Brave Hibs ended Celtic’s 100% league record with a fighting 1-1 draw at Easter Road this afternoon.
Paul Heckingbottom made two changes to the starting XI that knocked Kilmarnock out of the Betfred Cup in midweek.
Adam Jackson replaced the suspended Ryan Porteous, whilst Scott Allan took over from Daryl Horgan in midfield.
Both teams formed a guard of honour for Hibs legend Pat Stanton who turned 75 last week and every fans in the stadium stood to give him a standing ovation.
Pat is still adored by the Hibs’ fans but he is also highly respected by the Celtic supporters for helping them to the double in 1978.
The game started at a frenetic pace and Hibs took the lead in the 7th minute when Jackson found Allan who played an inch perfect reverse through ball into the path of Christian Doidge.
The striker sent a low cross into the area which Kristofer Ajer diverted past Fraser Forster in the Celtic goal sparking delight from three sides of the stadium.
Celtic fought back and Chris Miller did well to deny Odsonne Eduoard at the near post.
The visitors equalised in hugely controversial circumstances after Tom James robbed James Forrest in midfield and the ball fell to Glenn Middleton.
Referee Kevin Clancy allowed play to continue but on looking back he spotted the Celtic player lying on the ground holding his head so he stopped play.
The Celtic physios treated Forrest for an ankle injury which sparked fury from the home fans who felt that play should have been allowed to continue under the existing guidelines.
Unbeknown to everyone inside the ground however, the fourth official told Clancy that Forrest had been fouled so with the Hibs’ players waiting for a drop ball which would under normal circumstances have been returned, he awarded a free-kick which was immediately played to Moritz Bauer whose cross from the right was headed into the net by Ryan Christie.
The Hibs fans, players and management team were incensed and in the aftermath Heckingbottom was shown a red card and sent to the stand after kicking a water bottle.
Things went from bad to worse after Jackson suffered a head knock and had to be replaced by Steven Whittaker.
Tempers were running high and Olivier Ntcham was lucky to only receive a yellow card for lashing out at Josh Vela who was also booked for his part in the initial challenge.
Maxwell produced a fine save to deny Callum McGregor then just before the break Forster did well to save a powerful half-volley from Stevie Mallan.
Clancy left the field at the break to a crescendo of boos, louder than any heard at the stadium in many a year.
Only the emergence of Hibs’ legend Pat Stanton who was joined on the pitch by a number of his former team mates calmed the situation.
In the second half McGregor passed up a good chance before Middleton created a shooting opportunity for Doidge who forced a good save from Forster.
Celtic were then denied a penalty after Lewis Stevenson appeared to clip Christie who was cutting in from the right, but Clancy gave a corner then Baur went down inside the area but his appeals fell on deaf ears sparking anger from the fans in the away end.
McGregor almost scored in the dying minutes but Melker Hallberg did well to partially block his shot which Maxwell saved.
In time added on Hayes and Vakoun Issaf Bayo both had good chances but Hibs held on to secure the valuable point.
Tom James was selected as the sponsors man of the match however the accolade should have gone to Scott Allan who was outstanding all afternoon.
Hibs: Maxwell, Hanlon, Vela, Doidge, Mallan, Stevenson, James, Jackson (Whittaker 31’), Middleton (Horgan 70’), Hallberg (Newell 88’), Allan. Substitutes not used: Marciano, Kamberi, Shaw, Murray.
Celtic: Forster, Jullien, Brown, Bauer, Christie, Ntcham (Hayes 59’), Edouard (Bayo 71’), Bolingoli, Ajer, McGregor, Forrest (Sinclair 83’). Substitutes not used: Gordon, Rogic, Elyounossi, Elhamed.
Referee: Kevin Clancy.
Attendance: 18,339.
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
