Martin O'Neill names 'top class' Celtic star after 'best win of the season' over Hibs
Martin O'Neill has described Celtic's 2-1 away win over Hibernian on Sunday as his side's best win of the season so far.
O'Neill is under no illusions of the quality of his side's performance on Sunday, and of the game as a whole. The Bhoys won ugly in less than ideal conditions at Easter Road, with a strong wind blowing for much of the game.
Celtic also went behind within two minutes, but they did get back on level terms within two minutes thanks to an own goal. Camilo Durán scored the winner just before half-time, providing one of only two moments of quality in the whole game, along with the finish for the Hibs goal.
But grinding out a win on tough games is just as important as complete performances, especially for a team competing for a title, and O'Neill knows the value of such wins.
"Given the conditions, I thought it was our best win of the season," he told Sky Sports. "We didn't play very well in the game, but we showed real character. The wind made it difficult. But we became accustomed to it.
"We didn't play great in the game and we had a couple of chances in the first half that we could have capitalised on but didn't But I was delighted with the side, delighted with their resilience."
Asked about the disappointing nature of the Hibs goal, which saw Owen Eldin score following a quick free-kiick that set him through in the Celtic box, O'Neill added: "I think we were still on the bus when Hibs scored their goal.
"It was brilliant from them. They play straight through us and score early on. But we acted quickly after that with the equaliser."
Durán's goal was a real moment of quality, with the striker continuing his excellent scoring form, picking up a second goal, taking a quick touch, a perfect second to set himself and the then curled a perfect shot into the far bottom corner.
"Absolutely, he is a top class player," added O'Neill when asked about the Colombian. Durán just keeps producing these moment for Celtic, and he looks to be a real bargain having arrived for around £5.5million during the summer window.
Kasper Hogh is having all sorts of issues finding the net, but Durán now has 10 goals in 17 games, and he has played out wide on the right for many of those outings, rather than his preferred striker spot.
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