Hibs alarm bells ringing after Celtic cruise to comfortable victory - report and ratings from Easter Road

One of the Block Seven boys now resident in the Famous Five stand has clearly picked up a loudspeaker with a couple of pre-set effects. It would explain the sound of an air-raid siren splitting the air during the second half of a 2-0 home defeat far more alarming than the scoreline suggests.

The wailing noise may not have indicated anything overly dramatic. Few would argue that rookie head coach David Gray, just two league fixtures into the campaign, is on anything like football’s equivalent of the four-minute warning; he’ll get plenty of time to turn things around.

But Hibs were more than lucky to escape with just a 2-0 home loss to the reigning champions. The credit Gray’s men get for stopping the bleeding after conceding twice inside the opening 20 minutes must be tempered by the acceptance that, on another day, Celtic could have doubled or trebled the winning margin.

A Nicholas Kuhn goal with just two minutes and 45 seconds showing on the stadium clock, followed by a Callum McGregor strike with 18 minutes gone, put the champions into a position so comfortable that their biggest concern was dozing off in the Easter Road sunshine. And that was that. End of contest. All over bar the muttering.

Even taking the devastating timing out of the equation, the opener was an absolute horror show from a Hibs perspective. From the moment when Kuhn dinked the ball over a disjointed back line, to finishing touch applied by the German a few frantic seconds later, everything the boys in green did would have – or should have – left Gray’s blood boiling in frustration.

For starters, the positioning of Marvin Ekpiteta – inside the Celtic half, allowing Kyogo Furuhashi to steal a march on him – and central defensive partner Warren O’Hora simply invited trouble. The sight of three Hibs players then retreating from Kyogo, allowing the Japanese forward to shoot, wasn’t much better. Whether or not Josef Bursik should have held the low shot, the goalie was entitled to expect his team-mates to prevent James Forest crossing for a Kuhn tap-in; from start to finish, this was a devastating exposure of basic flaws.

The home side SHOULD have fallen two behind with 17 minutes gone, Kyogo missing the target after a poor pass back by Josh Campbell. And they did go 2-0 down just a minute later, Callum McGregor – who will be missed by Scotland, following his international retirement – given time aplenty to pick his spot from about 22 yards.

Hibs managed to regroup, to some extent, although Warren O’Hora was lucky not to score an own goal that would have made it 3-0 with just 21 minutes gone, the midfielder – playing deeper than usual to accommodate the inclusion of Dylan Levitt in the starting XI – diverting a cross off the underside of Bursik’s bar and onto, but not over, the goal line. Somehow, the home team made it to the break without suffering further damage.

With the contest all but settled, the second was a muted affair. Celtic attacked with flair and style. Hibs threw on Kieron Bowie and Chris Cadden for Myko Kuharevich and Josh Campbell, a change that allowed young Rudi Molotnikov – who limped off with 15 minutes remaining, unfortunately - a little more freedom to attack from different angles.

Bowie – just a few days into his four-year contract - did crack the crossbar inside the closing ten minutes, showing strength, ambition and skill enough to suggest that he’ll become an important player for Hibs. His goal threat will be useful to a team in need of firepower. If only to offset the continuing trend of serious defensive crises.