Hibernian recover from two goals down to earn point against Celtic

Hibernian fought from two goals down to grab a 2-2 draw in a pulsating encounter with leaders Celtic at Easter Road.

Scott Sinclair appeared to give the Hoops what looked like an unassailable lead with two goals in four minutes after the break. However, in a dramatic finale former Parkhead defender Efe Ambrose halved the deficit in the 76th minute before 19-year-old substitute Oli Shaw levelled three minutes later with both sides having chances to clinch the win before the end.

It was a well-deserved point for Neil Lennon’s side who had drawn 2-2 at Celtic Park in September while the Hoops extended their unbeaten domestic run to 68 games to go five points clear of Aberdeen as they look forward to Monday’s Europa League last-32 draw.

Olivier Ntcham opened up the Hibees defence with a perfectly-weighted through ball in the second minute and defender Lewis Stevenson had to put in a saving tackle on Callum McGregor to prevent the Hoops midfielder getting a shot in on keeper Ofir Marciano.

The match swung from end to end on a pitch glazed with frost but in the 18th minute Hibs midfielder Dylan McGeouch gifted his former club a gilt-edged opportunity. His pass along the edge of his own penalty area was picked up by James Forrest but with only Marciano to beat from 12 yards the Scotland winger bent his shot inches past the post, before Celtic keeper Craig Gordon blocked a Martin Boyle drive.

Sinclair doubled his tally for the day when he turned right inside Steven Whittaker, this time his shot taking a deflection off Marvin Bartley before ending up beyond Marciano. The Hoops winger then had the ball in the net with an angled-drive but the offside flag was up beforehand.

It looked like the Parkhead men would cruise to the final whistle but Ambrose forced the ball over the line from 10 yards with the help of a deflection after Whittaker’s drive had been blocked to his feet.

In the 78th minute, after Marciano had made saves from Celtic substitute Moussa Dembélé and Sinclair, there was more drama when Shaw, on for Bartley, turned and fired high past Gordon from 12 yards after Stevenson’s cut-back had been deflected into his path.

The match ended with Sinclair passing up the chance of taking home the match ball - and winning the match for Celtic - by blasting with only the Hibs keeper to beat.

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Premiership roundup

Rangers left it late to finally make it three victories in a row for the first time in 2017 as they edged out Ross County 2-1 at Ibrox. The Light Blues had failed on their eight previous attempts to extend a winning run past two this year. But after last week’s double triumph over Aberdeen, Danny Wilson’s winner seven minutes from the end sealed the long-awaited hat-trick of wins.

Craig Curran’s early opener put Owen Coyle’s team ahead but Alfredo Morelos’s first goal in 11 games put Rangers back on track. The win will now be another boost to caretaker manager Graeme Murty’s chances of landing the Rangers job permanently. The under-20s coach was back in the dugout after Derek McInnes stunned Rangers’ chiefs by knocking back their approach on Thursday.

Eamonn Brophy and Kris Boyd scored two goals each as Kilmarnock ended their winless run at Rugby Park with a resounding 5-1 victory over basement side Partick Thistle. Killie had picked up just two points at home this season prior to the contest but an impressive individual performance from Brophy inspired victory and made sure that unwanted record came to an end.

Kyle Lafferty netted the only goal against Motherwell as Hearts sealed their first win at the new-look Tynecastle at the fourth time of asking. The Northern Ireland striker capitalised on a mistake by the defender Cédric Kipré in the 39th minute to score in front of his watching national team manager Michael O’Neill.

Stefan Scougall’s goal midway through the second half sealed a 1-0 victory for St Johnstone against Hamilton at the Superseal Stadium.