A HERO INTO THE BARGAIN
Flying Frimpong is making mockery of his modest City fee
IF there is, indeed, some kind of catch to Celtic acquiring Jeremie Frimpong, it is certainly remaining extremely well hidden.
Signed for a paltry £300,000 from Manchester City in the summer without having played a first-team game in England, the expectation was of a gentle introduction to life at Celtic Park.
Frankly, had he disappeared without a trace — as so many of his ilk have done — it would have been no great surprise.
What we’ve witnessed instead has been storybook stuff. Since making his debut against Partick Thistle in the Betfred Cup at the end of September, the 19-year-old Dutchman has been the master of his own destiny.
To say he’s taken his chance with outstretched arms is a gross understatement. Notwithstanding the fact that Hatem Abd Elhamed is presently injured, the teenager is now surely ahead of both the Israeli and Moritz Bauer in the pecking order. Oh my days, indeed.
He picked up another man-ofthe-match award here as well as a vital opening goal — his first at
Parkhead — which ensured Rangers were dislodged from the top of the Premiership table after just three hours.
Such afternoons are almost becoming matters of routine for the turbo-charged teenager. Even if his eventual fee rises to £1m, as surely it will, the Glasgow club will stand accused of daylight robbery. Not that they will care one jot.
This was a purposeful, mature display by Neil Lennon’s side. By no means spectacular, but still one deserving of the three points.
Hibs were impressive in patches. Jack Ross is already benefiting from putting square pegs in square holes at Easter Road. Had they shown a little more enterprise and cutting edge in the final third, they might well have avoided sliding to a second defeat in six games under their new manager.
Frimpong’s calm finish six minutes before the break winded the visitors. They huffed and puffed before and after Odsonne Edouard claimed his 15th goal of the season in the 66th minute and will have to lick their wounds before turning their attention to the visit of Rangers on Friday. Despite this loss, they look like a side that’s starting to go places.
The unexpected absences of Ryan Christie and Mikey Johnston forced Lennon to alter both his shape and personnel here.
Nir Bitton dropped into defence to form a back three with Kristoffer Ajer and Christopher Jullien. Frimpong and Boli Bolingoli were effectively cast as wing-backs with James Forrest unusually deployed in a supporting role behind Edouard.
Unsurprisingly, after taking three goals off Aberdeen last time out, Ross kept faith with exactly the same players and his preferred midfield diamond system.
As welcome as seeing their manager parade the Betfred Cup before the game was for the home fans, the fact Rangers had moved to the top of the pile earlier in the day meant this was no time to be living off past glories.
Callum McGregor’s inventive run down the left took him away from the attentions of Jason Naismith. His cross ran kindly for Olivier Ntcham. The Frenchman’s shot had power but lacked accuracy and Ofir Marciano beat it away.
The formation that has served Ross so well to date ensured his side saw plenty of the ball in the opening exchanges. Martin Boyle’s speed and skill allowed him to dart in from the left and his curling effort was clever but just beyond the far post.
It was compelling viewing. When Frimpong’s quick feet bamboozled Lewis Stevenson in the box, Edouard ought to have done better than blaze the cutback wide.
The contest between Frimpong and Boyle down the Celtic right was fascinating. By a distance, the two fastest men on the park, each battle for ownership of the ball took place in a blur.
Invariably, Celtic came to life whenever the former Manchester
City full-back was involved. When Forrest played him in, he swiftly moved the ball infield to McGregor. The midfielder’s inviting pass allowed Bolingoli to try his luck with a curling effort that went narrowly beyond the far post.
With Celtic now in the ascendancy, the Hibernian manager must have begun counting the seconds until the interval. The clock showed 39 minutes played when his plans went awry.
Ryan Porteous had been measured and assured at the heart of Hibs’ defence up until that point but was unconvincing when Edouard threatened to outmuscle him on the edge of the box. Emerging with the spoils, the Frenchman found Frimpong completely unmarked. With Marciano advancing, the young Dutchman commendably kept his nerve by sliding the ball under the keeper and into the unguarded net.
Retrieving the ball was to prove to be the Israeli’s last act of the day. After sustaining a calf injury, he failed to reappear for the second half, with Chris Maxwell deputising.
Frimpong was irrepressible. Another charge into the box was followed by another excellent delivery. Edouard blew the chance to put Celtic two ahead by leaning back and firing over.
The one criticism you could make of the visitors was a failure to turn promising moves into efforts on goal. Florian Kamberi epitomised this with a wayward strike after good work to move in off the right touchline.
The cost of such profligacy was made clear on 66 minutes as Celtic doubled their advantage.
Bolingoli’s deep cross allowed Forrest to cut the ball back for the umpteenth time, with Edouard rolling it beyond Maxwell to just about put the game to bed.
Having enjoyed 90 minutes in
Cluj, Leigh Griffiths immediately replaced the Frenchman. He looked sharp at both ends of the field and was only denied a goal by inches after taking Scott Brown’s pass on the half-turn.
One goal for the visitors would still have made for an extremely nervy ending for Lennon’s men. Jullien, of all people, came close to providing it with a wayward header but Fraser Forster stood his ground to save.
It was a tidy day’s work for Lennon’s men and for Frimpong, in particular.
CELTIC (3-5-2): Forster 7; Bitton 7, Jullien 7, Ajer 7; Frimpong 8, Ntcham 7, Brown 7, McGregor 7, Bolingoli 7; Forrest 7 (Rogic 83), Edouard 7 (Griffiths 68). Subs not used: Gordon, Taylor, Bayo, Bauer, Morgan. Booked: Bitton. HIBERNIAN (4-4-2): Marciano 5 (Maxwell 46); Naismith 6, Porteous 5, Hanlon 6, Stevenson 6; Boyle 6, Hallberg 6, Allan 6 (Murray 79), Mallan 6; Kamberi 5, Doidge 5 (Horgan 72). Subs not used: Slivka, Jackson, McGregor, Shaw. Booked: Boyle, Mallan. Man of the match: Jeremie Frimpong. Referee: John Beaton. Attendance: 57,598.