Celtic 4-2 Hibs gallery

Celtic took their unbeaten domestic record to 60 matches with a 4-2 Hampden win over Hibs.

Two goals from Mikael Lustig and Moussa Dembele booked a place in the final of the Betfred Cup against Motherwell next month.

After losing 3-0 to Bayern Munich questions were being asked about the ability of Brendan Rodgers’ squad but with the pressure on the hoops delivered in style.

Lustig’s first half double looked like being enough to put Celtic through to the final but in consultation with assistant referee Frank Connor referee Kevin Clancy awarded Hibs a penalty early in the second half that Anthony Stokes converted.

Dembele restored Celtic’s lead and although Hibs scored again through substitute Olly Shaw Dembele scored his second of the day in the 88th minute to put the game beyond the Edinburgh side.

Rodgers will now turn his attention to Wednesday night’s trip to face Aberdeen who will go into the game on the back of a ten day break.

With both teams level at the top of the table and unbeaten it promises to be Celtic’s toughest domestic test of the season but the sdame was said about the semi-final with Hibs.

All over

Welcome back Mousa!

His first goal was instinctive but there was a bit of thought put into this strike as the Frenchman killed off Hibs’ hopes of taking the game to extra time.

A lot of responsibility has been on the shoulders of Leigh Griffiths, with last season’s 32 goal striker back among the goals Brendan Rodgers can relax more knowing that he has got goal options.

Breakthrough

A great result for the bookies as Lustig opens the scoring.

It was essential that Celtic opened the scoring after the midweek defeat in Munich with Lustig showing some composure to strike his shot into the turf and into the net.

Proving that it wasn’t a fluke he notched a second before the interval but failed to complete a hat-trick- not that he’ll be bothered as he looks to add another medal to his collection.

Predator

Every striker loves to score these types of goals- all about instinct.

A few of his early touches looked awkward but when Scott Sinclair sent the ball into the six yard box Dembele knew where to to and redirected the ball into the net.

It’s been a while for him to get off the mark this season but with two goals in 30 minutes he’s likely to start at Aberdeen on Wednesday and catch up for lost time around goal.

Mika scores

Another two goals closer to becoming Celtic’s top scoring Swede.

They were hardly clinical finishes but as any striker will tell you they all count.

Lustig found himself in the right place at the right time to convert both chances. He has all the confidence in the world and isn’t shy about moving forward to show his more attack minded team-mates that it is a simple business around goal.

The boss

He came under criticism after the defeat in Munich but Celtic fans know when they are on a good thing.

Healthy debate followed the 3-0 midweek reverse but with a 3-0 win at Anderlecht fresh in the mind it is clear the direction that the club is moving in.

At Hampden he called it right again, making full use of his squad and perfectly timed substitutions he can now take four days to prepare for another huge test on Wednesday at Aberdeen.

The handover

It was very strange to watch Neil Lennon going through his touchline antics- against Celtic.

The winning instinct burns as brightly as it did when he was driving Celtic to the 2011/12 title and kicking off the current period of dominance.

Hibs have always been a frustrating club, it’ll test Lennon’s patience to the max but the former hoops boss is probably the manager most capable of stopping Brendan Rodgers side in their tracks.

Ticket farce

Anthony Stokes takes control but where have the Hibs fans gone?

There ought to be a meaningful enquiry into this ticketing carve up.

Within a week of putting tickets on sale it must have been obvious that Hibs weren’t going to get anywhere close to selling out their allocation.

By selling North Stand tickets first there was no way back- Rod Petrie has some questions to answer but using his ‘time to move on’ catchphrase he looks like being voted in as next President of the SFA.

Clancy and Connor

How to make a situation out of nothing.

There was nothing close to a penalty incident when Kevin Clancy and Frank Connor decided to spice the game up.

Clancy thought about a penalty but knew it wasn’t, he looked to Connor and found himself over ruled by his assistant. Weakly he then pointed to the spot.

Celtic overcame the set-back but that is not the point, highlighting outrageous mistakes when you win is important, Clancy and Conroy may think twice next time they are in charge of Brendan Rodgers’ side.

Efe

Fortunately there was no acrobatics from the former Celtic defender who’s likely to be back at Hampden for the final cheering on his old team-mates.

It was an error free performance from the Nigerian defender who seems to be providing some stability to the Hibs defence- he wouldn’t have been signed by Neil Lennon otherwise.

There are a few chapters left in Ambrose’s career, stopping Celtic’s winning run may be one of them with football full of such strange twists.

Faithful through and through

From Munchen to Mount Florida they were there in their thousands.

The ticket allocation was a farce with thousands of season ticket holders denied the chance to watch their team while Hibs sat quietly on thousands of unsold tickets before claiming their cut of the tickets sold by Celtic.

Under Brendan Rodgers it has been a fantastic 17 month run- the next 17 months and beyond look like offering as much excitement, adventure and silverware.