Hibs-Celtic reaction: Postecoglou's cause for concern, boos for ex-Rangers man's ball delivery, the enigma

Hibs defeated Celtic 4-2 in a crazy cinch Premiership match at Easter Road to keep their prospects of finishing fourth alive.

After a gripping encounter between the two teams, we pick out three observations from the final match of the season at Easter Road.

Celtic cause for concern

Ange Postecoglou has tried to downplay some of the substandard displays from his team in the past few weeks – they are champions, after all – and he has taken responsibility for the stuttering form. Yet it is not all on him. Some of the players that have come into the team are just not performing at the level required. Three of the four defenders in Yuki Kobayashi, Anthony Ralston and Alexandro Bernabei again struggled and Scott Bain, brought in for a rare start in goal, made a terrible error for Elie Youan’s second goal to give Hibs the initiative. Celtic have shipped nine goals in their past three matches. Tomoki Iwata’s influence in midfield was limited and even Daizen Maeda blotted his copybook with a red card. Celtic have had a tremendous season but it must be a worry to their fans that the deputies for key figures such as Cameron Carter-Vickers have appeared miles off it.

Darren McGregor takes the acclaim of the Hibs fans on the day that he announced he will be retiring at the end of the season.Darren McGregor takes the acclaim of the Hibs fans on the day that he announced he will be retiring at the end of the season.
Darren McGregor takes the acclaim of the Hibs fans on the day that he announced he will be retiring at the end of the season.

Darren McGregor applause – and boos

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After eight seasons, including winning the Scottish Cup in 2016, veteran Hibs central defender Darren McGregor is hanging up his boots at the end of this campaign and moving into coaching. The 37-year-old delivered the match ball ahead of kick-off and took warm applause from the Hibs crowd. A proud Leither, McGregor has served his local club so well. However, the Celtic fans housed in the South Stand were less pleasant, booing him as he spoke on the microphone. Of course, this is down to his spell as a Rangers player prior to joining Hibs. He was only at Ibrox for one season – winning the club’s player of the year – but rival tribes never forget …

The enigma of Elie Youan

Hibs have spent a significant sum of money to make Elie Youan’s loan move from St Gallen a permanent arrangement. The 23-year-old Frenchman has really kicked on during the second half of the season and scored twice for Hibs here in this crazy match. His performance, however, was infuriating because while his first was a quite outstanding moment of individual brilliance with a left-footed volley, he missed some easier chances and took the wrong options at times too. Piece it all together and Hibs will have a serious player on their hands, given his sheer pace and athleticism. The challenge will be getting all of the jigsaw pieces in the right place.