Alan62
27-09-2020, 04:17 PM
Celtic 3 Hibernian 0 27 September 2020
With Jonnyboy otherwise disposed, I found myself dusting off my reporter’s notebook and settling down to do some pre-match research for the first time in a very, very long time. In the distant past, I’d spend my Saturdays week about at Easter Road and Tinycastle, doing shifts for an Edinburgh sports agency, phoning in match summaries and major incidents for Ceefax (look it up, kids), writing at least two different full-time reports for papers like the Sunday Mirror and The Mail on Sunday before producing a round-up of the lower leagues for The Sunday Times.
So, it’s with some trepidation that I take to my couch to prepare this week’s This Is How It Feels for the locked out hordes of Hibs.net.
With no easy means to watch the game, every word is precious. While it will never quite rival queuing at the newsagents at the bottom of Martello Court for the arrival of the Pink News, this is as near as it gets in the Internet Age.
So, what of the pre-match expectations? In his Friday press conference, Jack Ross admitted that while ‘we’ve not been perfect this season, we’ve been pretty good’.
Let me warn you now, I’m the happiest of clappers. When we’re at our worst, I see something good in the game – even if that’s just living to fight another day.
With just 18 wins at Celtic Park in our entire history, though, we’ll always go there more in hope than expectation.
With only Scott Allan missing, Jack had virtually the whole squad at his disposal and opted to start with the same team that competed so well against Rangers the previous week. Neil Lennon with his embarrassment of riches, kept Odsonne Edouard and Olivier Ntcham on the bench while opting to play Albian Ajete and Mohamed Elyounoussi up front. Leigh Griffiths was also restored to the Celtic bench as reminder of the strength in depth available at Celtic Park.
The early moments of the game gave a strong indication of the level of confidence in the current Hibs team. Allowing Celtic to play passes then hitting on the counter, Hibs got forward quickly with sweeping moves started by Kevin Nisbet. Two excellent breaks in the first five minutes were then completely undone in the eighth minute when Calum McGregor’s accurate drive from outside the box found Ofir Marciano’s net. A poor goal to lose after looking the more likely side to open the scoring.
Despite the setback, the visitors continued to press forward at every opportunity, forcing a number of corners and getting into decent positions in and around the Celtic box. Martin Boyle’s cross in the 15th minute found Christian Doidge at the back post but Josh Doig couldn’t provide the support required to trouble the home side. Seconds later, Doidge got himself in a great position from Nisbet’s cutback but couldn’t capitalise and blasted high over the bar.
In the 23rd minute, exquisite skills from Joe Newell allowed him to release Nisbet with a long ball up the park. Nisbet shrugged off the challenge of Shane Duffy, who dived spectacularly in a bid to win a foul, but the ref correctly played on only for Nisbet to fire the ball over the bar.
In possession, Hibs looked remarkably composed, passing superbly on the perfect surface. Out of possession, they looked compact and calm with, perhaps, only Doig losing his personal battle with Jeremie Frimpong.
Despite, arguably, playing the better football, Hibs found themselves two down in the 35th minute. Doig was again posted missing on the left as Frimpong headed down the line. The cutback saw a toepoke from Elyounoussi straight at Marciano who could only parry into Ajeti’s path. He gratefully received the spill and tapped it into the net. Injured in the process, Ajeti was then replaced by Edouard.
Pacing the sideline, Jack Ross looked a picture of puzzlement. Despite his team playing well and looking a real threat, they found themselves two-nil down and chasing the game.
After a short stoppage for treatment to Frimpong, Doig was released by Doidge on the left hand side. He cantered up the wing and delivered a fine ball to Nisbet who couldn’t get it under control. Minutes later, Boyle dropped his shoulder on the right to lose his marker then sent a rasping shot high and wide.
As the half drew to a close, a sloppy pass by Doig put the Hibernian defence under pressure but the ball was eventually cleared for a Celtic corner. A Celtic break then came close when Taylor picked out Frimpong. He got ahead of Doig but blasted over from close range.
Not for the first time in a lifetime of supporting Hibs, I found myself scratching my head and wondering how it could be that my team was down against Celtic while playing really well.
Doig’s departure at half time for Lewis Stevenson was entirely predictable. Celtic, meanwhile, started the second half with David Turnbull on for Ryan Christie.
In the 50th minute Marciano was called upon to save a low shot from distance as the home side started to take a grip on the game. Scott Brown, the target of some recent ire from Celtic fans, began to control the game, stroking passes around in the midfield then coming close with a shot that forced a good save from Marciano.
By this point, Jamie Murphy had replaced Drey Wright and Marciano made a string of top saves to deny the home side.
Struggling to get a grip on the game, Doidge looked a frustrated figure up front when his excellent cutback went a-begging in the Celtic box.
In the 66th minute, good work by Stevenson saw some neat play from Nisbet to find Newell who, leaning back, stabbed his shot over the bar.
Having upped the tempo, Celtic continued to move the ball expertly through the midfield while using the wide areas well to stretch the Hibernian defence. When they up their game, it’s easy to see why Celtic dominate the Scottish game. There’s so much quality in their side – and on their bench.
Great work by Stevenson to find Murphy out wide resulted in another chance for Newell which was blasted high and wide.
Hibs came close again in the 78th minute when Nisbet’s goal-bound shot was blocked by Duffy. Straight up the other end, Elyounoussi got on the end of Turnbull’s pass to make it 3-0.
As Hibs TV turned into a buffering blur, Celtic made a double substitution, Ntcham on for Brown and Patrik Klimara on for Elyounoussi. Meanwhile, Stevie Mallan replaced Doidge who’d had a frustrating afternoon.
As if to add insult to injury, Hibs TV stuttered and stumbled through the closing stages. Newell was booked for grabbing Edouard. Calum McGregor left the field to be replaced by Soro.
As the minutes ticked away, both teams looked like they were happy to see the game out and the Hibs TV commentary team seemed to agree. The result, without doubt, went the way of history and inevitably favoured the high-spending home side. Frustration would be the word to summarise Hibernian’s position. Despite some good play in the first half, a Celtic victory was assured with two goals against the run of play. The home side’s performance in the second period, however, really exposed the gulf in class and Hibs had Marciano to thank for avoiding a more embarrassing scoreline.
Having said all that, my inner happy clapper saw enough today to remain encouraged. Our battle this season isn’t really with Celtic (especially at Celtic Park) and this side has enough about it to continue to make good progress in the weeks ahead.
Ofir Marciano – while there was nothing Rocky could have done about the first but he made a hash of the second. He quickly redeemed himself in the second half with a number of top saves.
Paul McGinn – mostly steady and sure-footed with the exception of a clumsy tackle late on that earned him a booking and a sore leg.
Ryan Porteous – solid at the back and kept busy by the Celtic front men.
Paul Hanlon – again, composed and strong. Led the team well and worked hard to try to turn defence into attack.
Martin Boyle – a reasonable performance overall but became increasingly isolated in the second half.
Drey Wright – despite a reasonable first half, a fairly flat start to the second period saw Wright replaced by Murphy.
Alex Gogic – struggled a bit at times to impose himself on Celtic’s slick passing midfield.
Joe Newell – Joe has become a key player for Hibs in recent weeks. Put in another tough shift today and showed some great skills at times but Hibs were too often outnumbered in midfield.
Josh Doig – a day of hard lessons for the young full back. Ripped apart by Frimpong at times, he was rightly replaced at half time.
Christian Doidge – can’t fault his effort and application but didn’t really get many opportunities in the match.
Kevin Nisbet – at times, he showed that he’ll be a real asset to the club. Nisbet is more than just a striker and linked the play well today, starting some dangerous moves. Unlucky to see his shot blocked by Duffy. My man of the match.
Subs
Lewis Stevenson – brought on to shore up the left hand side, he managed to mostly contain Frimpong and still managed to get involved in our rare second half attacks. May have given the manager something to think about for next week.
Jamie Murphy – showed in the short time he had on the field that he’s a good acquisition for the club.
Stevie Mallan – very little impact in a cameo role.
With Jonnyboy otherwise disposed, I found myself dusting off my reporter’s notebook and settling down to do some pre-match research for the first time in a very, very long time. In the distant past, I’d spend my Saturdays week about at Easter Road and Tinycastle, doing shifts for an Edinburgh sports agency, phoning in match summaries and major incidents for Ceefax (look it up, kids), writing at least two different full-time reports for papers like the Sunday Mirror and The Mail on Sunday before producing a round-up of the lower leagues for The Sunday Times.
So, it’s with some trepidation that I take to my couch to prepare this week’s This Is How It Feels for the locked out hordes of Hibs.net.
With no easy means to watch the game, every word is precious. While it will never quite rival queuing at the newsagents at the bottom of Martello Court for the arrival of the Pink News, this is as near as it gets in the Internet Age.
So, what of the pre-match expectations? In his Friday press conference, Jack Ross admitted that while ‘we’ve not been perfect this season, we’ve been pretty good’.
Let me warn you now, I’m the happiest of clappers. When we’re at our worst, I see something good in the game – even if that’s just living to fight another day.
With just 18 wins at Celtic Park in our entire history, though, we’ll always go there more in hope than expectation.
With only Scott Allan missing, Jack had virtually the whole squad at his disposal and opted to start with the same team that competed so well against Rangers the previous week. Neil Lennon with his embarrassment of riches, kept Odsonne Edouard and Olivier Ntcham on the bench while opting to play Albian Ajete and Mohamed Elyounoussi up front. Leigh Griffiths was also restored to the Celtic bench as reminder of the strength in depth available at Celtic Park.
The early moments of the game gave a strong indication of the level of confidence in the current Hibs team. Allowing Celtic to play passes then hitting on the counter, Hibs got forward quickly with sweeping moves started by Kevin Nisbet. Two excellent breaks in the first five minutes were then completely undone in the eighth minute when Calum McGregor’s accurate drive from outside the box found Ofir Marciano’s net. A poor goal to lose after looking the more likely side to open the scoring.
Despite the setback, the visitors continued to press forward at every opportunity, forcing a number of corners and getting into decent positions in and around the Celtic box. Martin Boyle’s cross in the 15th minute found Christian Doidge at the back post but Josh Doig couldn’t provide the support required to trouble the home side. Seconds later, Doidge got himself in a great position from Nisbet’s cutback but couldn’t capitalise and blasted high over the bar.
In the 23rd minute, exquisite skills from Joe Newell allowed him to release Nisbet with a long ball up the park. Nisbet shrugged off the challenge of Shane Duffy, who dived spectacularly in a bid to win a foul, but the ref correctly played on only for Nisbet to fire the ball over the bar.
In possession, Hibs looked remarkably composed, passing superbly on the perfect surface. Out of possession, they looked compact and calm with, perhaps, only Doig losing his personal battle with Jeremie Frimpong.
Despite, arguably, playing the better football, Hibs found themselves two down in the 35th minute. Doig was again posted missing on the left as Frimpong headed down the line. The cutback saw a toepoke from Elyounoussi straight at Marciano who could only parry into Ajeti’s path. He gratefully received the spill and tapped it into the net. Injured in the process, Ajeti was then replaced by Edouard.
Pacing the sideline, Jack Ross looked a picture of puzzlement. Despite his team playing well and looking a real threat, they found themselves two-nil down and chasing the game.
After a short stoppage for treatment to Frimpong, Doig was released by Doidge on the left hand side. He cantered up the wing and delivered a fine ball to Nisbet who couldn’t get it under control. Minutes later, Boyle dropped his shoulder on the right to lose his marker then sent a rasping shot high and wide.
As the half drew to a close, a sloppy pass by Doig put the Hibernian defence under pressure but the ball was eventually cleared for a Celtic corner. A Celtic break then came close when Taylor picked out Frimpong. He got ahead of Doig but blasted over from close range.
Not for the first time in a lifetime of supporting Hibs, I found myself scratching my head and wondering how it could be that my team was down against Celtic while playing really well.
Doig’s departure at half time for Lewis Stevenson was entirely predictable. Celtic, meanwhile, started the second half with David Turnbull on for Ryan Christie.
In the 50th minute Marciano was called upon to save a low shot from distance as the home side started to take a grip on the game. Scott Brown, the target of some recent ire from Celtic fans, began to control the game, stroking passes around in the midfield then coming close with a shot that forced a good save from Marciano.
By this point, Jamie Murphy had replaced Drey Wright and Marciano made a string of top saves to deny the home side.
Struggling to get a grip on the game, Doidge looked a frustrated figure up front when his excellent cutback went a-begging in the Celtic box.
In the 66th minute, good work by Stevenson saw some neat play from Nisbet to find Newell who, leaning back, stabbed his shot over the bar.
Having upped the tempo, Celtic continued to move the ball expertly through the midfield while using the wide areas well to stretch the Hibernian defence. When they up their game, it’s easy to see why Celtic dominate the Scottish game. There’s so much quality in their side – and on their bench.
Great work by Stevenson to find Murphy out wide resulted in another chance for Newell which was blasted high and wide.
Hibs came close again in the 78th minute when Nisbet’s goal-bound shot was blocked by Duffy. Straight up the other end, Elyounoussi got on the end of Turnbull’s pass to make it 3-0.
As Hibs TV turned into a buffering blur, Celtic made a double substitution, Ntcham on for Brown and Patrik Klimara on for Elyounoussi. Meanwhile, Stevie Mallan replaced Doidge who’d had a frustrating afternoon.
As if to add insult to injury, Hibs TV stuttered and stumbled through the closing stages. Newell was booked for grabbing Edouard. Calum McGregor left the field to be replaced by Soro.
As the minutes ticked away, both teams looked like they were happy to see the game out and the Hibs TV commentary team seemed to agree. The result, without doubt, went the way of history and inevitably favoured the high-spending home side. Frustration would be the word to summarise Hibernian’s position. Despite some good play in the first half, a Celtic victory was assured with two goals against the run of play. The home side’s performance in the second period, however, really exposed the gulf in class and Hibs had Marciano to thank for avoiding a more embarrassing scoreline.
Having said all that, my inner happy clapper saw enough today to remain encouraged. Our battle this season isn’t really with Celtic (especially at Celtic Park) and this side has enough about it to continue to make good progress in the weeks ahead.
Ofir Marciano – while there was nothing Rocky could have done about the first but he made a hash of the second. He quickly redeemed himself in the second half with a number of top saves.
Paul McGinn – mostly steady and sure-footed with the exception of a clumsy tackle late on that earned him a booking and a sore leg.
Ryan Porteous – solid at the back and kept busy by the Celtic front men.
Paul Hanlon – again, composed and strong. Led the team well and worked hard to try to turn defence into attack.
Martin Boyle – a reasonable performance overall but became increasingly isolated in the second half.
Drey Wright – despite a reasonable first half, a fairly flat start to the second period saw Wright replaced by Murphy.
Alex Gogic – struggled a bit at times to impose himself on Celtic’s slick passing midfield.
Joe Newell – Joe has become a key player for Hibs in recent weeks. Put in another tough shift today and showed some great skills at times but Hibs were too often outnumbered in midfield.
Josh Doig – a day of hard lessons for the young full back. Ripped apart by Frimpong at times, he was rightly replaced at half time.
Christian Doidge – can’t fault his effort and application but didn’t really get many opportunities in the match.
Kevin Nisbet – at times, he showed that he’ll be a real asset to the club. Nisbet is more than just a striker and linked the play well today, starting some dangerous moves. Unlucky to see his shot blocked by Duffy. My man of the match.
Subs
Lewis Stevenson – brought on to shore up the left hand side, he managed to mostly contain Frimpong and still managed to get involved in our rare second half attacks. May have given the manager something to think about for next week.
Jamie Murphy – showed in the short time he had on the field that he’s a good acquisition for the club.
Stevie Mallan – very little impact in a cameo role.