Hibernian vs Celtic. Scottish Premiership.
Easter RoadAttendance18,357.
Hibernian 2-1 Celtic: Josh Campbell's double adds to Hoops' Champions League heartache with Easter Road defeat
Report as Hibernian beat Celtic 2-1 at Easter Road; Josh Campbell opened the scoring after two minutes and doubled the lead in first-half stoppage time; Daizen Maeda pulled a goal back and had another ruled out by VAR; Hibs are unbeaten in 11 Premiership games
Saturday 22 February 2025 20:45, UK
Hibernian took advantage of Celtic's Champions League hangover to earn a deserved victory and extend their unbeaten Premiership run to 11 games.
Brendan Rodgers urged his players to prove their tough mentality by bouncing back from their Bayern heartache but the hosts stunned them after just two minutes as Josh Campbell fired in the opener.
The Easter Road side, who have not lost since their trip to Parkhead in December, were dominant, with Kasper Schmeichel denying both Kieron Bowie and Campbell.
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The midfielder doubled their lead in first-half stoppage time, nodding home Martin Boyle's looping cross as they looked to put the game out of reach.
Rodgers' triple half-time change breathed life into Celtic, with Daizen Maeda pulling a goal back before Jota, on for Adam Idah, saw his effort cleared off the line by Rocky Bushiri.
The Japan international thought he had levelled late on but a VAR check showed the ball went out of play in the build-up.
Hibs move up to fourth in the league while Celtic remain 13 points clear after their second league defeat of the season.
Hibs do what Bayern couldn't and beat Celtic
While it took Bayern until almost the last kick of the game to score against the Scottish champions, Hibs required less than two minutes.
Hoops defender Auston Trusty was drawn into the opposition half for a duel with Bowie and as the hosts worked the ball into the middle, Nectar Triantis drove forward and slipped the ball into the space left by the out-of-position centre-back, allowing Campbell to dart in and drill low past the exposed Kasper Schmeichel from just inside the box.
The hosts - who had not lost since their previous meeting with Celtic on December 7 - threatened a second in the ninth minute when Bowie saw ferocious shot beaten away by Schmeichel from 15 yards out.
Celtic were struggling to get their game going, although McCowan almost caught out goalkeeper Jordan Smith with an inswinging cross from the right before Taylor blazed a half-volley harmlessly over.
Alistair Johnston was denied by an excellent save from Smith after running on to Nicolas Kuhn's perfectly weighted pass.
Idah then blew a big opportunity on the counter-attack when he took too long to pick a pass to either Kuhn or Maeda, both of whom were unmarked, allowing Bowie to dash back and snuff out the danger.
Hibs doubled their lead in first-half stoppage time when Campbell met an inswinging cross from Martin Boyle eight yards out and sent a downward header in at Schmeichel's right-hand post. The goal was eventually allowed to stand after a lengthy VAR check for offside.
Celtic boss Rodgers responded by making a triple change for the start of the second half, reverting to the team that started in Munich with Schlupp, Hatate and Jota on for Taylor, McCowan and Idah.
The visitors got themselves back in the game in the 68th minute when Smith was slow to react after Hatate sliced his shot from the edge of the area up in the air and as it dropped towards the six-yard box Maeda nipped in to the prod the ball beyond the hesitant 'keeper.
Celtic cranked up the pressure in search of an equaliser and Rocky Bushiri had to make a goal-line block from Jota after he danced round Smith in the 76th minute.
The hosts had another huge let-off in the 83rd minute when Maeda fired home from a Johnston cutback but - following a VAR check - the ball was deemed to have run out of play before the Canadian delivered it.
Rodgers wants VAR clarity
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers speaking to Sky Sports News:
"We were disappointed because the linesman on the side, who's arguably got the best view of anyone, kept his flag down and said it was in.
"It was a move that we typically make and we feel that Ali [Johnston] gets there before the whole ball has crossed the line.
"I'm hoping that we get absolute, definitive clarification that it was out.
"Obviously the VAR, we don't have the equipment, it's from the 18-yard line, the cameras.
"That's something that we hope we can get cleared up, but certainly on the images that we've seen and from the official in the game it looked like it may well have been in."
Gray praises Hibs' mentality
Hibs head coach David Gray speaking to Sky Sports News:
"The character and the mentality of the group was being questioned in the early period and I understood why.
"We couldn't defend that, we knew that, but internally we always believed we'd turn it round and the group stuck together during that period, which was really positive.
"When Celtic score and it goes 2-1, your mentality and the game plan needs to be solid at that point because they're always going to throw everything at it.
"I think even then when you think how the game went, the goalkeeper didn't have many saves to make, that's because of the defence in front of him and the efforts from everybody in front. All in all, I'm delighted for everyone involved today."
