Hibernian 0 Celtic 1

4th December 2002
Scottish Premier League
Attendance:

Scorers:
Celtic: Petrov.

This is a copy of a report of the game as it appeared in the Scotsman on Thursday 5th December 2002

Petrov gives Celtic shot in the arm

NOT a pretty picture for those watching on television, this largely dishevelled affair at Easter Road would at least quicken the pulses of supporters in attendance. Until Stilian Petrov’s intervention late in the second half, Hibs seemed capable of costing Celtic the league leadership in the last outing before Saturday’s Old Firm match.

This was due less to the home side’s performance than the opportunities squandered by the visitors before Petrov delivered the lesson of the day. It was one which the Parkhead side would probably not have needed had they been able to field their normal strike force.

As frequently asked questions go, the one which concerns Celtic’s ability to cope without Henrik Larsson ranks second only to the burning issue of Martin O’Neill’s contract. The latter will not be answered for some time, but the great Swedish striker’s absence through illness at least gave fans an inkling.

For the visitors, the test was made more severe by the coincidental unavailability of Chris Sutton, out with a hip injury from training.

Speaking afterwards, O’Neill was non-commital about the availability of either player for Saturday. An additional concern is the shin and ankle knock sustained by Bobo Balde.

"Henrik took ill last night and wasn’t fit enough to play tonight and we’re concerned it may be a virus he’s picked up from his child," O’Neill said. "We’re not exactly sure what it is, other than being a sickness thing, and we’ll monitor him tomorrow. We’ll be guided by what the doctors say.

"Chris has a hip problem and we’ll have to see how he is too. But there are still a couple of days before Saturday so we are hopeful."

In the absence of Larsson and Sutton, their deputies, John Hartson and David Fernandez, carried a heavy burden. The latter, admirably committed, often did his own digging and his willingness and determination was rewarded on several occasions when he stole possession in threatening areas. Never more so than when the took the ball from the dilatory Paul Fenwick on the left and, with the outside of his right foot, sent it low across the penalty area. Hartson arrived fractionally too late and, by the time he had played it back to Sylla, the home defenders had re-grouped.

In that moment, it was not hard to imagine Larsson arriving a yard earlier, just in time to make the conversion and give Celtic a lead they had seemed likely to establish in any case.

They had made a bright start, but, as the threat diminished through the first half and referee Mike McCurry’s appalling misjudgments threatened to ruin the game, Hibs’ self-belief began to grow.

McCurry made errors which disadvantaged both sides, on occasion awarding free-kicks when one or the other had a clear advantage. But his booking of Petrov was ridiculous. The Bulgarian stretched to reach the ball ahead of Ian Murray, missed by a hair and caught the midfielder. It was a straightforward free-kick - from memory, his first foul, with no malice aforethought - but McCurry issued the yellow card.

He had done so earlier when Murray arrived late on Lambert, but turned his back on Tom McManus’s similar challenge on Bobo Balde and then allowed Murray to carry on after a raised boot that came within an inch of Neil Lennon’s head.

That was immediately followed by Robert Douglas handling a yard outside his area. The referee missed that, too, but by then he looked as though he was sleep-walking. That could not have been said of Alan Thompson when the Celtic midfielder stopped Hibs from taking the lead with the home side’s only serious attempt on goal in the first half. From their first corner in the 21st minute, John O’Neil found Derek Townsley and the big forward’s back header would have gone inside Douglas’s left-hand post but for Thompson’s standing sentry and clearing.

With too little incisiveness, especially in wide areas, O’Neill gave his selected players a little over 15 minutes of the second half to improve before taking remedial measures. With their failure to make any kind of impression, he replaced Thompson with Steve Guppy.

The winger’s arrival seemed to bring an increase in Celtic’s tempo which suddenly found Hibs at times struggling to contain them. The opportunities which arrived as a result should have brought profit. Fernandez was first, receiving Sylla’s low centre, but unable to turn quickly enough. But Hartson’s sluggishness in better positions would be the main source of pain to the away support. The striker took Petrov’s precisely-chested pass inside the area, but his slowness let Gary Smith make a telling challenge.

What Hartson did next, however, was almost baffling. Sent clear on a header from Laursen, he had Petrov coming up on his left as Nick Colgan left his line. A sideways flick would have left the Bulgarian looking at an empty net, but he attempted a lob which ended in the stand.

Hartson atoned soon after, however, with the pass which released Petrov through the inside-right channel, allowing the midfielder a clear run at Colgan, whom he beat with a low, right-foot drive from 15 yards.

Hibs: Colgan; Smith, Fenwick, Zambernardi; Orman (Reid 88), Wiss (Brebner 73), O’Neil, Murray (Jack 73), James; Townsley, McManus. Subs not used: Caig, Doumbe.

Celtic: Douglas; Valgaeren, Balde, Laursen; Sylla (McNamara 76), Petrov, Lambert, Lennon, Thompson (Guppy 62); Hartson, Fernandez (Maloney 70). Subs not used: Gould, Crainey.

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