Hibernian coach Nick Montgomery was left to rue a pair of ‘massive’ Joe Hart saves before a Luis Palma-inspired Celtic wrapped up a 4-1 Scottish Premiership win on Wednesday night.
Hibs may have been two goals down even before Celtic’s former England goalkeeper was called into action. But, as far as Montgomery is concerned, it would have been a very different second-half had Joe Hart not kept out Jair Tavares before denying Elie Youan from point-blank range.
Hart, bouncing back from the criticism which arose following St Johnstone’s opener on Saturday, was the unsung hero of another multi-goal domestic victory for Brendan Rodgers’ league-leaders, Oh Hyeon-Gyu (two), Matt O’Riley and the exhilarating Luis Palma finding the net at the other end of the pitch.
Joe Hart stands tall as Celtic beat Hibernian
“I’m disappointed with the massive result, of course,” Montgomery begins, speaking to Hibs TV. “But I’m more disappointed with the manner of the first two goals we conceded.
“We came with a game plan, we had good momentum coming into the game, but it was a really sloppy goal to concede. All of a sudden, we gave them momentum and it was an uphill task.
“I’m disappointed with them because, last time we played (Celtic), we defended better. I told the boys if we defended like we did at Easter Road, then we could limit them and frustrate them. We were 2-0 down because of two sloppy goals in our opinion, and the boys accept that.
“On the other hand, we had two one-on-ones with Jair and Elie, and there was two massive saves from Joe Hart. If both those go in, then it’s 2-2.”
Eight points clear of Rangers
Celtic are still eight points clear of Philippe Clement’s Rangers at the top of the table, even if their Old Firm rivals do have a game in hand. It was a performance, meanwhile, which highlighted the fearsome strength in depth at Rodgers’ disposal.
Tomoki Iwata was impressive on his first league start of the season. Mikey Johnston was typically exciting out on the wing. Oh-Hyeon Gyu continued his impressive recent form in front of goal with two well-taken finishes in Kyogo Furuhashi’s absence.
“I’m proud of the boys’ effort,” Montgomery adds. “We scored, and Elie hit the post. I think we had some big chances.
“I’m disappointed with the results, but more than happy to take positives out of it.”
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