Ange Postecoglu’s Celtic finds themselves two points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership table after an impressive 6-1 dismantling of Hibernian on October 15. Celtic has now won nine of their ten league games, with only a shock 2-0 defeat away at St Mirren on September 18 being the only blot on an otherwise perfect copybook. Celtic enjoyed a five-point cushion for 24 hours until Rangers won 2-1 away at Motherwell to close the gap.
Before kick-off, the biggest and best online betting sites had Celtic as clear favourites, but none of them thought a 6-1 scoreline was likely. Postecoglu deployed a 4-3-3 formation, where James Forrest and Montrengran Sead Haksabanovic played as wingers, and Hibs had no answer to them. A combination of Celtic playing exciting, free-flowing, attacking football, and Hibernian, especially their full-backs, being under par made this encounter one-sided indeed.
Celtic Punish Some Poor Hibs Defending
It took only nine minutes for Forrest, who was making his first start of the season, to open the scoring. Forrest drifted to the back post, where he volleyed in a delightful cross from Haksabanovic. Haksabanovic continually had the better of Hibs’ Chris Cadden and caused Lee Johnson‘s side all kinds of problems. Giorgis Giakoumakis made it two-nil less than ten minutes later before Forrest bagged his second of the game after a terrible mistake from Hibs’ keeper David Marshall.
Celtic went into the half-time interval three goals to the good, and most of the 59,609 spectators in attendance were delighted with what they had seen during the first 45-minutes. Most teams would have taken their foot off the gas when holding such a commanding lead, but Celtic could smell blood and kept up their relentless attacks. Despite Johnson making four half-time substitutions, it was much the same in the second half. Elie Youan, one of the four players Hibs introduced during the interval, pulled a goal back 11 minutes after the restart. However, any hopes of an epic comeback were soon quashed when Forrest completed his hat trick two minute’s later, wheeling off to celebrate what was his 100th goal in Celtic colours.
The excellent Giakoumakis gave his team a four-goal advantage in the 73rd minute before Daizen Maeda wrapped matters up with a deft finish in the 89th minute.
Postecoglu Heaps Praise on His Bhoys
Celtic manager Postecoglu was delighted with his team’s performance, especially after a disappointing result in the UEFA Champions League four days earlier. Indeed, Postecoglu mentioned Tuesday night’s game in his post-match interview.
“We needed fresh impetus, and the whole group was great. For the guys who came in, that was exactly what they provided for us. I was really strong on the fact that if we put on a performance like we did on Wednesday, the goals would come. It’s why I thought some of the Champions League comments were ridiculous. We set out to play a certain way, and we’ve fallen short in areas where, for the most part, I think we can improve, but it’s not through a failure of endeavour or will. We will never change our approach, and the players wanted to show that today.”
Celtic travel to Tynecastle Park on October 22, where they face sixth-place Hearts, who are winless in their last five games in all competitions. They then host Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donestk at Celtic Park on October 25 in the Champions League, a game Postecoglu’s men desperately need three points from. Celtic cannot progress from the group stage, but it is possible to make it to the Europa League. However, they must beat Shakhtar Donetsk at home and Real Madrid in Spain to make that possibility a reality.
The Bhoys have given a good account of themselves in Europe, but the results do not reflect that. If Celtic play how they did against Hibs over the weekend, they will make short work of Donetsk and will cause Madrid all kinds of problems.
