Hibs supporters have been told to “have a look at themselves” after leaving Easter Road “half-empty” following their 2-1 defeat to Celtic on Sunday afternoon.
Celtic edged a tight contest in the capital courtesy of goals from Daizen Maeda and Kelechi Iheanacho, one in each half. The game also saw Jamie McGrath become the fourth Hibs player in the last three matches to be shown a red card, following a reckless challenge on Alistair Johnston.
The outcome saw Celtic move level on points with Hibs’ city rivals Hearts at the summit of the table, while also dealing a serious blow to Hibs’ hopes of securing fourth place. Now sitting six points behind Motherwell with just three fixtures remaining, former Rangers forward Kris Boyd insisted the home support had little grounds for complaint.
The Sky Sports pundit had already labelled a section of the Hibs fanbase “tin-pot” for suggesting they wanted Celtic to win in order to dent Hearts’ title push, and he doubled down after the match by criticising the visible gaps in the stands at Easter Road.
An official crowd of 18,113 was recorded for the fixture, while the earlier meeting between the sides on November 30 attracted 18,419. With the stadium holding 20,421, there were clear empty sections in the home support.
“It’s another three points for Celtic,” said Boyd. “It’s a difficult place to come to the majority of the time when the fans turn up. For Celtic, the most important thing is to get the three points, sit back, watch Hearts vs Rangers go tomorrow, and see what happens from there. This place was absolutely bouncing last week; it’s as if there isn’t even a game on today. It’s really, really poor. Hibs still have a chance of finishing fourth.
“Their fans have given up. It’s true. You’ve still got an opportunity to get fourth in this league, and the stadium is half empty with Hibs fans. So when they’re moaning about their players letting them down previously, if it comes even next season, where they feel the players have let them down today, or they’ve not represented the club, they’ve not represented the badge – well, have a look at yourselves today.”