Celtic got back to winning ways as Postecoglou narrowly avoided the pre-Christmas sack race (according to some!) by triumphing in his first final with the Hoops . A 2-1 win over Hibernian was the definition of hard fought in the end, as Celtic relied upon the Japanese striker Furuhashi to provide two exquisite finishes.
Possession
Celtic dominated possession without really controlling the game – it was too fragmented for that.

There were 25% more throw ins than the average Celtic game and with Hibernian time wasting from the start to try and stem Celtic momentum, it made for a bitty game.
Goal Threat
Most data vendors had Hibernian with a higher xG. Illustrating not all models are equal, I had Celtic on 1.59 to 0.98 for Hibernian.

Half of the xG Hibernian generated was in the 89th minute onwards as a late, desperate, aerial bombardment saw Nisbet hit the post, Hanlon blast over and Newell force a decent save from Hart before Porteous’ shot was blocked.
In truth Hibernian were awful especially in a first half where they could not get out of their own half or establish good field position. Hanlon led the way for them with 3 shots (0.47 xG) whilst veteran left back Stevenson led them in packing (66). Boyle, one direct first half run aside, was largely marginalised.
Creativity
Hibernian have traditionally been an opponent who has had success against Celtic playing through the lines but long balls were the order of the day. This had some success as Starfelt struggled to contain the physicality of Nisbet (good grief!).

Celtic have excelled this season in the creation of Big Chances but struggled here, managing only 1 – Starfelt’s unchallenged header inside the 6-yard box on 23 minutes. This was a slog.
As we highlighted on the per match Huddle Breakdown, Hibernian do have a pretty good defence, when they are awake and not being terrorised by a 5 foot nothing Japanese jockey.
Defence
Neither keeper was forced into a particularly difficult save, and both sides were riddled with nervous moments.

The centre back pairing for Hibernian failed twice to pick up on movement from Furuhashi that was direct but surely cannot have been unexpected.
For Celtic, Starfelt suffered what is surely a career low performance. Poorly positioned to needlessly give away the corner from which Hibernian scored, he then lost Hanlon at the corner for the captain to have an effort inside Celtic’s 6-yard box. He lost 4 of his 9 aerial duels to a player who is in no respect a frightening physical proposition. On 68 mins Nisbet embarrassed him twice before shooting at Hart who came out quickly and decisively. On top of many nervous moments, he then appeared to push over a Hibernian player in the last minute that could have resulted in a penalty kick. Compounding his miserable personal afternoon, two unopposed headers at goal from Celtic corners never even hit the target. “The ghost of Tyler Blackett” which is another way of saying this was a career limiting performance.
For all that, Hibernian were successful with only 1 of 15 crosses and Hart had the quietest afternoon of his Celtic career, completing a mere 8 passes. Hart averages 39 possessions per 90m and here he had 15. His two saves plus goal conceded had post shot xG of 0.52.
Notable Performers
Whilst Furuhashi was the obvious Bhoy of the Match, there were some notable call outs.
Carter-Vickers led the defence with 9 successful challenges / intercepts, 9 clearances and 19 recoveries. He won back possession 6 times, all team leading numbers. Additionally, he had the highest Packing score (83) for passing from 11 forward passes added to 4 progressive runs.
Rogic, as well as his second seasons defining assist of the week, created 3 chances and 2 secondary assisting passes. His xA of 0.52 was the highest. He completed 9 packing passes for a packing score of 71, 2nd highest. He led the team with 6 progressive runs and 1 successful dribble. He also led the team with 2 shots on target, equal with Furuhashi, and had the highest overall Expected Scoring Contribution of 0.94.
McGregor was desperate for his first trophy as captain and led the team effectively. He had the highest overall packing score of 123, and also provided 3 chances most notably the assist for the opening goal (or at least I think it was him through the smoke!).
Summary
No side have created more xG domestically than Hibernian in losing 1-3 (1.46) all season. What was then seen as a straightforward win belied this is an awkward opponent.
Celtic’s post international break frugality - a recalibration towards a more conservative, possession-based football - yielded impressive results. Opponents were restricted to 0.59 xG between 16th October and 20th November. Then injuries started to bite and Celtic have started to cling on. xG against since 20th November averages 1.35 admittedly including tough fixtures against Bayer Leverkusen and Real Betis. Domestically the comparative figures are 0.53 and 0.98 – still nearly double.
The team are limping to the January window and break, literally.
In 34 matches, Celtic have lost almost 200 appearances worth of game time from senior professionals due to injury (5.8 every game). Against that context, Postecoglou will be satisfied victory was achieved.
Ultimately, a player who probably should not have been on the park but for Celtic’s apparent cavalier attitude to wellbeing, won the Cup for Celtic with unmistakeable brilliance. Kyogo Furuhashi’s talent, as wide as his smile, saw him burnish bright with two finishes of the highest order (and a combined xG of a paltry 0.23).
At either end, two players (Hart and Furuhashi) who each had 15 possessions, the lowest in the team by 25, saw Celtic home.
Whilst Celtic have been the dominant force in Scottish football for over a decade, this team only really had Rogic and McGregor as serial winners. And McGregor would have been under the self-imposed pressure of a captains’ trophy count reset to 0.
For so many of these Celts to break their trophy duck so early in their career’s augurs well for the seasons ahead as Postecoglou is hopefully given time to realise his vision.