Hibs 2-1 Celtic
This was a poor Celtic performance, and right from the outset we have to hold up our hands and admit that Hibs were the better team on the day. They were quicker to the ball, and showed more desire to play than a poor Celtic side did. Celtic’s performance was a huge disappointment to the large upbeat crowd whose disappointment was clear at the full time whistle. But full marks to Neil Lennon and I would love to see Hibs finish second.
So what went wrong? Well, in the build up to the game, two pieces of rubbish may have undermined the mental approach – one was that Celtic weren’t wanting to win this one anyway so that they could set up a decider against Rangers, and that other was that Dermot Desmond was going to allow Brendan Rodgers to go to Arsenal. Both of these were seized upon by the the media and were played up to ridiculous extent, and they may have affected the collective confidence of the squad. Add to that, Scott Brown being a little off colour (apparently), Moussa Dembele being injured – and there might be some possibility of an excuse.
But there is no excuse. Celtic simply had too many players were chose to have a poor game. Tom Rogic was particularly cumbersome, I felt, and I wondered about his fitness, Callum McGregor, normally excellent, was only ordinary today, James Forrest disappeared for long periods of the game, and I honestly do not think it is wise to play Leigh Griffiths against Hibs. Not that he doesn’t give of his best, but it must be difficult for him to know that his family are all there backing up the opposition.
Defensively, only Kristoffer Ajer cut it for me. Jack Hendry had a shocker – but I feel he is young enough to learn, Dedryck Boyata was little more than average, and I hate saying the obvious, but I do wish that Craig Gordon could kick a ball! Kieran Tierney seemed to be upset about his early booking and played one of his less effective games for the club.
Brendan did not use his substitutes wisely. Patrick Roberts, our best ball player, was brought on too late, and Scott Sinclair who has been off form all season, did nothing to make us think that he is coming out of his bad spell any time soon. Odsonne Edouard did gave us a ray of hope with a well taken goal, but he too should have been on a great deal earlier.
There was a collective lethargy about Celtic today. Let’s hope that we see no more of these horrible pink jerseys which frankly make us look unlike Celtic. Mind you, our play was unlike Celtic today as well. Celtic must never be second to the ball as they were far too often today. It is an honour and privilege to wear the green and white jerseys (even when they are temporarily pink!).
High spots were few, and I would have to say that I enjoyed the “Bye Bye Rangers” chorus before the start far more than the subsequent 90 minutes. I hate seeing looks of disappointment on faces of our supporters, and I hope that the players in their “long hard look at themselves” bear in mind the heartbreak of those who love them.
So we still need to win one game out of four. We all know who we play on Sunday. Let’s win the League in style. The supporters are owed one after today’s woeful display, and it is so frustrating when we know that the players can do so much better. A clear and unequivocal statement from Brendan Rodgers that he is not interested in Arsenal at any price might work wonders as well.
David Potter
