Leigh Griffiths managed to secure a late point for Celtic at Pittodrie, but it seems the Hibs fans enjoyed his late exploits more than our own.
Yes, Griff’s late effort ensured Celtic came out of the Granite City without back-to-back defeats. But in the grand scheme of things, his 93rd-minute header meant very little. For all Celtic are playing for is professional pride, and it’s clear that doesn’t mean a lot to many of these players.
But it certainly meant a lot to the Easter Road club. Coupled with their win at home vs Livingston, Hibs are now six points clear of Aberdeen in third with only three games remaining.
Whoever clinches third spot will have a better chance of reaching the Europa League qualifiers. If Rangers win the Scottish Cup, the Europa League spot that is scheduled to go to the cup winners will be given to third place. Therefore, Hibs had a real incentive last night to see the Dons drop more points.
No surprises then that they took great delight in lifelong Hibs fan Griffiths popping up with the late equaliser. It comes after the Edinburgh side have been linked with him in recent weeks too [Daily Record].
Leigh Griffiths did Hibs a major favour last night
The game, of course, meant nothing to Celtic as previously mentioned. We already have second place secured, so despite our horrendous campaign, there is no danger of Hibs or Aberdeen overtaking us in the standings.
Celtic have still to go to Easter Road on the final day of the season. By that stage, Hibs will of course already have looked to have their third place spot wrapped up. Should they do so and a side other than themselves or Rangers win the cup, however, they would drop down into the new European Conference League.
So last night’s equaliser was certainly much bigger for Hibs than it was for Celtic. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons Griffiths was so eager to make an impression for the final half-hour at Pittodrie too!
Even so, it’s a goal that delighted the Hibs supporters, who are also getting giddy about the prospect of signing Griff permanently.
Here’s how they reacted to the goal on social media last night:
https://twitter.com/Owain_1875/status/1384969545723568135
https://twitter.com/liammclennan97/status/1384969123260735493
https://twitter.com/callumsmithh_/status/1384974841128882181
In other news, Stephen Glass hasn’t taken long to start moaning about decisions
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