MY ACCOUNT
Substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu made the difference as Celtic came from behind against 10-man Hibernian to restore their nine-point lead in the cinch Premiership.
The South Korean striker scored from an 81st-minute corner to put Celtic in front for the first time on their way to a 3-1 victory – their 19th consecutive home win in domestic football.
It was a game full of controversy, with Josh Campbell giving Hibernian a half-time lead from a VAR-assisted penalty after a harsh red card for Elie Youan.
Jota levelled from a 52nd-minute penalty and there were fierce protests from Campbell after Oh’s goal as the Hibs midfielder appealed for a foul.
The home fans could only relax in stoppage time when substitute Sead Haksabanovic scored a well-taken goal.
Celtic started with Matt O’Riley in place of the injured Aaron Mooy while Daizen Maeda returned from a knock, but they lost Reo Hatate to a hamstring injury in the 13th minute with David Turnbull coming on.
Hibernian handed a first Premiership start to wing-back Lewis Miller and midfielder Jake Doyle-Hayes made his first start since August 27 after being troubled by an ankle problem in recent months.
The visitors threatened first when CJ Egan-Riley volleyed just over from 20 yards.
Celtic soon had a flurry of chances. Carl Starfelt headed off the top of the crossbar from O’Riley’s corner and David Marshall made excellent reflex stops from Kyogo Furuhashi and Jota. O’Riley skewed a header wide from a good chance in between.
The game changed in the 24th minute but only after a delay. Steven McLean initially played on as Cameron Carter-Vickers clutched his head following a tangle with Youan, who had earlier been booked for what appeared to be a fairly innocuous attempt to close down Starfelt.
Youan this time had made a perfectly reasonable attempt to play the ball as Carter-Vickers came through the back of him and stooped to head.
After Carter-Vickers received treatment, McLean, presumably on the advice of one of his fellow match officials, flashed a second yellow card towards Youan.
Hibs continued without a striker and Furuhashi missed a couple of chances before the visitors took the lead from a 39th-minute penalty award that came as a surprise to most, if not all, of the near 60,000 crowd.
While Campbell fixed his boot back on following an offside call, video assistant referee Gavin Duncan got some time to look at Starfelt getting hold of Hanlon’s shirt seconds earlier. It was a soft one but McLean pointed to the spot after being called to his monitor and Campbell sent Joe Hart the wrong way.
Hibs survived eight minutes of first-half stoppage-time but their resistance ended after McLean ruled Paul Hanlon had hauled down Carter-Vickers. Marshall dived the right way but Jota’s penalty squirmed underneath his body and trickled over the line.
Ange Postecoglou brought on Oh to play alongside Furuhashi while Liel Abada and Alexandro Bernabei also came on, the latter for Greg Taylor who had been put through a mini fitness test at half-time.
Oh soon missed two decent chances and Abada volleyed over before Egan-Riley raced back to clear off the line after Furuhashi looked set to finish off a counter-attack.
Oh found his range, though, as he bundled Campbell out of the way to power home Turnbull’s corner from six yards. The 21-year-old ripped off his shirt in celebration, while Campbell’s protests fell on deaf ears.
VAR reversed a Celtic penalty award after McLean booked a stunned Marshall when Abada appeared to lose his footing, before Haksabanovic curled home from 18 yards deep into seven minutes of stoppage time.
