Callum McGregor rescues draw with Hibs as Celtic’s run continues

Neil Lennon returned to Celtic Park as the Hibernian manager and left with a Premiership point after John McGinn and Callum McGregor each scored a double.

The former Celtic player and manager was given a warm reception from the home fans before McGregor, left out of Gordon Strachan’s recent Scotland squad to some surprise, drove in the opener in the 15th minute.

Two stunning strikes by McGinn after the break put the Easter Road side ahead before McGregor levelled with 10 minutes remaining to extend Celtic’s unbeaten domestic run to 58 games. Celtic’s convincing 3-0 Champions League win over Anderlecht on Wednesday night ensured a packed stadium for their return and they were treated to another 90 minutes of excitement.

Brendan Rodgers, without his injured captain Scott Brown and fellow midfielder Stuart Armstrong, made five changes. The French attacker Odsonne Édouard started alongside his countryman Moussa Dembélé with McGregor, James Forrest and Jonny Hayes back in the side. Anthony Stokes, Efe Ambrose and Dylan McGeouch were ex-Celts in the Hibs side, adding another subplot to the encounter.

The Celtic goalkeeper Craig Gordon tipped a 25-yard free-kick from Stokes over the bar in the third minute as Hibs started confidently. However, gradually the champions played themselves into the game. When Dembélé played in McGregor he fired low past Hibs keeper Ross Laidlaw from 16 yards for his fifth goal of the season. That appeared to be Celtic into their stride and moments later Laidlaw pulled off a decent save from Tom Rogic’s drive.

Hibs, though, were not out of it and in the 34th minute Celtic’s Dedryck Boyata had to speed back to deny Martin Boyle, who had raced on to a Lewis Stevenson pass. At the other end Laidlaw blocked an Édouard effort after he was set up by Hayes in a swift counterattack. Scott Sinclair replaced Édouard for the start of the second half and within three minutes had drawn a good save from Laidlaw, his drive from 12 yards parried and then cleared by Stevenson.

McGinn’s equaliser in the 53rd minute stunned Celtic Park. As the home side set themselves up to defend their penalty area the midfielder Marvin Bartley drifted along the edge of the box and when the ball fell neatly for McGinn he fired low past Gordon. The match turned in Hibs favour and after Leigh Griffiths replaced Dembélé only a remarkable Gordon save in the 65th minute kept the home side level. When a McGinn corner fell to Steven Whittaker a yard out it looked a certain goal but somehow the Scotland keeper beat away his shot for another corner.

McGregor cleared the bar moments later as an exciting finale ensued and when McGinn fired high past Gordon from 22 yards after Mikael Lustig had headed clear an Ambrose attempt there was an air of disbelief around the stadium. Celtic rallied and after Griffiths’ cross was knocked back into the path of McGregor after several players challenged for it, he steered the ball in from 12 yards.

There was a Celtic penalty claim in the 87th minute when Ambrose appeared to impede Sinclair before the Celtic substitute had his shot parried away by Laidlaw.

The referee Willie Collum ignored the appeals, to the anger of the home supporters who, when the dust settled, will recognise that they had witnessed their side given a rare domestic test.

Rodgers hailed his players post-match. “It was arguably our result of the season considering the amount of players out and the number of games. Coming into the game today, it was always going to be difficult,” he said.

His Hibs counterpart, Lennon, said: “We didn’t take a step back the whole game. It was an outstanding team performance. A draw was probably a fair result, but we are disappointed not to win.”

SCOTTISH ROUNDUP

Adam Rooney scored a hat-trick for Aberdeen as they continued their unbeaten run in the Scottish Premiership this season with a confident 3-0 victory over St Johnstone.

Rooney headed home two of his goals, the first at the near post from a Stevie May cross and the second from close range after Anthony O’Connor had flicked on a cross. His third goal came from the penalty conversion with nine minutes remaining.

The result left the Saints manager, Tommy Wright, fuming. “Look at the goals we’ve conceded,” he said. “A free-kick, the centre-backs drop deep. Three of them with one striker to look after. They don’t do it. A corner kick. It’s nothing to do with systems.

“When players don’t pass the ball, don’t work hard for each other, when they give a quality side time on the ball, that’s what happens. You get gubbed. We were gubbed today.”

Peter Hartley scored his second goal in three games as Motherwell eased past Partick Thistle a handsome 3-0 victory at Fir Park. The on-loan Blackpool defender followed up on the rebound in the seventh minute and helped set up Motherwell’s third for Ryan Bowman with a stylish turn on the byline.

Hartley was not the only one among the hosts showing confidence and Craig Tanner scored his first Premiership goal in a one-sided contest with Trevor Carson never having a save to make.

Owen Coyle began his tenure as the Ross County manager with a 2-0 win at Kilmarnock. The former Burnley, Blackburn and Bolton manager was appointed on Wednesday following the surprise departure of Jim McIntyre and kicked off his reign with an impressive win.

Goals from Craig Curran and Kenny van der Weg were enough to secure a win against a struggling Kilmarnock side, who remain without a win and are under increasing pressure.

Curran opened the scoring when he drifted into the penalty area and was picked out by Davis Keillor-Dunn’s cross, placing a fine header back across goal and into the bottom corner to up the pressure on the Killie manager, Lee McCulloch.

Dundee’s Kerr Waddell scored his first senior goals to secure a 2-1 win over Hearts at Dens Park. The 19-year-old Dark Blues academy graduate opened his top-flight account when he headed in a minute before the break but his goal was cancelled out by the Hearts striker Kyle Lafferty after 71 minutes. The Northern Ireland striker latched on to a Sofien Moussa pass-back and rounded the Dundee goalkeeper, Scott Bain, to score.

Waddell then grabbed the stoppage-time winner with his second headed goal as the Hearts manager, Craig Levein, succumbed to his first defeat since returning to the Jambos dug-out. The win moves Dundee up to eighth, a point behind Hearts. Nial Briggs