Hibernian F.C. Match Reports
Clydesdale Bank Premier League
Hibernian 0 Celtic 1
Sunday 30th August 2009

John Hughes made two changes from the side that defeated Brechin City in midweek, in came Darren McCormack and Sol Bamba, dropping out the suspended Ian Murray and Abdessalam Benjelloun. Graham Stack retained his place between the posts and that meant a place on the subs bench for Yves Ma-Kalambay, who had reportedly taken a knock in training this week.

Chances were limited in the opening period of the match with only a run and cross from Wotherspoon on the right that fizzed across the face of the Celtic goal giving the supporters anything to cheer about. The first effort at goal came soon after when Cregg lined up a shot from the edge of the penalty area but his strike was well off target. A surging run from McDonald moments later at the other end of the park resulted in the visitors carving out an opportunity of their own. The Australian striker burst past Bamba before slipping the ball to McGeady, the winger cutting inside Hanlon before firing just over the crossbar from 18 yards.

Hibernian won the first corner of the match when Wotherspoon found his strike at goal blocked by the outstretched leg of Loovens. From the resulting set piece the ball was played short to Riordan and while the Celtic defence appeared to be slow in reacting the Hibernian striker could make little of the opportunity. On 15 minutes Cregg picked up a yellow card for a late challenge on McDonald near the main stand touchline. A miss-hit clearance from Bamba gifted Celtic a corner kick seconds later and from the set piece the Glasgow men almost made a breakthrough. Fox's in-swinging cross found Samaras peeling off his marker and his header at goal struck the crossbar before going behind.

Celtic had another great chance from their next corner kick when Fox this time picked out McDonald at the back post, the ball dropping perfectly to the striker's feet but he failed to react quick enough and the chance was gone. Then came a moment of controversy when Hibernian broke forward on the counter attack, Cregg looked to pick out Riordan with a ball over the top and although McGeady appeared to cut it out he lost possession to the striker before hauling him to the ground. Riordan would have been clean through on goal had he not been fouled but referee McDonald chose only to caution the Celtic player.

From the resulting free kick Riordan came agonisingly close to scoring when his shot over the defensive wall dropped just wide of Boruc's right-hand post. Riordan was involved again in Hibernian's next attack when he left Hinkel for dead on the left flank but Boruc, at full-stretch, pushed away his cut back before Maloney completed the clearance. Sol Bamba was perhaps a fortunate man for escaping a yellow card when he brought down McGeady after the winger had taken the ball beyond him and was heading along the touchline. From the free kick Fox picked out the unmarked Samaras who completely missed the ball, however Brown gathered before going in between Cregg and McCormack and his near post cross was headed just wide by the diving Maloney.

Caldwell should have opened the scoring on 37 minutes when a corner kick from Maloney dropped into his path just 6 yards out, the former Hibernian captain however was leaning too far back and put his first time volley over the top of a relieved Stack's goal. The visitors eventually made the breakthrough 5 minutes before the half time break when Samaras rose above Bamba to head beyond Stack from McGeady's pinpoint cross. From the restart Celtic again put the home defence under pressure and Hogg gave away a clumsy foul on the edge of the box, Fox took the free kick but his effort lacked the direction to beat Stack who gathered comfortably.

The loss of the opening goal had jolted Hibernian's confidence and Celtic were exploiting that to their advantage as the first half was drawing to a close. Tony Mowbray's side could have doubled their lead when McDonald escaped the attentions of Hogg and his attempted lob over Stack landed just the wrong side of the far post.

Celtic then taking a slender lead into the half-time break, the Parkhead men had edged the first half but Hibernian had stood up well to the challenge and could have scored themselves on a couple of occasions.

Half Time: Hibernian 0 Celtic 1

Hibernian started the second period well with purpose and a short corner kick from Rankin created space for Riordan to have a strike at goal, Celtic goalkeeper Boruc producing an excellent stop to keep him out. From the resulting corner kick Riordan attempted a direct shot at goal that Boruc did well to push over his crossbar at full stretch before Hogg headed over from Rankin's set piece.

Celtic proved they too could be dangerous on the counter attack and a swift move down the left wing ended with Bamba sliding in to clear Samaras' cut back before McDonald could pounce. The chances continued to come thick and fast and Samaras was close to connecting with a low cross from Fox that flashed across the face of the Hibernian goal. On 57 minutes N'Guemo picked up a yellow card for a late challenge on Hanlon.

Hibernian should have levelled when a free kick from McBride was missed by the visitor's defence and fell in behind to the unmarked Bamba. Defenders don't make the best goal poachers and the Hibernian defender showed why when he volleyed well wide from close range. John Hughes made his first change of the afternoon when he replaced Cregg with Zemmama on the hour mark. 120 seconds later and the visitors were down to ten men when McGeady went down following a challenge from Hanlon. Referee McDonald took the view the Celtic playmaker had thrown himself down and he was given a second yellow card which resulted in an early bath.

On 65 minutes Hibernian almost equalised in spectacular fashion when Wotherspoon struck a fantastic shot from 30 yards that left Boruc beaten but crashed back off the far post before being scrambled to safety. The crime count continued to rise when McBride picked up a yellow card for a foul on Brown before Hibernian attempted to make their extra man count by replacing a defender with a striker - Byrne coming on for McCormack.

Celtic too made changes with Maloney and McDonald being withdrawn so that Killen and Flood could replace them. Hibernian almost found an equalising goal from an unlikely source when Hanlon's deep cross was volleyed towards goal by Riordan and deflected just wide by Loovens. The Celtic defender relieved to see the ball end just off target after coming close to scoring an own goal.

There were further changes for both teams, Nish replacing Stokes for Hibernian and Caddis coming on for N'Guemo for the Glasgow side. Celtic had goalkeeper Boruc to thank for preserving their lead when the big goalkeeper produced a stunning save to push away Riordan's curling effort. Hibernian kept up their pressure and Nish went close with a right foot shot that was just off target.

Former Hibernian striker Killen almost put the game beyond his old team when he raced onto Caddis' cut back but found his effort kept out by a fine save from Stacks. In the closing minutes Bamba picked up a yellow card after barging into Caddis. In their desperate attempts to find an equalising goal Hibernian were almost guilty of over-committing to attack and that very nearly proved costly when Brown raced away on the counter attack. He released Samaras clean through on goal and with the chance to seal the points he was thwarted by a fantastic block from Stack - although Scott Brown was free in the area looking for the return pass and a tap-in.

As the game entered the first of 4 additional minutes Celtic were virtually camped out along their 18-yard-line. Hibernian were putting the visitors under an incredible amount of pressure but finding it difficult to break down a rigid defence. Boruc picked up a late yellow card for time wasting but he was hero in the final seconds when he saved a late shot from Bamba following Nish's knock down. It was then not to be Hibernian's day and they slipped to a narrow home defeat but it had been an excellent performance from the Leith men who more than matched Celtic and on another day may have taken something from the game.

Hibernian: Stack, McCormack, Hanlon, Hogg, Bamba, McBride, Rankin, Cregg, Wotherspoon, Stokes, Riordan. Subs: Ma-Kalambay, Nish, Thicot, Zemmama, Stevenson, Byrne, Benjelloun.

Celtic: Boruc, Hinkel, Caldwell, N'Guemo, McDonald, Brown, Samaras, Fox, Maloney, Loovens, McGeady. Subs: Zaluska, Flood, Crosas, Killen, Thomson, O'Dea, Caddis.