Celtic 1-1 Hibernian: Depleted hosts denied win by injury-time strike
- Published
Highlights: Celtic 1-1 Hibernian
Celtic's only regret about their Dubai trip was Chris Jullien contracting Covid-19, said coach Gavin Strachan, after the draw with Hibernian.
Thirteen Celtic players missed the game as they self-isolate after being deemed close contacts of Jullien.
The hosts led through David Turnbull's free-kick, but are now 21 points behind Scottish Premiership leaders Rangers after Kevin Nisbet's late Hibs strike.
"There's regret that one person has caught the virus," said Strachan.
"But there's not a regret in terms of the permission we got to go and the protocols that we followed, which we have done the whole season."
Strachan, who managed the team against Hibs as Neil Lennon and assistant John Kennedy are also in enforced quarantine, defended the decision to take Jullien - who is out injured for up to four months - on last week's controversial training trip.
"It was to maintain his treatment with the backroom staff, he went over there so we can get him back as fast as we can," Strachan added.
"Yeah, I can understand the frustration from everybody, because we end up playing with a weaker team, but that could have happened if we were training at home as well."
Celtic, who still have three games in hand, fielded an unfamiliar line-up showing six changes, though one of those was enforced by Nir Bitton's suspension, and teenage American forward Cameron Harper was handed a debut.
Hibs' request for Celtic players to be retested pre-match was turned down and Jack Ross gave a first appearance to on-loan Arsenal goalkeeper Matt Macey.
And it was the visitors who tried to stamp their authority on the game early on with Nisbet heading over and later testing Conor Hazard with a shot after Joe Newell's strike had been pushed out by the Celtic keeper.
Harper shot instead of passing from a promising position in Celtic's first incisive move and long-range efforts from Ismaila Soro and Diego Laxalt drew fine saves from Macey.
Turnbull's superb chip found Callum McGregor in behind the Hibs defence but he could not make the right connection.
Lewis Stevenson made his 500th Hibernian appearance as a half-time replacement for Josh Doig and Harper limped off to be replaced by another Celtic debutant Armstrong Oko-Flex on the hour.
Chances were at a premium and Hazard was quick off his line to snuff out a chance for Melker Hallberg and Drey Wright's replacement Christian Doidge could not get a header on Jamie Murphy's teasing corner.
Mikey Johnston claimed unsuccessfully for a penalty after going down in the Hibs box following Ryan Porteous' challenge and soon made way for Karamoko Dembele.
Hibs also made a change with Stephen McGinn replacing Hallberg and the midfielder fouled Turnbull to give the Celtic midfielder the chance to put Celtic ahead, and he did. It was a fantastic strike by Turnbull and his fifth goal for Celtic.
Hibs went back on the attack and won a free-kick of their own after Laxalt's foul on Paul McGinn and the latter's header from Stevie Mallan's delivery was cleared on the line only for Nisbet to fire high into the net for parity. A point took Hibs to within two of Aberdeen in third.
Man of the match - Conor Hazard
Hazard did not cover himself in glory at the Hibs goal but his saves throughout kept Celtic in the game
What did we learn?
Unsurprisingly, Celtic took a while to settle into the match and lacked a focal point in the absence of Leigh Griffiths and Odsonne Edouard.
For long spells in the second half, the hosts did not look likely to win but took their chance when it came. Defensively, though, they were caught out badly at a set play.
Hibs may rue not throwing more caution to the wind at 0-0 but, after three league defeats, a point in Glasgow is a positive result.
What did they say?
We thought we'd done enough - Celtic's Strachan
Celtic coach Gavin Strachan: "The players put a lot into the game and we thought we did enough to nick it. The sucker punch at the end was frustrating. We were hoping we would have enough bodies back to see that out.
"There's a lot of football still to be played and you never know what's going to happen. Obviously it's a frustrating time just now but we need to get the win on Saturday, keep racking up the points and see what happens."
Hibernian head coach Jack Ross: "We wanted to come and win the game. I certainly think we merited taking something from it. It's good for us to stop the bleeding. It hopefully just propels our side in the right direction again.
"Kevin Nisbet's goalscoring return has been excellent. The accuracy of the finish and the trust in his finishing ability with the goal has to be like that otherwise I don't think he scores it."
Hibs 'certainly merited' point - Ross
What's next?
Celtic will still be without their isolating players when they host Livingston on Saturday (15:00 GMT). Hibs are at home to Kilmarnock at the same time.