Hibs can count on Scotland striker to exploit Celtic's Champions League heartbreak as Bowie hits stride

The timing could be just about perfect. Delivering the sort of delayed gratification made no less enjoyable by its tardy arrival.

Ever since Hibs signed Kieron Bowie in the summer window, spending the thick end of £600,000 for a rare beast of a forward given a semi-comic nickname by team-mates slightly in awe of his size and strength, fans have been eagerly anticipating the sort of break-out campaign capable of elevating the Scotland Under-21 striker to full international status – the player’s own stated aim. Fate, of course, had other ideas.

Hib supporters saw enough, before the horrific hamstring injury that put Bowie on the sidelines for four months plus change, to further heighten expectations already pitched at a decent altitude. And they’re seeing plenty now, as the 22-year-old works his way back to full fitness, to suggest that his thunderous impact on the Scottish Premiership has merely been deferred, rather than derailed.

As Celtic roll up at Easter Road on Saturday, thoughts inevitably turn to the memory of Bowie rag-dolling Cameron Carter-Vickers and smashing the ball against the crossbar on the champions’ previous visit way back in August. At a time when Hibs were struggling to pick up any kind of momentum in the league, it was a genuine ‘Wow’ moment.

Slowly working his way back to full fitness, given the best part of 40 minutes – injury time included – in the weekend draw with St Mirren, Bowie is all eagerness and energy whenever he gets on the pitch at the moment. Displaying the sort of physicality that, to be honest, might not make him the favourite of many referees – but is allowing him to dominate one-on-one duels with defenders.

“Yeah, it's good to see him, young boy, coming on for a decent shift against St Mirren,” said Josh Campbell, the attacking midfielder laughing as he added: “But Kieron doesn't look young because he's such a big boy – some people call him The Horse!

“It was good for him to get on in a game that maybe suited him, scrapping with the central defenders. But I actually think he doesn’t get the fouls he should have because he is the big boy, so the ref maybe thinks he needs to be stronger even when he’s getting pushed and pulled.

“But it’s good to see him back and get more minutes. It gives me more options, for starters.”

Bowie has scored just once for Hibs so far, the former Raith Rovers star finding the net against Dundee. But he’s definitely giving David Gray more options even as an impact substitute.

His willingness to initiate contact, rather than waiting for some brute of a centre-half to come battering in before he can get set, makes him a different sort of threat to, for instance, Martin Boyle or Dwight Gayle. Having spent much of his rehab time working on developing physical strength, he’s certainly an imposing figure.

But it’s Bowie’s ability that makes him a big target. Team-mates know that, if they hit the ball in his general direction, he’s got a chance of doing something with it. Yet he’s also got the ability to link play, turn defenders and find team-mates with accuracy.

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His team-mates understand their job when the big man is in the line-up, too, Campbell pointing out: “When he comes on, I know that second ball is the thing that I need to work around, because it just bounces, especially on the sort of pitch we had in Paisley. The ball just bounces everywhere, so if I can get on the second ball, it's important.

“But he’s obviously a really talented young player. Looking at what he adds to the team, it’s a good balance between us.”

Fresh from having his pocket picked in Munich, Carter-Vickers could probably do with a confidence booster on his return to domestic football. A good reason for Gray to go with Bowie from the start, in the hope of giving Brendan Rodgers’ heartbroken Champions League adventurers a reason to flinch?

Failure to register a shot on target in Sunday’s 0-0 draw in Paisley may be one of those stats afforded too much significance; it’s not as if Hibs didn’t create chances on a surface that made good football impossible. Given the nature of the challenge presented by Celtic, however, the time to start Bowie – someone able to relieve pressure and bring the pace of Boyle into play on the counter – could very well be nigh.

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