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Sunday, 16 April 2006, 14:56 GMT 15:56 UK

Celtic 1-1 Hibernian

Celtic captain Neil Lennon lifts the SPL trophy Celtic were presented with the league trophy at full-time but the pre-party action was pretty tame against Hibs.

The visitors went in front after 35 minutes when Steven Fletcher ran on to a Stephen Glass pass and slid home a measured, low strike.

Celtic upped their game after the break and Hibs goalkeeper Zbigniew Malkowski made a number of impressive saves.

But Maciej Zurawski did find a way past his fellow Pole, with a powerful header on the 76th minute.

The outcome was meaningless for Gordon Strachan's champions but an unexpected point helps injury-hit Hibs in the battle for fourth place.

Comedian Billy Connolly presented the trophy to Celtic and the crowd could have done with a few of his jokes to liven up a flat first period.

A muted opening saw both sides enjoy long spells of uninterrupted possession, with Celtic favouring a patient approach and Hibs working hard to get behind the ball.

John Hartson broke away from the Hibs defence after 14 minutes but the striker's low angled shot was smothered by Malkowski.

Celtic were almost punished for some slack defending when a loose ball broke to Derek Riordan and the forward's improvised chip drifted narrowly wide.

Zurawski lashed a 20 yard drive high over the crossbar and Stephen McManus headed over before the visitors grabbed a surprise lead ten minutes from the interval.

Fletcher collected a long ball from Glass and, with Artur Boruc slow to advance, the teenager slipped the ball through the goalkeeper's legs.

Hartson squandered a chance to equalise immediately when he swiped wildly at a close range chance after Hibs skipper Gary Caldwell had misjudged an attempted clearance.

Celtic introduced Shaun Maloney after the break and inside the first minute the midfielder was inches away with a raking strike.

Steven Fletcher was on target for Hibernian

The home side appeared to have woken from their slumber and Chris Hogg made a vital headed clearance to deny Hartson an open goal, while Malkowski had to look smart to stop a shot from the Welshman.

Hartson then headed wide of an open goal at the back post when Malkowski had failed to gather a Shunsuke Nakamura free-kick.

The Japanese playmaker was later denied by a good Malkowski save after full-back Mark Wilson had galloped forward to set him up.

With 20 minutes remaining, Hibs threw on Dean Shiels for his first appearance since having an eye removed in January.

But the Edinburgh side were finding it hard to keep the ball and eventually surrendered their lead.

When Celtic's goal arrived, it was from the simplest of moves.

Paul Telfer floated a cross into the penalty area and Zurawski was allowed to leap unchallenged and direct a header into the corner of the net.

Malkowski turned away a 20 yard strike from Dion Dublin then produced the save of the match to keep out a point-blank header from Zurawski and ensure a share of the spoils.


Celtic: Boruc, Telfer, Varga, McManus, Wilson, Petrov (Maloney 45), Lennon, Keane (Pearson 82), Nakamura, Hartson (Dublin 66), Zurawski. Subs Not Used: Marshall, Thompson, Wallace, McGeady.

Goal: Zurawski 76.

Hibernian: Malkowski, Whittaker, Caldwell, Hogg, Murphy, Fletcher, Thomson (Shiels 70), Shields, Glass, Riordan (Benjelloun 62), Konde (Sproule 45). Subs Not Used: Simon Brown, Murray, Konte, Dalglish.

Goal: Fletcher 35.

Att: 60,047

Ref: K Toner




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Strachan thrilled to lift trophy (16 Apr 06 |  Celtic )

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