First of all, I have to say that Celtic were there for the taking. This was one of the most unimpressive displays from an old firm team you will ever see. Normally when you play the old firm, there is always a period in the game when they dominate possession and you are thinking, 'Oh no, here it comes'. Well, it just never happened. And normally there are at least a couple of players in an old firm side that look a class apart and you dread them getting the ball. This again just was not the case (apart from Bobby Petta, who thankfully only lasted twenty minutes because he did look like he could give Lovell the run around).

Unfortunately Hibs just did not have the guile to produce a goal despite putting a tremendous amount of effort into the game. I felt we were the better team throughout and particularly in the first half. But in a match that was somewhat spoilt by a strong, swirling wind, there were very few chances created. In fact, there was hardly a save from either keeper in the entire ninety minutes. Paatelainen had one shot on goal in the first half that Douglas saved and Colgan had to come off his line quickly once or twice to get to the ball ahead of attackers but that was about it.

The two main incidents of note both occurred in the first half. Referee Dougal awarded Hibs a penalty when O'Neil was brought down after neat interpassing, but then changed his mind after seeing the linesman's flag up for offside. At the other end, Larsson had the ball in the net after an almighty scramble in the Hibs six yard box but this was chalked off for a foul.

Apart from that, the game was mainly fought out in the midfield where John O'Neil was clearly the best player on the pitch, outshining the makeshift Celtic middle three of MacNamara, Petrov and Healy. Hibs tried harder than Celtic to pass the ball out from defence - the Celtic back three much preferring long hoofs up the park towards Sutton and Larrson. Unfortunately for us, the passing tended to peter out the further up the pitch we went.

I can't help but make a couple of observations on some Celtic players. Didier Agathe first of all. What have they done to him ? To my eye, they seem to have taken one of the most exciting strikers I have ever seen and converted him into a very average looking wingback. The crowd boohed his every touch, for obvious reasons, and he made mistake after mistake. He looked a shadow of the player who scored that wonderful double for Hibs against Dundee.

Next up, Chris Sutton. Six million pounds. For what ? One thing they most certainly did not get as part of this package was a man with a brain. He spent the entire match whingeing at opponents and the referee as Paul Fenwick (free transfer) easily controlled him. His booking was inevitable and it won't be long before he talks himself into a sending off. Incidentally, he seems to have been giving lessons to MacNamara, who attempted to cover up his inadequacies as a central midfielder by also constantly moaning to the ref. He too was booked for his troubles.

I thought Zitelli was vastly improved in his ability to hold possession after accepting a pass but he got little chance to show what he could do in front of goal and he was replaced by Lehmann towards the end. Hibs other substitution was a shock - Nick Colgan limping off midway through the second half to be replaced by Mike Franks. The big Canadian keeper, in his first appearance, looked competent enough.

Man of the match went to Sauzee who did have a great night including a couple of superb runs out of defence. Hibs had other good performances throughout with the defence looking solid, the midfield edging their contest and the attack trying hard against a no-nonsense Celtic Rearguard. My man of the match, however, was John O'Neil, who I thought was the classiest looking player in a congested midfield and the hardest working.

Hibs Team 3-5-2

Subs not used : Murray, Andrews, McManus