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Martin O’Neill has hailed Kelechi Iheanacho following his decisive contribution in Celtic’s 2-1 win over Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership.
The Nigerian striker came off the bench to score the winner, maintaining Celtic’s push for the title and lifting them level on points at the top, pending results elsewhere.
Instant impact off the bench
Celtic entered the fixture needing a response and were handed an early advantage when Jamie McGrath was sent off in the 21st minute.
Daizen Maeda gave the visitors the lead before the break, but Joe Newell equalised in stoppage time to leave the game finely balanced.
Iheanacho was introduced in the second half and made an immediate difference, scoring just two minutes after coming on to secure all three points.
O’Neill highlights composure
Speaking after the match, O’Neill emphasised the difficulty of influencing games from the bench while praising Iheanacho’s contribution.
“Overall, I’m naturally delighted to have won the game, that’s the most important thing, but we made it really difficult for ourselves, particularly in the second half,” he said.
“We finally forced the goal, Iheanacho scored the goal, which was delightful, and it wins the game for us. Sometimes it’s really difficult when you’re coming off the bench.
“First of all, you have to try and get into the game, secondly, something might fall to you, but he showed great composure because the ball took an age to come down, and he still put it in the net as only he can do.”
Title race and next focus
Iheanacho has now scored four goals in his last five appearances, underlining a return to form at a critical stage of the campaign.
Celtic remain firmly in the title race as they chase a fifth consecutive league crown and will also prepare for the upcoming Scottish Cup final later this month.