No Hib hooray for sorry Celts
Covid calamities as Hoops slip further behind Rangers
CELTIC’S controversial Dubai trip came back to haunt them as the coronavirus-hit Parkhead side’s makeshift line-up allowed Kevin Nisbet to snatch a 1-1 draw for Hibernian at Parkhead.
Boss Neil Lennon, his assistant John Kennedy and 13 firstteam players sat out the game after being ordered to self-isolate on their return from the club’s controversial Dubai training camp.
That ruling came after injured defender Christopher Jullien was confirmed to have contracted the virus while in the Middle East with his team-mates.
And there was another sickener for the reigning champions — who had first-team coach Gavin Strachan in the dugout — as Nisbet smashed home in injury-time to cancel out David Turnbull’s late free-kick.
The gamble in flying 3,000 miles during a global pandemic has well and truly backfired for Lennon and his team, who now find themselves 21 points behind runaway Premiership leaders Rangers, albeit with three games in hand.
The track and trace blow came just hours before kick-off as Celtic confirmed the game would go ahead without a host of their big names.
The latest farcical developments in a sorry saga for the Glasgow giants brought another rebuke from Nicola Sturgeon as Scotland’s First Minister again questioned whether the trip was “really essential”, but the biggest backlash is likely to come from the furious Celtic support, who have seen their club slip up time and again during a campaign in which they were supposed to fulfil their 10-in-a-row destiny.
Captain Scott Brown led the list of notable absentees, with no sign of first-choice goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas, defenders Kristopher Ajer and Hatem abd Elhamed, midfield men Mohamed Elyounoussi, Ryan Christie and Olivier Ntcham and strikers Odsonne Edouard, Leigh Griffiths and Albian Ajeti either.
Hibs reluctantly lined up after failing with a late bid to force Celtic to retest their squad, having been warned by the SPFL.
The hosts might have grabbed a lead had Cameron Harper not taken a shot himself when he had Tom Rogic and Turnbull screaming for a cutback.
In the second-half, Hibs got themselves on the front foot and would have opened the scoring had it not been for Conor Hazard’s brave block on Melker Hallberg.
It appeared that Turnbull had got the hosts out of jail with eight minutes left. Brought down by Hibs sub Stephen Mcginn, he got up to whip a fabulous freekick over the wall.
But Celtic’s Achilles heel was exposed yet again 60 seconds into stoppage time. Stevie Mallan’s free-kick was met by Paul Mcginn as he climbed over Turnbull. Shane Duffy cleared off the line but only as far as Nisbet, who rammed the ball home.
CELTIC: Hazard, Frimpong, Welsh, Duffy, Laxalt, Soro, Mcgregor, Harper (Oko-flex, 61 mins), Rogic (Henderson, 67 mins), Turnbull, Johnston (Dembele, 79 mins). Unused subs: Taylor, Connell, Ralston, Coffey, Hjelde, Doohan.
HIBERNIAN: Macey, P Mcginn, Porteous, Hanlon, Hallberg (S Mcginn, 80 mins), Wright (Doidge, 52 mins), Gogic, Newell (Mallan, 68 mins), Murphy, Nisbet, Doig (Stevenson, 46 mins). Unused subs: Gray, Gullan, Dabrowski, Mcgregor, Bradley.
Referee: Steven Mclean
Man of the match: David Turnbull
Match rating: 6/10