PEDIGREE CHUMPS
Hibs don’t give Celts a sniff as they keep title-chasers on tight leash
HIBS deployed sniffer dogs for the first time at Easter Road yesterday, looking to catch the scent of pyros or drugs. But there was a slight whiff of anxiety around Celtic as well. It is surely just a matter of time before the Parkhead men get over the Premiership finishing line but the charge has been replaced by a crawl and the delay to the celebrations is causing some discomfort among the punters. The Rangers victory against Hearts 24 hours earlier meant there was never going to be a party at Easter Road but this stalemate ensured there won’t be one in the early kick-off against Kilmarnock at Parkhead on Saturday either.
It could rumble on to Pittodrie the following weekend then it’s Ibrox another week down the line, which is enough to get some in a sweat.
Either way, the title is tangibly close but Celtic still need to go out and grab it – and the longer it goes on the more tense things might get.
It wasn’t just nerves that gripped Celtic yesterday. It was more about Hibs putting the clamp on them.
None more so than by skipper David Gray, who was battered, bruised and bashed in the face by the ball yet inspired his side by constantly coming back for more.
Paul Heckingbottom inherited a talented squad assembled by Neil Lennon, before the bonkers world of Scottish football saw the Northern Irishman depart Hibs and wind up back at Parkhead a few weeks later.
Lennon’s mission is now to get Celts over the line and while huge strides have already been taken, back-to-back league stalemates haven’t led to the sprint to the flag expected following the crucial win over Rangers last month.
Still, perhaps a point in these parts is not to be sniffed at.
There has been something of a rebirth in Leith as well following Lennon’s departure. A season that
But former Barnsley and Leeds boss Heckingbottom has put his own stamp on the side and got them firing just like his predecessor did in their first season back in the top flight.
looked like it was meandering towards a low-key conclusion has been brought back to life.
Unbeaten in eight previous league games, the only defeat came in the Scottish Cup to Celtic. That run has fired Hibs right back in to the mix for Europe – and to finish above their old pals from across the city.
Giving Celts grief is not a new thing, mind you. Lenny was pretty good at it during his time along the M8, with two wins and two draws when up against Brendan Rodgers, so belief is not lacking.
It looked to be bubbling again yesterday as Hibs were straining at the leash to get tore into the Hoops.
Daryl Horgan has emerged as a key player at Easter Road in the second half of the season and he was on a one-man mission to dizzy the Celtic backline by twisting and turning Emilio Izaguirre like a tumble driver.
There was an early Horgan drive from distance that had Scott Bain scrambling to gather and a wicked turn and flashed cross that just begged to be put away.
And that was just inside the opening 120 seconds.
Bain was also forced to shove Stephane Omeonga’s bouncing bomb wide as Celts – without crocked duo Kieran Tierney and Ryan Christie – had to withstand a bit of an early blitz.
Stevie Mallan dragged a shot wide, Paul Hanlon scooped one over, the pattered continued as Celtic’s engine room made a spluttering start. Olivier Ntcham spent much of the half wandering around like an American tourist during the Edinburgh Festival after a liquid lunch.
In fairness, Scott Brown alongside him seemed to have misplaced his events map as well and it was Omeonga finding room, Flo Kamberi peeling wide and Mallan bursting from deep. Not that it was completely one-way traffic.
Celtic stirred and started to find their sense of purpose. Odsonne Edouard had a couple of sniffs at goal and the ball was being shifted around with more urgency.
Ntcham momentarily found his bearings and forced Ofir Marciano to tip over his dipping drive.
It was wide open, full of daring diagonal balls met with sliding interceptions from both teams.
Hibs were quick to break while Celtic knocked on the door and Jonny Hayes wasn’t far off with a whipped effort that skimmed over before Kamberi got booked for reacting to Brown being Brown.
That was no surprise, unlike the sight of Ntcham reappearing after half-time for another 15 lumbering minutes before Tom Rogic was sent on in his place. The flow remained familiar until that stage. Celtic hogging possession but proving too careless in the final third, with Hibs waiting to break and similarly breaking down in danger areas.
Rogic added a spark but it needed something special – yet it was Marciano who provided it when he superbly swatted away Edouard’s fizzing free-kick.
The big Frenchman should have buried Forrest’s cross moments later but almost seemed taken by surprise when the ball bounced into his path and when he later put the ball in the net it was flagged offside.
But sides could have snatched it. Marc McNulty headed over before an almighty scramble involving the striker, Kamberi and Bain, who eventually emerged with the ball.
Then Marciano was heroic keeping out Edouard and Jozo Simunovic in stoppage time.
Celtic still have their noses way in front in the Premiership but the sweet smell of success will have to wait a little longer.