Celtic narrowly avoid another costly slip up as Adam Idah penalty double earns Brendan Rodgers first win at Hibs

Late spot-kick secures points for Celtic but what does performance say about title race?

Celtic's Adam Idah celebrates with Anthony Ralston after scoring a 90th minute penalty to seal a 2-1 win over Hibs. (Photo by Paul Devlin / SNS Group)

There isn’t much left for Brendan Rodgers to achieve in Scottish football but winning at Easter Road can now be ticked off a very short list.

Losing a league title to Rangers is something else the Celtic manager has never done and that might remain the case come the end of this season. But make no mistake, his team will have to improve on what they’ve shown in recent days. In saying that, this result could prove a huge one in relation to their ambitions this season. Instead of jeers from the away end the players, and Rodgers, enjoyed being serenaded. It was so nearly a very different story.

They were reliant on two penalties from new striker Adam Idah at either end of a competitive contest with Hibs, with the winning spot kick conversion coming in the dying moments. Hibs had taken the game to the champions in the second half and equalised with a controlled drive from Dylan Levitt on the hour mark.

Returning Australia internationalist Lewis Miller should have put his Asia Cup frustrations firmly behind him by putting the home side in front with 12 minutes left but his shot went narrowly wide.

Celtic dominated the first half but did so with little penetration save the first of Idah’s pair of penalties. Even then, Hibs might have equalised from a fizzing Jordan Obita cross. They did get back on level terms through Levitt’s shot from the edge of the box after Joe Newell’s free-kick was half-cleared.

Hibs deserved more for their enterprising second-half play. But it was still worth noting the significance of this victory to Rodgers after five attempts here. It did come at a cost, however. Alistair Johnston looked as if he had been knocked out cold in the incident that saw Celtic open the scoring.

The actual head knock that floored him occurred in the fifth minute, with Hibs defender Nectarios Triantis making an ill-judged and somewhat reckless aerial challenge on Johnston as the pair rose for a high ball. Referee Nick Walsh pointed immediately to the spot with the pair of players still lying prone on the pitch.

Triantis, a new loan signing from Sunderland, recovered but Johnston had to be stretchered off. Anthony Ralston replaced the Canadian.

Idah, meanwhile, was handed the ball and tasked with responsibility of scoring so soon into his full debut. The assignment was made more onerous due to the fact he had to wait for nearly five minutes while Johnston received attention. On an already cold night, you could feel his sinews tightening as he assessed the options. Right or left of David Marshall? Straight down the middle? In the event he chose to hit the ball to the ‘keeper’s left and saw it nestle in the net.

As against Aberdeen on Saturday, there was an early goal for the visitors, though this one was not ruled out, and then….well, what, exactly? Probably not enough for the Celtic supporters to feel wildly confident about proclaiming the bookies have got it wrong when it comes to relaying the news that Rangers are now the new favourites for the Scottish title, as at least one did yesterday. But Celtic have at least restored their three-point lead at the top, though their rivals have a game in hand.

Dropping Kyogo Furuhashi for Idah did feel like a bold step from Rodgers, but both players had a huge say in the outcome, the former from the bench.

Newell was adjudged to have tripped Kyogo as he was in the process of shooting in the last minute of regulation time, with Walsh directed to the VAR monitor. The referee confirmed this assessment and the nerveless Idah did the rest, shooting into the opposite side of Marshall’s goal this time.