Celtic Win Tough Contest At Home To Hibs

Celtic (2) 3 Hibernian (1) 1

With Rangers drawing away against Falkirk on Sunday, Celtic's victory over Hibs on Saturday morning extended their lead to four in the Scottish Premier League.

Though the Bhoys went into the locker room up 2-1 at halftime, they really should have scored more, Vennegoor of Hesselink missing an easy shot with just six minutes left in the half.

Celtic's first came in the third minute when Nakamura's well-taken corner was headed towards goal by Vennegoor of Hesselink.

Hibs' 'keeper Grzegorz Szamotulski palmed the ball away from the goal but only as far as the far post, where Scott McDonald struck it through a defender's legs.

Nakamura was the set-up man for the second too, his corner in the ninth minute disrupting the defence and allowing captain Stephen McManus to shoot the ball into the back of the net.

Eight minutes later, Hibs cut their deficit to one when Rob Jones got his head onto a Riordan cross, rocketing the ball past a helpless Artur Boruc.

Celtic's lead should have been extended again when Vennegoor of Hesselink fired wide with six minutes left in the half, and they were denied again, when Szamotulski managed to tip a Nakamura free-kick over the bar.

The visitors came out with renewed confidence in the second-half, but were unable to take take advantage of their chances.

Instead it was Celtic who looked to have the game won, when McGeady was brought down by McCormack in the box, but the referee was not convinced and waved play on.

It fell to McDonald to put the game beyond Hibs' reach in the 76th minute, when he got on the end of a Scott Brown pass and nailed a shot into the net.

Celtic manager Gordon Strachan was happy with the win but disappointed that his team was not further ahead at half-time: "We were playing against a side that have given us problems here before and I thought we were absolutely fantastic in the first half; the variations of play were fantastic.

"To be only 2-1 up at half-time, well, it was a hard team talk in many ways.

"We played alright in the second half without being outstanding.

"We were 2-0 up against Dundee United here recently and I think visions of that went through the fans and players' minds and it's hard to deal with.

"Hopefully now that we've got over that hurdle, when we go two up in home games we can relax a bit."

News emerged on Monday afternoon that English Premier League stragglers Newcastle United were interested in acquiring Celtic captain Stephen McManus before the transfer window closes on Monday.

The inquiry came after Celtic approached the Magpies for full-back Jose Enrique, manager Joe Kinnear seemingly interested in a swap for McManus.

While Celtic responded that they were not seeking to lose their captain, they did say that they would consider any offer that Newcastle made before the transfer window closed.

Celtic were also said to be looking seriously Chivas USA's Sacha Kljestan.

The MLS midfielder spend a week training with the Bhoys at their Lennoxtown facility and won US Soccer's Young Male Athlete of the Year award.

Strachan, asked by reporters about the lack of apparent activity in the transfer market, dismissed the idea that the club were holding back thanks to the knowledge that Old Firm-rivals Rangers were unlikely to be active themselves: "It's been shown over the years that the signings at this time have been beneficial to the club," he said.

"But you usually find that most of the action happens in the last three or four days."