Hibs succeed against Celtic where they failed against Rangers but tiredness a factor for Brendan Rodgers side

There was a moment midway through the second half when Cameron Carter-Vickers passed the ball out of the park and immediately rubbed his face and eyes like a man desperately trying to wake himself up the morning after a big night.

Celtic defender Cameron Carter-Vickers wrestles with Hibs striker Dylan Vente for possession. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

And, there was something in that because while Celtic did not want to make excuses after the match, the legginess and lethargy in the away side’s early performance was undoubtedly linked to the energy - physical, mental and emotional - expelled as they tussled with Champions League rivals Atletico Madrid at Celtic Park on Wednesday.

Feeling their way into this one, rather than leading with the punchiness people have come to expect, they dominated possession but couldn’t find the necessary zip or spark to penetrate a Hibs team determined to make a better fist of things than they did against Rangers at Ibrox last weekend.

The Easter Road manager Nick Montgormery had insisted that he would not veer away from his preferred 4-4-2 formation and a gameplan that involves playing out from the back and getting down the flanks when in possession and converting into a compact, cohesive and impenetrable blockade when the ball is turned over. And, he was true to his word, despite watching his side’s vulnerabilities being exposed at times during the capital derby and then with greater frequency in Rangers’ easy 4-0 victory at Ibrox last weekend.

Hibs goalkeeper David Marshall makes a big save to deny Celtic's Daizen Maeda. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

But if there is a doggedness to his approach, he is willing to shake things up when it comes to personnel as he looks for the best men within the squad he inherited to deliver his gameplan.

As such he made two changes to his starting line-up, with Rocky Bushiri in for Paul Hanlon and Jair Tavares replacing Adam Le Fondre.

That left a spot up top for Martin Boyle to partner Dylan Vente and it was the Australian front man who had Hibs’ best chance of the match, just six minutes into the second half when he raced in to connect with a lovely Jordan Obita cross. But, at full stretch, the final shot soared over the goal from close range, leaving Boyle wondering how he missed.

By then Celtic, had they found their best form, could have been a few goals to the good as Hibs’ tardiness in their distribution through their defence opened up a few opportunities. But, looking unusually lethargic, Brendan Rodgers’ men failed to capitalise.

Hibs striker Martin Boyle is dejected after missing a chance against Celtic. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

Celtic only made one alteration to the team that started against Atletico Madrid midweek when they produced arguably their best display of Rodgers’ second spell as Parkhead boss.

Paulo Bernardo came on for the injured Reo Hatate in the seventh minute of that Champions League group match and the Portuguese was trusted to continue in his colleague’s absence as the league leaders headed to the capital but the effervescence of the midweek display was missing and Bernardo, along with Luis Palma both should have done better when chances presented themselves.

Celtic had to make a switch after 25 minutes when Alistair Johnston took the full force of a Rocky Bushiri clearance to the face but manager Rodgers is hopeful that it wasn’t concussion and the player will be fit for the midweek game with high-flying St Mirren as the defending champions look to bounce back to winning ways.

As the first half progressed David Marshall had to look lively after more slack passing and a slip from Jimmy Jeggo allowed Callum McGregor the chance to send a stinging strike right at the former Scotland keeper, who parried, but Palma sent his follow-up effort over as Will Fish worked to close him down. But there was a feeling that if Hibs did not cut out those errors, surely Celtic would turn off the snooze button and punish them.

And, while Hibs did cut out some of those errors and increased the levels of concentration to make a game of it at the start of the second half, a raft of changes gave Celtic fresh impetus to counteract the tiredness that dulled the senses and the sharpness of some of their starters and forced Hibs onto the backfoot.

The home side dug those heels in, though, and while Celtic squeezed them deeper and bombarded their goal, with James Forrest being denied by the bar, by Hibs human barriers, and by David Marshall pulling off a couple of quality saves, Montgomery’s men preserved and got the point that elevated them into eighth spot.

It was a result that denied Celtic a 10 point lead at the top of the table - the Parkhead side settling for an eight point gap instead - and extended Rodgers’ run of games in Leith without a win but, given everything that the teams put into the contest, it was also an outcome that everyone could be relatively happy with.

In the 65th minute, the floodlights came on and that seemed to offer Celtic greater illumination as the substitutes started to get the short, sharp passes moving, upping the tempo and finding ways through and round the Hibs rearguard action.

But the tired legs around them made it tough to find the kind of fluidity that has troubled rivals all season.

Bushiri, Jeggo and Fish all had to make timely blocks, while Marshall, who already foiled Daizen Maida, was required to claim a Hyeongyu Oh header. If that was a relatively easy take, there was nothing easy about the diving save required to deny Mickey Johnston’s long range shot.

But it was the crossbar that ultimately ensured it would end 0-0 as Forrest came within centimetres of snatching a late victory.