Celtic 4
Hibernian 1
OH HYEON-GYU capitalised on a rare start to hit a double as Celtic consolidated their position at the top of the Scottish Premiership with a 4-1 victory over Hibernian at Parkhead.
Oh got the final touch on Celtic’s opener from a fifth-minute set-piece before hitting the fourth shortly before making way for Kyogo Furuhashi.
Matt O’Riley’s header and a Luis Palma penalty had extended Celtic’s lead in between the South Korean’s goals.
Substitute Christian Doidge netted a consolation for Hibs to give them some reward for Nick Montgomery’s attempts to build from the back and utilise his many attacking players.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers brought in Ireland international Mikey Johnston for his first Scottish Premiership start since December 2021, as well Tomoki Iwata and Oh.
The champions got an early settler when Cameron Carter-Vickers got on the end of Palma’s corner and hit a shot which skimmed off Oh’s leg and beat David Marshall.
Oh was on the end of several crosses without seriously threatening before Marshall parried McGregor’s 25-yard strike.
The second goal came in the 36th minute when O’Riley timed his run perfectly to head home Palma’s cross after the winger had turned Lewis Miller inside out.
There were more chances at either end before the break. Alistair Johnston and Carter-Vickers both almost converted balls across the face of goal while Joe Hart made a good stop from Elie Youan.
Nat Phillips replaced Carter-Vickers at half-time and Celtic went further ahead in the 51st minute when Palma sent Marshall the wrong way from the spot.
Referee John Beaton was initially unconvinced over Lewis Stevenson’s challenge on Alistair Johnston but he did not take long to change his mind after being called to the VAR monitor by Gavin Duncan.
Oh netted four minutes later when he got on the end of McGregor’s ball down the left channel, brushed off Will Fish and guided the ball into the far corner.
Youan hit the post with a deflected effort before the wide player set up substitute Doidge for a 72nd-minute tap-in with a return pass.
Australian winger Marco Tilio had come on in the 63rd minute for Celtic for his second appearance for the club. The Australian winger created a decent shooting chance for himself but shot weakly at Marshall from 20 yards.
Celtic came closer when Marshall stopped Palma’s free-kick and both Furuhashi and Iwata missed glorious late chances.
Hearts 0-1 Rangers
Rangers beat Hearts for the third time in six weeks with a first-half goal from Abdallah Sima at Tynecastle.
After a defeat at Ibrox and a loss against the Light Blues in the Viaplay Cup semi-final at Hampden Park, Steven Naismith’s side again came up short against Rangers.
Having scored twice in the 2-0 home win over St Mirren on Sunday, Brighton loanee Sima struck again in the 34th minute to take the three points back to Govan.
Rangers are still eight points behind the leaders having played a game less with Philippe Clement extending his unbeaten run since taking over as boss to 11 matches.
