In the second round of the Premier Sports Cup, Celtic triumphed over Hibernian with a 3-1 scoreline, propelling them into the quarter-finals. Daizen Maeda, who stepped in as the striker, was instrumental in securing victory by delivering two goals in quick succession early on. Mykola Kuharevich provided a glimmer of hope for Hibernian by scoring a goal before the break, but Nicolas Kühn swiftly crushed their comeback hopes by reinstalling a two-goal lead for Celtic.
Celtic were missing their usual frontman, Kyogo Furuhashi, due to a shoulder injury he acquired in a previous game against Hibs where Celtic won 2-0. Adam Idah, a new recruit from Norwich, was kept in reserve, starting from the bench despite his high-profile transfer.
Celtic took advantage of Hibernian in only the 4th minute of the game, repeating rather better than their performance in their previous league match against Hibs. Reo Hatate’s strategically placed run and subsequent low cross, supplied by Kühn, set up Maeda for his first goal. Maeda then secured his second goal 15 minutes into the game by snatching the ball away from Marvin Ekpiteta and delivering it past goalkeeper Josef Bursik.
Despite Celtic’s dominating performance, Hibernian found an opportunity to score after an aerial foul on Kuharevich by Cameron Carter-Vickers. Lithuanian striker Kuharevich seized this opportunity to shoot past Kasper Schmeichel with a solid header. Despite this promising moment, the game ended with Celtic’s definitive victory.
James Forrest’s appeal for a penalty, after tumbling between Ekpiteta and Joe Newell, was turned down by referee Kevin Clancy; a decision supported by VAR Andrew Dallas. Later, an attempt at goal by substitute Nicky Cadden was thwarted by Schmeichel in the early stages of the second half. However, Celtic was handed a third goal in the 56th minute due to a poor decision by Hibs to take a short goal-kick which was followed by Ekpiteta poorly executing a pass back to Bursik. The blunder was capitalised on by Kühn, who intercepted the goalkeeper’s attempted pass, causing the ball to rebound into the net. Following a disappointing performance, Ekpiteta was replaced shortly thereafter and the match was all but finished. Matt O’Riley had a shot deflected by Bursik, giving Maeda the opportunity to strike the ball into the keeper’s grasp under duress. The crowd gave a rousing reception for Idah who, unfortunately, didn’t manage to score. Luis Palma, another substitute, spurned the best chance for the home side to extend their lead.