Hibernian 1 Celtic 2: Maloney in sparkling form to put Celtic 15 points clear
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Stephen McManus scored the second-half winner as Celtic came from a goal down to move 15 points ahead at the top of the table, but it was Shaun Maloney who stole the show in an incident-packed match yesterday.
The 23-year-old attacking midfielder won two penalties, converted one to equalise Derek Riordan's free-kick opener and had the second wonderfully saved by Hibernian's substitute goalkeeper, Zbigniew Malkowski. The Pole was only on the pitch because Simon Brown was sent off for handball outside the area with Hibs already 2-1 down.
Celtic were so poor in the first 30 minutes that their manager, Gordon Strachan, spent much of that time ranting and fuming on the touchline. His defenders kept leaving huge gaps for Hibs to work in and only a marginal offside decision prevented Chris Killen's early strike counting.
The visitors had a penalty appeal turned down before Ivan Sproule won the free-kick for Riordan's goal, which was curled sweetly into the top corner despite Artur Boruc getting a hand to it.
The equaliser arrived when Maloney picked up a pass from Stilian Petrov and dashed through on goal. Steven Whittaker brought him down and Maloney hammered the spot-kick into the roof of the net.
The goal breathed life into Celtic, who seized control of the game, albeit without creating a large number of clear scoring chances. Their winner arrived when Maciej Zurawski flicked Shunsuke Nakamura's corner on with his heel into the path of McManus, who sidefooted in from eight yards.
Zurawski was also involved in Brown's dismissal as it was his chip forward that Brown handled outside the area. Malkowski came on for Riordan, saved Maloney's free-kick and then his second penalty after the Celtic player had again been tripped by Whittaker when in on goal.
Goals: Riordan (24) 1-0; Maloney pen (36) 1-1; McManus (60) 1-2.
Hibernian (4-5-1): Simon Brown; Whittaker, Caldwell, Smith, Murphy; Stewart, Thomson, Glass (Fletcher, 69), Sproule, Killen (Dalglish, 74); Riordan (Malkowski, 62). Substitutes not used: Hogg, Konde, McCluskey, Shields.
Celtic (4-4-1-1): Boruc; Telfer, Balde, McManus, Wilson; Nakamura (Pearson, 80), Lennon, Keane, Maloney; Petrov; Zurawski. Substitutes not used: Marshall (gk), Dublin, Thompson, Varga, Lawson, Wallace.
Referee: A Freeland.
Booked: Hibernian Whittaker, Thomson.
Sent off: Hibernian Simon Brown.
Man of the match: Maloney.
Attendance: 16,985.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments