KASPER SCHMEICHEL kept his TWELFTH clean sheet in 15 Premiership outings after Celtic’s 3-0 triumph over Hibs at Parkhead yesterday.
The Great Dane was unbeatable yet again as he came to the champions’ rescue on a few occasions as the Edinburgh club desperately sought to find a way past the 38-year-old keeper.
Schmeichel has conceded only four times in league games since arriving at the Hoops in the summer as Joe Hart’s successor with Aberdeen (2), Hearts and Ross County (pen) the only clubs to invite the legendary Denmark international No.1 to retrieve the ball from the back of his net.
The Easter Road side gave it their best shot, but the strapping six foot-plus shotstopper defied them on the occasions they broke through.
At the other end of the pitch, Arne Engels and Kyogo Furuhashi were the men to get the job done with the unfortunate Joe Newell diverting a header from Adam Idah past his own keeper to add to the tally.
SAFE HANDS…Kasper Schmeichel firmly grasps the ball after another save against Hibs.
Schmeichel deservedly picked up the Man of the Match honour and afterwards said: “Goalkeeping has evolved. It’s rare that you have games like that where you have a lot of saves.
“Everything is with your feet these days. I think that’s the role that I play here, but my job is to keep the ball out of the net and this was a good day.
“It’s all about winning.”
Schmeichel, speaking to Celtic TV, added: “Clean sheets are nice, but they’re not the most important thing.
“They’re not the end of the world, but it always gives you a platform to go and win.
“My job is to keep the team in the game and it’s up to others to go and finish the game off.”
The champions have now opened a nine-point gap with a game in hand over Aberdeen who were held to a 1-1 draw by St Johnstone at Pittodrie yesterday.
Brendan Rodgers’ men now take a breather from collecting league points until they take on Dundee United at Tannadice a fortnight today.
In between, they can look forward to a Champions League encounter against Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia on Tuesday and a Premier Sports League Cup Final against Phillipe Clement’s Ibrox side at Hampden a week today.
