Celtic stand strong at home against Hibs

Nothing new under the Scottish sun on Sunday as both Glasgow teams finish off their opponents with 2-0 victories. Rangers paid a visit to Motherwell and took a comfortable win with Alfredo Morelos once again on the score sheet – and being sent off after celebration yellow card. Celtic went head-to-head at home with their nemesis Hibernians, so far one of the two teams having been able to snatch any points from the Hoops this season. After Hibs managed a draw at home late September, this time around they stood no chance as Celtic had another impressive outing ending in celebrations.

The setup was clear from the beginning. Hibernians went on the defensive from the kick-off and Celtic dominated both the possession and the chances created. The visitors did hit back on the counter-attack viciously, but the Celtic defense had no trouble cancelling the efforts of Jason Naismith and , with 14 shots taken by Celtic, four on goal, while Hibernian’s Martin Boyle blasted the ball once only inches past the Celtic goal, but that was it for the first half. Hibernians keeper Ofir Marciano was fully occupied, having to stretch out to save the efforts of Olivier Ntcham and Callum McGregor alike. Eventually Marciano had to give in, as Odsonne Edouard released unmarked Jeremie Frimpong one-on-one with the Israeli and the youngster slotted the ball past the keeper with one touch. The 39th minute goal meant the home side entered the half-time with 1-0 lead.

If the first half was controlled by the Celtic, it only got more obvious in the second. Despite Hibernians trying to push back, they only gained control of the ball for 34% of the half and their chase was effectively killed off on the 66th minute by Odsonne Edouard who finished his 11th goal of the season in the Premiership after freely putting the ball in the gaping net from a pass by James Forrest. Hoops threatened the goal for numerous occasions, but the shot accuracy left a lot to be desired for. The final numbers 2-0 left no questions of the better team though and Neil Lennon can once again be happy with his team’s efforts.

Celtic will continue their title chase in a 12th round make-up game against Hearts on the road already on the 18th of December, before playing hosts to Aberdeen on the 21st. With the tight schedule, the opportunity to rotate the squad is likely to prove crucial for Neil Lennon and his team.
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