Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers got out of jail last night as two Adam Idah penalties handed him his first-ever win at Easter Road as the champions defeated Hibernian 2-1. On-loan Norwich striker Adam Idah notched his first two goals for his new club after he netted with aplomb from two penalty kicks after five minutes and in injury time to send Celtic three points clear at the top of the table.
After five minutes referee Nick Walsh pointed to the spot immediately after Alistair Johnston was involved in a sickening clash of heads with Nectarios Triantis. The Canadian right-back left the field on a stretcher and was taken to hospital as a precaution due to the nature of the head injury. The Republic of Ireland coolly despatched from the spot as he sent Hibs goalkeeper David Marshall the wrong way. Have Celtic finally found a penalty-taker in their ranks? Elie Youan blasted a deflected over-the-top for Hibs in the first 45 minutes in a half that was devoid of any serious action or incident.
Idah smashed an effort off the underside of the crossbar nine minutes after the restart but would have been denied a dream double (at that point) by the assistant's flag. Dylan Levitt equalised on the hour mark when he hammered in a speculative long-range effort from outside the box that Joe Hart failed to keep out. The Celtic goalkeeper redeemed himself moments later with a superb stop from Maolida's overhead kick. Celtic threw on Liel Abada, Luis Palma and Kyogo Furuhashi in the last quarter of the game as Rodgers went for broke to try and win the contest.
Just when it looked like Rodgers's Easter Road jinx would strike again substitute Kyogo was cleaned by Joe Newall and Walsh gave the penalty after being advised to check the monitor by VAR. Idah sent Marshall the wrong way again.How Rodgers must have breathed a sigh of relief.
Here, The Celtic Way's Tony Haggerty gives his instant analysis from the game...
Adam Idah gets off the mark and solves Celtic's penalty woes in the process!
The Irishman was handed his first start at Easter Road after an impressive cameo at Pittodrie. What a vote of confidence that must have been from manager Brendan Rodgers who dropped Kyogo Furuhashi in favour of the on-loan Norwich City striker. He was given an early opportunity from 12 yards after Celtic were awarded a penalty. The attacker coolly tucked it away with real aplomb sending David Marshall the wrong way in the process and making an instant impact for his new club. Have Celtic finally found a deadly marksman from the spot? Rodgers will certainly hope so but what a way for Idah to announce himself to the Celtic faithful. The 22-year-old looks a real handful and is a throwback to good old-fashioned centre-forwards as he is a focal point in attack. He made some intelligent runs off the ball but either the final pass or his touch was lacking but it will come given time. He smashed a volley off the underside of the crossbar on 54 minutes following Daizen Maeda's cross from the left but he was flagged for offside anyway. He was denied by the outstretched hand of Marshall not long later. He kept his cool again to confidently stroke home the winning penalty as the clock nudged 90 minutes He is also a big unit who will trouble defences once he is fully up to speed and has gotten to grips with Scottish football.
Solid Stephen Welsh, but injury curse strikes again
The Celtic defender was solid for 66 minutes in more ways than one. The centre-back looks to have filled out physically he was positionally excellent all evening. He was cutting a composed figure at the heart of the defensive line and even displayed a decent range of passing on occasion. Whenever he has been called upon to perform he has never let his manager or teammates down. He was another who was given the nod by Rodgers ahead of Polish defender Maik Nawrocki - after his shaky display at Pittodrie last Saturday - which will have given his confidence levels a huge boost. He blotted his copybook just once all evening when he tugged the jersey of substitute Myziane Maolida. He was certainly grasping his first team opportunity and then some when he left the field injured again which was a huge blow to the visitors. The 24-year-old will now have to wait to see what the prognosis is just as he was probably hoping to enjoy an extended run in the side as we approach the business end of the campaign.
Nicolas Kuhn's sun fails to shine in Leith
It was a big night for Kuhn who was handed his first start in a Celtic jersey after his goal had rescued a point for the champions at Pittodrie on Saturday. Sadly the £3 million capture from Rapid Vienna was rendered a passenger all evening. He made next to no contribution at all as he struggled to impact proceedings and cut a peripheral figure out on the left flank. The hunger and desire to get on the ball and make things happen in the final third in the Granite City last weekend appeared to have all but deserted him. Even when he did receive the ball out wide he struggled to beat his marker all evening. He was Celtic's least effectual attacker and it was no surprise when he was hooked and replaced by Liel Abada on 65 minutes. The German simply has to do better as this standard of display won't cut it by a long way.
Brendan Rodgers finally breaks his Easter Road duck
Ooft! The Northern Irishman finally got his elusive win against Hibs on his travels but only just. Celtic knew they needed to win as anything less result could have devastating consequences for the champions in their quest to make it three in a row. The defending champions continue to struggle on a game-by-game basis. This was far from convincing for Rodgers's men who failed to capitalise on their early initiative when Idah gave them the lead from the spot and the Republic of Ireland international repeated the trick at the death. It is shaping up to be a season-defining week for Rodgers's side and that's one hurdle negotiated. The silver lining in all of this is inadvertently Celtic and Rodgers have found a penalty taker in the process. It doesn't matter how you win, it's all about winning, that's all that matters. With 13 games to go, it certainly doesn't have to be vintage as long as the 'W' is posted in the win column. Rodgers will take the 'W' and gladly move on.
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