The Martin O’Neill train steams on, after all.
After his confirmation that he’ll be in the Celtic dugout again ahead of Sunday, O’Neill has kept his perfect domestic run going with an away win over Hibs.
In truth, it was a hard watch towards the end. Kasper Schmeichel made a crucial save to deny Chris Cadden a late equaliser, and the Celts struggled to threaten the hosts in the second half.
But in the end, they pulled through for another three points, and a triumphant St Andrew’s day in the capital.
67 Hail Hail looked at five things we learned from the encounter…
Five things we learned from Hibernian vs Celtic
Engels and Maeda score and impress again
Arne Engels and Daizen Maeda have both looked reminiscent of their best moments from last season in the last two games.
You know what you’re getting from Daizen, and when you couple his intensity with confidence, you get an unstoppable forward.
Engels has been inconsistent in his 18 months, but his combination of endurance and technique are why the Celts paid the big bucks for him. His header today was impressive.
Struggle for the full-backs
It was a crucial opportunity for both Colby Donovan and Marcelo Saracchi to impress from the start today.
But both of them were off within an hour. Saracchi looked unassured in possession, whilst Donovan was caught out down his side and picked up a yellow card in the first half.
READ MORE: Celtic fans give mixed reactions to Martin O’Neill’s surprise news on Wilfried Nancy
It’s not a cause for any massive panic just yet though – both have shown much better than this at points this season.
Striking referee inconsistency
Given the handball incident that we saw at Ibrox last week, the decision to award Hibs’ penalty in the 54th minute just becomes even more baffling.
The ball hits Liam Scales’ arm within the blink of an eye, with his body in a shape to head the ball. It really does get worse every time you see it.
VAR isn’t popular anywhere in the football globe, but it really is a soap opera in Scotland. A new embarrassment for Willie Collum every week.
Who is your man of the match?
Another contribution for Yang
Yang Hyun-Jun seems to be the latest player after Johnny Kenny, Callum Osmand and Auston Trusty to have a resurgence under O’Neill.
That’s goal contributions in consecutive games for the winger who was on the verge of a summer exit to Birmingham City.
Sebastian Tounekti has been almost ever-present on the left flank this season, but he finally looks to be getting some serious competition from Yang, with Maeda seemingly nailed on as the striker.
And the show goes on!
And we get to do it all again with O’Neill on Wednesday, following the unexpected revelation that he is to stay for now!
O’Neill has said that he expects the Dundee game to ‘definitely’ be his last – but given how unpredictable this saga has become, you really can’t ever say never.
Wilfried Nancy has a tough act to follow if he is to come in the next week – especially given the difficulty of his first run of fixtures.
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