Hibernian 0 Celtic 3

Now Lenny's following in the footsteps of giants

By ROBERT GRIEVE
Published: 4 hrs ago
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CELTIC’S name was engraved on the trophy — the manager’s name etched in history.

Stein. McNeill. Lennon.

Three Celtic men now linked side-by-side forever.

Double winners during their time wearing the Hoops, Double winners as managers leading them.

Neil Lennon joined two legends at Hampden yesterday as his SPL champs swept Hibs to one side.

Gary Hooper scored twice before half-time with Joe Ledley adding a third.

Pat Fenlon’s Hibees trudged back to Easter Road after another Cup Final humbling.

And like last season’s humiliation to Hearts they could have no complaints. Celtic were simply superb, skipper Scott Brown and hitman Anthony Stokes their non-scoring match winners.

When was this game won and lost? Inside the first ten minutes is the short answer.

Hibs had such a positive start to the match, the signs were pretty good for them.

They were in the faces of Celtic just like gaffer Fenlon had ordered.

Brown could not get near the ball without a green shirted player breathing down his neck.

There was just so much controlled aggression and energy about Fenlon’s side.

And for eight minutes their plan to take the game to the men in black looked like it might work.

Had Eoin Doyle scored with the header which came his way after six minutes then who knows how different things might have turned out to be.

But the harsh truth is it probably wouldn’t have changed a thing.

Celts may have been up against it in the early stages, but once they grabbed a grip of the game this final was only heading one way. And so was the trophy.

Within just two minutes of Doyle passing up a great chance, Lennon’s men scored to take the lead.

It was against the run of play and virtually Hooper’s first touch of the ball inside the penalty box.

But his cushioned volley beyond keeper, and skipper for the day, Ben Williams drained the energy from the Hibs players in an instant.

It was such a clinical finish from the striker, from such an exquisite Anthony Stokes cross.

But the Hibs defending was appalling. Mikael Lustig played in a brilliant first ball which defender Alan Maybury did not deal with well enough.

All he had to do was knock it out for a corner or throw-in and allow his team-mates to re-organise.

But his sclaffed clearance invited Stokes to get on the ball with the hitman producing a telling delivery.

Pulling away from stopper Paul Hanlon — with keeper Williams in no-man’s land — Hooper’s finish was made to look easy.

You could see the Hibs players lose their belief in that split second. It was though they knew they had to score first to have any chance of ending their 112-year wait for the trophy.

Suddenly, Brown had acres of space in the middle of the park.

He had time to caress the ball and pick a pass, where before he had to look over his shoulder.

Celtic are too good a team to let opposition players get away with that kind of slackness.

Joe Ledley had a great chance to double the lead only to have his shot saved.

But it was only delaying things, with the Hoops soon making it 2-0 with a carbon copy of their first.

On the half hour mark Stokes again delivered a superb cross from the left.

And for a second time Hooper got away from Hanlon, this time nodding the ball down and into the net. Top scorer Hooper’s movement was so good it was textbook.

But the Hibs defence again should have done more to prevent him from adding to his season’s tally.

Any hope the Easter Road faithful had came from talisman Leigh Griffiths.

The Scotland star was clearly troubled by the calf knock he picked up in training on Friday.

But he was still a menace when Hibs pushed forward.

He had a half chance to pull a goal back before the break after a raking ball out of defence dropped over Charlie Mulgrew’s head.

Griffiths darted into the box, but after rounding keeper Fraser Forster — staying on his feet when others may have gone down — the angle was too tight for him to have a realistic chance of scoring.

After the break Fenlon tinkered with his line-up in a bid to add more of a presence in midfield.

But Celts skipper Brown continued to run the show.

The former Hibee was immense from start to finish, especially considering he is only just back from injury.

He had one furious exchange with Jorge Claros in 54 minutes after the Honduras man caught him late in a crunching tackle.

It saw ref Willie Collum book both players, Claros for his initial tackle and Brown for his reaction, with tempers threatening to boil over.

Moments later Griffiths caught Mulgrew with a naughty challenge as he became the third player cautioned. Hibs just could not get close to Celtic were it mattered.

As the clock ticked down their faithful fans screamed at them to get forward and score the next goal.

With 12 minutes left to play their slim hopes disappeared.

Sensational Stokes was again involved as he burst forward and combined with Lustig who crossed from the right.

Hooper missed a great chance to complete his hat-trick, but the ball fell perfectly for Ledley who showed lethal accuracy to smash a left-foot shot high into the net.

Hibs fans stayed with their team right until the end, saluting their efforts.

But this day belonged to Celtic with Lennon joining the ranks of the Parkhead legends.