Celtic went into their encounter with Hibernian looking to get back on track following their demolition at the hands of Barcelona in the Champions League, while the visitors were seeking to kick-start their season after a less than average start.
Neil Lennon's men dominated the opening stages and took a 1-0 lead into half time, thanks to some adroit finishing from Teemu Pukki.
Celtic weren't able to grab a vital second goal to kill the game off, leaving Hibs with a chance to steal a point heading into the dying embers of the game. However, they were unable to muster any decent chances with the final score ending 1-0 to the hosts.
Find out how things played out by reading our minute-by-minute commentary of the events below.
Hello everyone and thank you for joining us today. Neil Lennon's side are looking to bounce straight back from their mauling at the hands of Barcelona earlier in midweek. Celtic will be buoyed by their current form on Scottish soil, which has seen them score 13 goals in their last two games.
Hibernian midfielder Paul Cairney is looking forward to today's game. Here's what he had to say about the encounter:
"I scored there last season and hopefully I can score again on Saturday. My dad will be there again but will be in the Celtic end. However, he will want Hibs to win and for me to put in a strong performance.
"His friends gave me a bit of stick for scoring against them. But, if we can get a victory this time, I will be giving them plenty back."
Some team news for you now...
HIBERNIAN: Williams; Forster, Nelson, Hanlon, McGivern, Cairney, Robertson, Craig, Stevenson, Handling, Collins
Two changes for Hibs today then as Terry Butcher moves Jordon Forster to right-back in order for Michael Nelson to slot back into the centre of defence. A great boost for the visitors this afternoon, I believe.
CELTIC: Forster; Lustig, Ambrose, van Dijk, Izaguirre, Brown, Biton, Ledley, Commons, Stokes, Pukki
Great to see Efe Ambrose starting in defence for the hosts, always makes for great entertainment to see his goal celebration. By far one of the most impressive in Europe!
Celtic passing nicely here, but they give the ball away cheaply in the middle of the park and Stevenson breaks with the ball, though his tame shot from distance trickles wide of Forster's post.
Windy conditions playing their part at Celtic Park this afternoon, with the hosts keeping the ball on the deck in order to counter the breeze inside the ground.
CHANCE Collins pings a lovely ball over to van Dijk on the left, who then crosses first time into the box, but the ball is headed away for a corner by the Hibernian defence.
More good possession from the hosts who are zipping the ball around nicely on the deck. Commons makes what he believes to be a great run in behind the defence, but the linesman flags him off-side.
Floodlights are on already here with dark skies hovering in Glasgow. Rain coming down heavily too.
Fantastic play from Stokes who drops in deep to pick the ball up while holding off two Hibs defenders, he plays it out to the left but the return ball is deflected out for a throw.
Lots of neat passing in triangles from the hosts, but Hibs are holding strong with strict banks of four. Celtic look to Izaguirre for some magic on the left, though he is hounded out by two defenders.
Hibs finally get some decent possession as they pick the ball up on the break. However, after a few short passing exchanges they look to lump the ball forward and it's easily retrieved by the Celtic defence.
Celtic are continuing to work the ball in and around the Hibernian box where Commons finds space to crash in a shot towards goal, which is then blocked just inside the area.
Izaguirre looking dangerous as he commits the man and beats him before putting in a rather tame cross that comes to nothing.
Brown tries Celtic's chances from distance as the ball breaks to him 30 yards out from goal, but the captain's shot flies high and wide without troubling the goalkeeper.
CHANCE Another ball comes in from wide and sets off a scramble inside the Hibs box where it drops to Commons, whose first touch lets him down as the chance passes when he is shutdown by two defenders.
GOAL! Celtic 1-0 Hibernian (Pukki)
Celtic finally take the lead as Brown plays in a lovely through ball to Ledley, who then lays off an inch-perfect delivery, which allows Pukki to nip across the front of his marker and turn the ball home from close range.
CHANCE Stokes finds himself with space outside the box and decides to unleash a powerful effort that looks headed for the top corner. However, Williams gets across to keep the ball out with a smart save.
Celtic still looking dominant here, however on the odd occasion the visitors manage to pick the ball up on the counter and appear to be most threatening when they advance down the left wing.
Great play from Commons who is pulling the strings when he takes up a central position. This time he feeds the ball wide to Izaguirre who produces a decent ball into the box, which evades both Stokes and Pukki who are lingering in the six-yard area.
CHANCE Lustig turns creator this time as he plays a long ball in behind the defence for Stokes to run onto, the striker manages to retrieve the ball with a great first touch, but the advancing Williams manages to smother the ball in front of goal.
SAVE Great save from Celtic keeper Forster to deny Robertson, who drills in a smart shot from outside the box. The keeper is equal to it as he keeps track of the ball as it passes through the defence before turning it out of danger.
HALF TIME: CELTIC 1-0 HIBERNIAN
Relatively easy for the hosts so far. Plenty of possession and a goal-lead to boot. The visitors have looked devoid of any attacking threat, apart from that piece of individual brilliance from Robertson towards the end of the half.
The visitors won't be too down, though, as the score could be much worse given the amount of possession the hosts have held. For the most part, Hibs have defended well and will be looking for their forward men to provide them with a little more assistance in the second half.
Most of Celtic's chances have come from their full-backs getting forward. Left-back Izaguirre is looking most threatening for Neil Lennon's side and will no doubt have a huge part to play in the hosts pressing home their current 1-0 advantage.
An image of a rain-soaked Celtic Park prior to this afternoon's game:
PIC: The rainswept stage for today's game; will the weather work in #Hibs favour? #hibees pic.twitter.com/mcLUrPBDAp
— Hibernian FC (@HibernianFCClub) December 14, 2013
Despite their dominance, the home side really need another goal to put this game to bed. If they keep up the intensity with which they played in the first half, getting three points shouldn't be too much of a problem.
And we're back underway, Hibs kicking from right to left at the start of the second half.
CHANCE Somehow the ball scrambles through to Handling who gets in behind the Celtic defence, he has to shoot quickly and from range, with his effort rising high and wide above Forster's goal.
SAVE Brown collects the ball in the wide chanel before letting fly from a tight angle just inside the box, however Williams stands his ground and turns the ball away from goal.
Tireless work from Izaguirre on the left flank as he hounds down the full-back to win the ball for his side, though he can't do much with it as reinforcements arrive to win the ball back for Hibs. The Celtic left-back has been incredibly industrious this afternoon.
Much the same pattern here as the first half, lots of neat touches but not much going on inside the Hibs box. Stokes tries something a little different as he powers in an effort from range, but Williams is equal to it.
SAVE Commons lets fly from outside the box this time, with his effort taking a deflection off the defender before crashing into Williams in the Hibernian goal. Not sure he knew much about that, timely save though!
SAVE Wow. Hibs should be back in the game. Ambrose is caught dallying inside his own box, allowing Craig to steal the ball and fire a shot straight against the post with only the keeper to beat. Big, big chance for the visitors.
SUB Samaras comes on for the injured Pukki.
SUB Cummings replaces Handling.
Commons is trying to put this game to bed, this time he feeds Stokes down the right flank, but his cross is headed away as Hibernian clear their lines yet again.
Hibs hanging on in here, they know it could only take a set-piece and they might be back in the game.
SUB Hibs make another change as Zoubir comes in for Cairney.
Hibs aren't doing themselves any favours. Each time they manage to win the ball back they head straight for their forwards and end up losing possession within a matter of seconds. I doubt they've strung more than six passes together this afternoon.
SUB Matthews replaces Lustig.
YELLOW CARD Izaguirre is booked for an apparent dive in the box and Lennon is going bonkers on the touchline. It certainly looks like it could've easily been a penalty as the left-back knocks the ball past the defender, before being caught with a late knee. Could that decision prove costly for the hosts?
And it almost does. Matthews is at fault this time as the Celtic sub tries to walk the ball out of the box, however he gets caught and the ball falls to Zoubir who hits his shot straight at Forster with the goal gaping.
Into the final 10 minutes and things are looking a little nervy now for Celtic, despite a fairly comfortable afternoon for the hosts. They've probably deserved a second given the amount of possession they've held, but the visitors are somehow still in with a shout.
Great defending from Biton as he shows good composure to head back into the safe arms of Forster with the ball pin-balling around inside the Celtic area.
CLOSE The ball is whipped into the Celtic box from the left, which eludes everyone and almost finds the bottom corner. However, Forster watches the ball roll wide like he knew it was coming all along. Cool, very cool from the keeper.
Celtic sitting quite deep now and are inviting pressure. We've got three minutes of added time at Celtic Park. Can Hibs do it?
YELLOW CARD Samaras is shown a yellow for time wasting. Taking one for the team there...
Not much happening here football-wise in the dying stages, the quality hasn't been great in the latter period of the second half; lots of niggly fouls and slack passing from both sides.
FULL TIME: CELTIC 1-0 HIBERNIAN
Well, that was a rather poor second half. Celtic have done it though and their third consecutive clean sheet in the Scottish Premiership has ensured that they claim all three points this afternoon. Very poor from Hibs, they offered nothing in the dying embers despite still being in with a shout to claim an away draw.
Celtic will be happy having got three points on the board, especially following their horror-show of a performance against Barcelona in the Champions League. Good job they won too, as Inverness have also grabbed a 2-0 away victory over Hearts to keep the pressure on the league leaders.
Written by
Christopher Dodd
Christopher Dodd
