Celtic 3-1 Hibs: Hyun-gyu Oh, Sid Haksapanovic gives the hosts a late victory over 10-man Hibernian.

4 days ago

1 3 minutes read

Celtic needed goals from Hyun Gyo Oh and Sid Haksapanović to finally see them on the line to claim their ninth successive league win and seal a 3–1 victory over 10-man Hibs.

Still battling memories of their 6-1 win at Celtic Park in October, Lee Johnson’s side faced a daunting task when Eli Yuan was shown a red card after just 24 minutes for a second bookable offence. However, they recovered to preserve their lead in the first half through a Josh Campbell penalty.

Seven minutes into the second half, Celtic had one of their own when Paul Hanlon slotted home a Cameron Carter-Vickers corner kick and, despite David Marshall’s best efforts, Jota’s penalty curled under his body.

It still looked like Hibs would end Celtic’s eight-match winning streak in the league until the final ten minutes, when Oh’s header from a corner kicked outside Marshall.

With the visitors taking the lead with a late equalizer, substitute Haksapanović sealed their victory at the top of the league by finishing third in stoppage time to keep them nine points ahead of second-placed Rangers.

How Celtic found their winning streak against Hibs

It looked like Celtic’s day from the first minute at Celtic Park against a Hiberney side they’ve scored 10 goals against already this season, but the finish was sadly lacking from the hosts.

Kyogo Furuhashi should have put them ahead when he crossed straight at Marshall, before Carl Starvelt rattled the bar with a header from a corner kick. Hibs attacks were few and far between, but CJ Egan-Riley half-volleyed over a nice move from the edge of the Celtic area.

Any hopes of more dangerous moments seemed to be dashed when Yan was shown a second yellow card for a controversial foul on Carter Vickers, who pushed him to the ground before referee Stephen McClain decided he had hit him with a high boot.

Whether it was intentional or not, the striker was given his marching orders, but that didn’t stop Hibs from holding on and delivering a surprise strike just before the break.

Starfelt’s obvious shirt pull on Hanlon from Hibs’ throw-in wasn’t picked up by the on-field officials and didn’t see much in the way of the visitors’ protest, but they couldn’t get past VAR’s eagle eye. After a trip to the field monitor, McClain awarded a penalty, which was duly converted by Campbell.

It was a world away from Hibs’ terrible performance on their recent trip to Celtic Park, but even so they could still hold on to their lead just nine minutes into the second half, with Hanlon embroiled in another penalty controversy. This time, he was the instigator, with Carter pulling Vickers out of a corner and leaving McClain a solid decision.

Marshall was inches away from clearing Jota’s low effort, but he put their disappointment behind them to continue to keep Celtic for most of the rest of the second half. Egan Riley’s heroics on the line from Furuhashi’s attempt at the break denied them the lead, with a poor decision in the final third threatening to cost the hosts their victory.

A pair of alternatives will end up succeeding where the others fail. Oh’s booming header from a corner 10 minutes from time gave Celtic the lead, and saw them book their shirtless celebrations, before Haksapanović slotted home the third in stoppage time to allay any fears of Hibs’ recovery.

The hosts were far from their free-flowing best, but the victory saw them at least ideally prepared for their next home game – an Old Firm fixture against second-placed Rangers on 8 April.