Jonnyboy
24-05-2023, 11:25 PM
What a way to sign off the season in regard to home games. This match had a bit of everything and left me quite breathless when the final whistle eventually sounded. Ninety minutes regulation and seventeen minutes off additional time ensured that being breathless equally applied to the players who deserved their 4-2 victory and the crucial three points that came with it. In added time at Ibrox, Hearts salvaged a point otherwise they’d only have been only one point ahead of Hibs going into the final day. The two results add up to a last day showdown at Tynecastle on Saturday where the hosts only need a draw to finish fourth whilst Hibs need a win to steal that place from under their noses.
Lee Johnson’s starting eleven raised a few eyebrows and it was hard to imagine just where he was going to fit everyone in. As it turned out it looked like a 5-3-2 with Miller drafted in at right back and Egan-Riley slotted in between Hanlon and Stevenson. In the first sixty seconds, Doyle-Hayes twice set up Youan, but the striker’s first shot was saved and the second went wide. At the other end, Oh should have done a lot better than spooning a close range effort over the bar and then, soon after, Ralston’s effort suffered a similar fate. The game was flowing, albeit for the most part in Celtic’s favour but Nisbet was unlucky when a header brought out a good save from Bain. Oh had another chance but his header slammed off the bar and was cleared before McGregor and Oh again saw chances come and go.
Celtic were dominating the ball and Hibs were proving a hard nut to crack whilst maintaining the threat of hitting on the break. Around the twenty minute mark, Haksabanovic limped off to be replaced by Maeda who announced his arrival by chopping down Miller. A yellow card offence all day long but not in the view of referee Kevin Clancy. Youan had an effort fly wide and then Bernabei and Oh had shots blocked as Hibs stood firm.
With five minutes to go until the break, Celtic were awarded a penalty when McGregor went flying in the box. I’ve not seen a replay yet so might be entirely wrong in saying McGregor stood on the ball and was falling as Lewis Stevenson dived in. VAR confirmed the decision and Hatate sent Marshall the wrong way to put the visitors ahead. Moments later, Maeda scythed Miller down again, but this time Clancy gave the Celtic man a yellow, and not before time if truth be told as Maeda had committed several fouls before that card was finally brandished. In the third minute of added time, Nisbet was booked for a foul on Bernabei.
To start the second half, Jimmy Jeggo was replaced by Josh Campbell and his arrival coincided with a change of approach by Hibs who started playing on the front foot and closing Celtic down nearer to their goal. Five minutes in, Doyle-Hayes fed Nisbet whose shot was saved low down by Bain at the expense of a corner which led to Fish getting a header away, but it was blocked before it reached Bain. Another Hibs corner saw the ball fall to Youan near the edge of the box and the Hibs No. 23 struck a wonderful first time volley with his left foot and the ball was in the net before Bain moved. Celtic reacted as you might expect them to and just six minutes later a ball into the centre of the box was contested by Hanlon and Oh. The ball seemed to get stuck under Hanlon’s leg before Oh pounced and knocked it past Marshall from close range.
Celtic then made a triple substitution as Abada, Iwata and Hatate were replaced by O’Reilly, Turnbull and Forrest before Egan-Riley limped off to be replaced by Henderson. Maeda’s luck finally ran out when he got a second yellow for a late challenge on Will Fish and what seemed like seconds later, Doyle-Hayes was shown a straight red for a foul on Oh. It looked a yellow to me and after intervention from VAR, Clancy went to the monitor and returned to cancel the red and replace it with a yellow. Hibs were swarming now and Celtic looked rattled. A foul on Newell led to Joe being replaced by McKirdy who got a rousing reception from the home stands.
A corner to Hibs saw Ralston wrestling Miller to the ground at the back post and Clancy pointed to the spot. Kevin Nisbet demonstrated he has balls of steel as he stepped up to send Bain the wrong way and level the game at 2-2. The noise from the home support was deafening and the players were responding by putting Celtic under immense pressure. Five minutes later, Youan struck a fierce shot from around twenty five yards that went right through the hands of Bain to put Hibs ahead for the first time in the game. A further five minutes elapsed when Miller popped up on the right side of the Celtic box and his left footed cross reached Hanlon at the back post. Paul headed the ball down at the post and it looked as though Bain and Bernabei got in each other’s way as the keeper fumbled the ball into the net. The home support was going wild and as both Miller and Doyle-Hayes had given their all they were replaced by Bushiri and Cadden.
With eleven minutes of additional time added, Hibs were content to just hold what they had and easily repel any Celtic attacks. McKirdy shot just wide and then Hibs finished the game in possession as they won a corner. It was breath taking stuff and every single player deserves huge plaudits for that stunning second half display.
On to Tynecastle now and a real chance to leap frog Hearts into fourth place. What a sweet end to the season that would be!
The players
Marshall – No dodgy moments and saved when required.
Miller – Given the laddie has played so little football, his performance was top class and although there are others I might choose, I’m giving my man of the match to Lewis Miller.
Fish – Supreme in the air against the physical specimen that is Oh.
Hanlon – I hope they give the fourth goal to Paul, he deserves it.
Egan-Riley – Such a competitor he put in a fine shift.
Stevenson – The wee man was excellent and put in some tremendous challenges late in the game.
Doyle-Hayes – Worked his socks off and enjoyed the extra midfield support after the half time break.
Jeggo – Not great with the ball at his feet but pretty good at breaking up play.
Newell – What a shift he put in. Never stopped running until he had to go off injured.
Youan – I keep playing his two goals in my head. Absolutely stunning first one and a howitzer second!
Nisbet – So pleased he had the balls to take and score the penalty.
Campbell – I thought Josh played his part in us winning the second half battle in midfield.
Henderson – Showed some lovely touches and got stuck in physically too.
McKirdy – He was like a wee dog let off the leash. Popping up everywhere and never giving Celtic players a moments peace.
Bushiri – Helped us see out the win.
Cadden – Same as Bushiri.
Lee Johnson – Must be buzzing after that second half.
Referee – Kevin Clancy seems to have his own thoughts on what constitutes persistent fouling.
Lee Johnson’s starting eleven raised a few eyebrows and it was hard to imagine just where he was going to fit everyone in. As it turned out it looked like a 5-3-2 with Miller drafted in at right back and Egan-Riley slotted in between Hanlon and Stevenson. In the first sixty seconds, Doyle-Hayes twice set up Youan, but the striker’s first shot was saved and the second went wide. At the other end, Oh should have done a lot better than spooning a close range effort over the bar and then, soon after, Ralston’s effort suffered a similar fate. The game was flowing, albeit for the most part in Celtic’s favour but Nisbet was unlucky when a header brought out a good save from Bain. Oh had another chance but his header slammed off the bar and was cleared before McGregor and Oh again saw chances come and go.
Celtic were dominating the ball and Hibs were proving a hard nut to crack whilst maintaining the threat of hitting on the break. Around the twenty minute mark, Haksabanovic limped off to be replaced by Maeda who announced his arrival by chopping down Miller. A yellow card offence all day long but not in the view of referee Kevin Clancy. Youan had an effort fly wide and then Bernabei and Oh had shots blocked as Hibs stood firm.
With five minutes to go until the break, Celtic were awarded a penalty when McGregor went flying in the box. I’ve not seen a replay yet so might be entirely wrong in saying McGregor stood on the ball and was falling as Lewis Stevenson dived in. VAR confirmed the decision and Hatate sent Marshall the wrong way to put the visitors ahead. Moments later, Maeda scythed Miller down again, but this time Clancy gave the Celtic man a yellow, and not before time if truth be told as Maeda had committed several fouls before that card was finally brandished. In the third minute of added time, Nisbet was booked for a foul on Bernabei.
To start the second half, Jimmy Jeggo was replaced by Josh Campbell and his arrival coincided with a change of approach by Hibs who started playing on the front foot and closing Celtic down nearer to their goal. Five minutes in, Doyle-Hayes fed Nisbet whose shot was saved low down by Bain at the expense of a corner which led to Fish getting a header away, but it was blocked before it reached Bain. Another Hibs corner saw the ball fall to Youan near the edge of the box and the Hibs No. 23 struck a wonderful first time volley with his left foot and the ball was in the net before Bain moved. Celtic reacted as you might expect them to and just six minutes later a ball into the centre of the box was contested by Hanlon and Oh. The ball seemed to get stuck under Hanlon’s leg before Oh pounced and knocked it past Marshall from close range.
Celtic then made a triple substitution as Abada, Iwata and Hatate were replaced by O’Reilly, Turnbull and Forrest before Egan-Riley limped off to be replaced by Henderson. Maeda’s luck finally ran out when he got a second yellow for a late challenge on Will Fish and what seemed like seconds later, Doyle-Hayes was shown a straight red for a foul on Oh. It looked a yellow to me and after intervention from VAR, Clancy went to the monitor and returned to cancel the red and replace it with a yellow. Hibs were swarming now and Celtic looked rattled. A foul on Newell led to Joe being replaced by McKirdy who got a rousing reception from the home stands.
A corner to Hibs saw Ralston wrestling Miller to the ground at the back post and Clancy pointed to the spot. Kevin Nisbet demonstrated he has balls of steel as he stepped up to send Bain the wrong way and level the game at 2-2. The noise from the home support was deafening and the players were responding by putting Celtic under immense pressure. Five minutes later, Youan struck a fierce shot from around twenty five yards that went right through the hands of Bain to put Hibs ahead for the first time in the game. A further five minutes elapsed when Miller popped up on the right side of the Celtic box and his left footed cross reached Hanlon at the back post. Paul headed the ball down at the post and it looked as though Bain and Bernabei got in each other’s way as the keeper fumbled the ball into the net. The home support was going wild and as both Miller and Doyle-Hayes had given their all they were replaced by Bushiri and Cadden.
With eleven minutes of additional time added, Hibs were content to just hold what they had and easily repel any Celtic attacks. McKirdy shot just wide and then Hibs finished the game in possession as they won a corner. It was breath taking stuff and every single player deserves huge plaudits for that stunning second half display.
On to Tynecastle now and a real chance to leap frog Hearts into fourth place. What a sweet end to the season that would be!
The players
Marshall – No dodgy moments and saved when required.
Miller – Given the laddie has played so little football, his performance was top class and although there are others I might choose, I’m giving my man of the match to Lewis Miller.
Fish – Supreme in the air against the physical specimen that is Oh.
Hanlon – I hope they give the fourth goal to Paul, he deserves it.
Egan-Riley – Such a competitor he put in a fine shift.
Stevenson – The wee man was excellent and put in some tremendous challenges late in the game.
Doyle-Hayes – Worked his socks off and enjoyed the extra midfield support after the half time break.
Jeggo – Not great with the ball at his feet but pretty good at breaking up play.
Newell – What a shift he put in. Never stopped running until he had to go off injured.
Youan – I keep playing his two goals in my head. Absolutely stunning first one and a howitzer second!
Nisbet – So pleased he had the balls to take and score the penalty.
Campbell – I thought Josh played his part in us winning the second half battle in midfield.
Henderson – Showed some lovely touches and got stuck in physically too.
McKirdy – He was like a wee dog let off the leash. Popping up everywhere and never giving Celtic players a moments peace.
Bushiri – Helped us see out the win.
Cadden – Same as Bushiri.
Lee Johnson – Must be buzzing after that second half.
Referee – Kevin Clancy seems to have his own thoughts on what constitutes persistent fouling.