Celtic survived Hibs and their fans as we secured a 2-0 win at Easter Road to make it an incredible 25 consecutive domestic cup wins and as well as 11 straight domestic wins on the bounce as we progressed to the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup.
Not much to talk about in the first half as it was pretty stagnant stuff but we got our act together in the second half as the game opened up a little. Still, it was difficult to see where a goal was going to come from until James Forrest took matters into his own hands and fired a bullet in on 62 mins that nearly ripped the net out and sent us on our way.
Hibs didn’t have much in the way of a response and we pushed on eventually getting our rewards when Edouard set-up captain Scott Brown who glided into the box and past the Hibs defence before rifling a thunderbolt in at close range to put the tie beyond doubt on 75 mins.
The victory means Neil Lennon has gone 2-0 since his unexpected return to the hot seat at the club on Tuesday with both wins coming in his old stomping ground of Edinburgh.
Off the field, the Hibs fans showed far more resistance than their players as they unsuccessfully tried to pelt Scott Sinclair with a Buckfast bottle and later on a coin as he attempted to take corner kicks in the second half.
In the aftermath, Hibs tried to deflect attention by claiming there had been a bottle thrown by a Celtic fan too. Strange no TV or press cameras picked that up.
Of course, all of this is just a west coast of Scotland problem apparently. That’s the narrative that has been put forward anyway in the last few weeks. The kids in Leith, Dundee and up in Grampian are holier than though we’re told. Mmmmmm…….I wonder how they’ll spin this latest incidence?!
Michael Stewart will no doubt be calling for strict liability which is a total non-starter and easily abused anyway but I wonder if anyone will point out the fact that the game kicked off with an early Saturday evening start time? I tend to find that in our society that that’s when people tend to consume the most alcohol. Just a thought. Others will use it as further evidence that we shouldn’t sell alcohol within football stadiums which is also absurd as the problem is being caused by people bringing in alcohol and the type of stuff you’d never be able to buy in a football ground anyway.
The draw for the semis isn’t until Monday night on BBC after the final match of the round which is Partick Thistle vs Hearts at Firhill and with Rangers playing Aberdeen at Pittodrie tomorrow, as well as Dundee Utd visiting Inverness Caley, whoever we get at Hampden it’s bound to be interesting, to say the least. Isn’t it always.
Tomorrow, of course, Brendan Rodgers begins his reign of broken promises and empty soundbites with Leicester City away at Watford. He says one day he’d like to come back and maybe manage us again once all the fury over his departure has calmed down of course in about ten or so years. What is he like?! I think I speak for all of us by saying I hope he and his new team get resoundingly pumped tomorrow.
C’mon Watford.
As for Celtic our players now get a much deserved week-long rest before being back in action at home to Aberdeen next Saturday at Celtic Park. This should give us a chance to try and get Callum McGregor and Ryan Christie back to fitness as they are definitely being missed. I’m not Nir Bitton’s biggest critic and admire his persistence and professionalism but he and Brown do not for a creative midfield make.
Anyway, that was a good win with two excellent goals that I’ll definitely put up when they become available. It had banana skin written all over what with Hibs three game-winning run under new boss Paul Heckinbottom coming in, the fact that we hadn’t won on our last three visits there and the irony of Neil Lennon being back at his old club so soon after his quietly acrimonious departure in late January.
Job done and we still have a historic Treble Treble within our grasp which seemed like it could be derailed after the past weeks pretty stunning and upsetting events in regards to our former leader.
Well done Bhoys. Keep it going.
....Always A Tim! 