Celtic take their place back on top
2 point lead for the hoops
After Rangers won at McDiarmid Park on Tuesday night, the alleged pressure was all on Celtic as Hibs came to Celtic Park. Celtic started superbly, nearly powering their way to goal in the opening seconds of the game but it didn’t take long for a goal to come.
A through ball that was intended for Gary Hooper skidded past the English striker but it made its way to Anthony Stokes who despatched it into the back of the net. It got even better for Celtic when Scott Brown was pulled down in the box and Gary Hooper fired the penalty home. If this was the nerves showing on Celtic, their fans will be delighted if that continues for the run-in.
Re-introducing James Forrest and restoring the Hooper and Stokes partnership gave Celtic a lot more energy and vitality up top and it definitely made a big difference. There will be games when Lennon has to go with a more robust midfield but there are also times when Celtic should look to impose their play on the opposition. They did this last night and fully deserved the win, which could have been by a larger margin.
Hibs briefly rallied on the back of a few bizarre refereeing decisions but just when the Leith side may have thought a goal was coming, Celtic engineered a great opening for Gary Hooper who hammered it home to make it 3-0 Celtic at the break.
As was to be expected, Celtic took the foot off the gas a bit in the second half although Izaguirre and Commons (who came off the bench) both had great shots that just zipped by the post.
Hibs got a goal back after Charlie Mulgrew tugged at the man breaking into the box. Soft but it was a penalty kick and Liam Miller continued his scoring streak from the spot.
One annoying thing about the ref Norris came when Celtic and Hibs both had a man down receiving treatment and he sent the two of them to the sideline before play could recommence. That is not the ruling any more, if both players have a player injured in they circumstances, they can both stay on the field and it is annoying when refs don’t know the rules.
Celtic introduced Freddie Ljungberg and he won his side a penalty in the dying moments. Again, it was another soft award, more driven by the assistant referee but there is an argument there was contact on the Swede before the ball was taken. Gary Hooper stepped up to complete the hat-trick but placed the kick wide and it finished 3-1.
If there was any disappointment from the Celtic fans, it was merely that the free flowing attacking play couldn’t last for 90 minutes but it’s now the run-in and any comfortable win like that has to be warmly welcomed.
Celtic play on Saturday whereas Rangers play on Sunday so the hoops will be hoping to increase the pressure on their title rivals.
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