Hibs instant analysis as Celtic hit Monty's side for four

The champions ran out 4-1 winners, extending the Hibees' 13-year wait for a win in Glasgow's east end. Oh Hyeun-gyu notched an early opener from a corner before Matt O'Riley headed in Luis Palma's cross shortly before the interval.

Celtic were then awarded a soft penalty when Lewis Stevenson made contact with Alistair Johnston in the box, with Oh adding his second minutes later. Christian Doidge bagged a consolation for Hibs, his first since returning from injury, but it was far too late to prevent only a second Premiership defeat for Montgomery.

Patrick McPartlin and Liam Bryce provide the instant analysis...

Hibs break the golden rule

Very aware that 'keep it tight early doors' is about as basic an insight as can be offered in the modern game, but surely Montgomery will have been stressing the importance of not giving Celtic an early platform. Aside from the obvious drawback of going behind, Hibs wasted a chance to exploit the champions' tendency to get bogged down in matches in which they don't go ahead early. There's been the Viaplay Cup exit to Kilmarnock, a stalemate with St Johnstone, a home draw with Motherwell, and even their dramatic late win away at the Steelmen was a thoroughly turgid performance in general. There is clear evidence that if you do not succumb to Celtic in the opening stages, they find it increasingly difficult to find their flow. And that Hibs opened the door for them after just five minutes will be immensely frustrating for Montgomery, doubly so that it came from a poorly defended set-piece. It denied Hibs the chance to establish some comfort within the game, and there was a period thereafter when Celtic threatened to turn the screw. The second goal, less than 10 minutes before the interval, then became a significantly deflating one for the visitors.

Liam Bryce

No case for the defence

Hibs had to make two changes to their defence against Aberdeen with Rory Whittaker and Lewis Stevenson coming in for the suspended Lewis Miller and injured Jordan Obita but despite that the back four knitted together well and kept a clean sheet despite the Dons recording 24 shots on goal. Against Celtic, however, the back four was less impressive. Miller returned in place of Whittaker and while Celtic are undoubtedly a stronger team than Barry Robson’s outfit, some of the defending on show was of the hide-behind-the-sofa variety. While there was a degree of misfortune about the opener, with the ball virtually bouncing off Cameron Carter-Vickers onto Oh Hyeon-gyu and past David Marshall, Miller gave Luis Palma far too much room on the flank for the second, and either Rocky Bushiri or Dylan Levitt should have picked up Matt O’Riley but didn’t, allowing the midfielder to head home.

The third goal was a penalty given away by Stevenson - his second in four days - and Will Fish was brushed off the ball far too easily by Oh for the fourth. The defence may be makeshift but they have to work as a unit and be more cohesive. Going up against teams like Celtic and Rangers is hard enough for the likes of Hibs given the budgetary gap but other teams have, this season, showed that it is possible to go to Celtic Park and frustrate the hosts.

Patrick McPartlin

Pragmatism v identity

There’s something admirable about managers wanting to go to Celtic Park and Ibrox and have a go at Celtic and Rangers. But as Lee Johnson found out, and as Nick Montgomery has probably learned too after chastening defeats at both venues, is there something to be said for deploying a bit more tactical pragmatism? It worked well enough in the home game back in October but it’s a different beast away from home and while Montgomery has worked hard to instil an identity and a way of playing in this Hibs team, perhaps for morale reasons more than anything else, it might be worth at least considering tweaking that approach until he has more players capable of playing the way he wants.

Patrick McPartlin

A missing piece?

There appear to be forward-thinking re-enforcements on the January radar for Hibs, but it feels as though this team could do with a player who excels at linking midfield and attack. There's no shortage of pace and goalscoring threat in the final third, but there are times when the forward line can feel disconnected from the rest of the team. When the pre-match teamsheets arrived, it appeared Josh Campbell may have been deployed in that role, and to keep a close eye on Callum McGregor. But he operated mostly from the right-hand side as his starting position. Adam Le Fondre is adept at playing the link man, but he won't be seen in green and white for some time yet, and at 36 is not a long term option. Dylan Vente didn't play at Parkhead, but such a figure would also make sense in ridding him of the need to drop deep, which he often does, allowing him to stay closer to goal.

Liam Bryce

Is Doidge in contention for a start at Livingston?

Christian Doidge has had to be patient under Nick Montgomery - he hasn’t started much recently and a slight knock kept him out of action for a couple of games. But he at least looked bright when he came off the bench with Hibs 4-0 down, and started and finished the move that led to his consolation goal.

Ahead of the game Hibs were linked with a move for Adelaide United forward Musa Toure. Only recently turned 18, the youngster is an exciting talent in the A-League and ranks highly in many key attacking metrics. While Hibs can look threatening against lesser teams than Celtic with the pace of Martin Boyle and Élie Youan, it was telling that Hibs only had two real opportunities of note at Celtic Park other than Doidge’s finish. The first was a cute ball over the top from Joe Newell and the Frenchman probably should have done better but his first touch carried the ball a little too far from him and his effort lacked power and Joe Hart was able to block. The second was another close-range effort that was deflected onto the post.

Beyond that, there wasn’t a lot of goalmouth action for Hibs so maybe it’s little surprise that different attacking flavours are being looked at. But until the January window opens, and with Adam Le Fondre and Harry McKirdy still sidelined, Nick Montgomery will have to make do with what he currently has at his disposal. Hibs travel to Livingston on Saturday and although the West Lothian side have struggled for results recently, the Tony Macaroni Arena hasn’t been a particularly happy hunting ground for Hibs in recent seasons and Doidge could well have given Montgomery something to think about in terms of selection.