CLASH OF GREEN
Celtic 3 Hibs 0 – Gray rues missed chances as MOTM Schmeichel racks up third clean sheet in a week to go 9 points clear
The visitors kept Kasper Schmeichel busy - so much so he was given man of the match
BRENDAN RODGERS rotated his stars.
David Gray stumbled away SEEING them.
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Last week, the under-pressure Hibs boss had savoured his glass of red wine after a two-month wait for a win ended with a 3-0 romp at Motherwell.
But after this, the only thing he’d have been reaching for was a packet of Nurofen – because the chances his strugglers missed here must have made his head spin.
They surely can’t have played better all season. They were on the front foot so much that Celtic keeper Kasper Schmeichel was named Man of the Match. They had NINE shots on target.
Yet still they went home having dropped back to the bottom of the table.
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Why? Simple.
Because you can’t come to a place like this, miss the sheer weight of golden chances they did and hope to get away with it.
Twice in the opening 22 minutes, frontman Mykola Kukharevych was clean through on Kasper Schmeichel. Twice he looked devoid of confidence and the keeper blocked with his legs.
In between those chances, skipper Joe Newell had slashed high over the bar after a brilliant passing movement freed Lewis Miller down the right to lay the ball on a plate.
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An hour in, Luke McCowan’s weak passback put Elie Youan in one-on-one – and guess what? Schmeichel saved with his legs, then stopped Nicky Cadden’s rebound for an encore.
Miller had two clear sights of goal. Dwight Gayle came off the bench and skewed a decent opening wide.
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Take away THAT night in Dortmund and the veteran Dane has never been busier since he signed in the summer. And maybe not even he’s quite sure how he managed to rack up a third clean sheet of the week.
Still, in the busiest and most crucial spell of their season so far, Celtic will take the win, not least because Aberdeen’s latest stumble extended their lead at the top to nine points.
They head for Zagreb on Tuesday night in good shape. A decent result there puts them one step nearer a Champions League play-off slot and sets them up nicely for the League Cup Final against Rangers.
So even if Rodgers could have asked for better performances all over the pitch, even though he’ll have had kittens about how loose they were in possession and how exposed at the back, it’s another one ticked off his list.
Inside one minute and ten seconds, he saw Greg Taylor lose possession deep in visiting territory, watched one straight ball open up his back four and couldn’t believe that Kukharevych had 50 yards of open turf in front of him.
Parkhead held his breath. But sadly for Hibs, the young striker couldn’t hold his nerve and Schmeichel stuck out a strong left leg to block.
And guess what? Just give minutes later, the champions were ahead.
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Nicolas Kuhn dancing down the right, Alistair Johnston sprinting round the outside, a ball into his path for a sliderule cutback along the six-yard line and there was Engels – restored to the starting line-up after two games on the bench – to do the rest.
Soon after, Daizen Maeda set up McCowan for a drive that clipped the bar on its way over and you wondered if the floodgates were about to open.
But no, they got slack again and after a quite outstanding rat-a-tat of passes sent Miller free, Newell lay flat on his back as his sitter flew into the skies.
Five minutes after that, a carbon copy of that first minute opening as Kukharevych loped clear, but once again he never looked like he believed in himself and once again Schmeichel kept him out.
Celtic were all over the place and their fans were getting restless. When Adam Idah – brought in along with McCowan, Engels, Liam Scales and Greg Taylor as Rodgers once again rang the changes – tried to backheel in from two yards out only to miss the ball completely then fired straight at Jordan Smith from ten yards, you could feel the unease around the place.
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Nine minutes after the break, though, the nerves eased; even if it took a little more help from Hibs to make it happen.
Smith had already flapped at a cross to let Scales have a shot that was blocked on the line, before Idah head-flicked on a corner from the right and the luckless Newell ran straight into it for an own goal that pretty much summed up his side’s day.
Yet even then, they could have been back in it, the off-form McCowan selling Schmeichel short and holding his hands up in thanks when yet again those legs came to the rescue, first from Youan and then when Nicky Cadden let rip from the rebound.
Miller then got free at the back post, but Taylor lunged to deflect his effort over. When the corner swung in, the Aussie met it flush with a header that banged into Schmeichel’s chest and stayed out.
Cue, then, Celtic’s one true piece of class all day.
James Forrest threaded the needle with a pass into a crowded box, sub Kyogo let it run through his leg then stuttered his stride to put Smith on his backside before dinking into the roof of the net.
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A stunning goal at the end of a shoddy performance.
Now, someone give that man Gray another couple of aspirins…
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