMBER ONE…scorer Daizen Maeda is about to be congratulated by Liam Scales while Auston Trusty and Yang Hyun-jun stage their own celebration.
NUMBER TWO…Arne Engels sends a bullet header past keeper Raphael Salinger for the winner before getting a kick in the face.
O’Neill looked on from the touchline as his players kept possession and looked dangerous in their forward thrusts.
In fact, only the woodwork prevented Celtic from taking a three-goal lead at the interval after a bewildering sequence of rapid fire passing saw Callum McGregor pick out Maeda in the box.
He backheeled the ball into the path of the rampaging Saracchi and the Uruguayan was unfortunate when his rasping first-time drive thumped against the near post and ricocheted to safety.
Anthony Ralston replaced Donovan at the start of the second-half after the youngster had taken a knock in the first period.
Hibs were gifted a ludicrous penalty-kick when Liam Scales was adjudged to have used an arm in blocking a right-wing corner-kick. TV images showed his arm was in a perfectly natural position, but VAR thought otherwise and Walsh was invited to check the incident on the touchline monitor.
Bewilderingly, the match official returned to the pitch to point to the spot and Boyle gratefully accepted the gift before drilling a low drive past Schmeichel to his left.
SPOT ON…Martin Boyle leaves Kasper Schmeichel helpless with his penalty-kick.
In the 63rd minute, O’Neill made a double substitution with Kieran Tierney and Benjamin Nygren replacing the tiring Saracchi and McCowan.
Twelve minutes later, Paulo Bernardo came on for Hatate and it was Sebastian Tounekti’s turn to join the action as Yang made way in the 86th minute.
Hibs were trying to pin Celtic in defence and were clearly playing on Auston Trusty and Ralston as they piled forward in numbers.
Schmeichel was called upon to make a crucial save in the 87th minute after Keiron Bowie had worked his way past Trusty on the left and fired in a low ball.
It fell to Chris Cadden who first-timed a drive to the keeper’s left, but the Great Dane spread himself brilliantly to get a touch to the ball to knock it off target.
Now all eyes are on Dundee at Parkhead on Wednesday – and another chance for the fans to show their appreciation of Martin O’Neill.
TEAM: Schmeichel; Donovan (sub: Ralston 46), Trusty, Scales, Saracchi (sub: Tierney 63); Engels, McGregor, Hatate (sub: Bernardo 77); McCowan (sub: Nygren 63), Maeda, Yang (sub: Tounekti 86).
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