Hibernian 1-4 Celtic: James Forrest inspires second-half surge to send Lennon's men into semi-finals

Celtic secured their progression to the semi-finals of the Scottish League Cup with an emphatic second-half performance to come from a goal behind to beat Hibernian 4-1.

The home side took an early lead following Daniel Majstorovic's own-goal, after the Swedish centre-back inadvertently directed Ivan Sproule’s shot past goalkeeper Fraser Forster and into the back of the Celtic net.

Neil Lennon’s men soon began to apply pressure midway through the first half, with Anthony Stokes looking lively in particular against his former club and the striker was unlucky not to draw his side level after his effort from the edge of the box just clipped the post.

The visitors continued to dominate possession towards the end of the half, but Colin Calderwood’s side were still able to threaten on the break, with Foster doing well to stand up to Leigh Griffiths after the 21-year-old broke clear of the Celtic defence and really should have doubled the hosts’ advantage.

Under-pressure Lennon forced a quick response from the Hoops after the interval as Forrest grabbed an equaliser, the wideman latching on to Gary Hooper’s knock-down before side-stepping defender Paul Hanlon to fire past Hibs stopper Mark Brown.

The 20-year-old Scottish international then gave his side the lead 10 minutes later, as Forrest slid home a left-footed effort from inside the boxto cap off a tidy one-two with Stokes.

Provider then turned goalscorer with Lennon’s side indulging in another impressive second half display after last week’s 3-3 comeback against Kilmarnock, this time Stokes rising unchallenged to head home Ki Sung-Yueng’s corner.

Hooper was then on hand to increase Celtic’s lead after his well-timed run beat the offside trap to meet left-back Matthews’ long-ball before steadying himself with his first touch and stroking his effort home.

Sproule’s sending off further compounded a miserable night for the home side, after the 30-year-old was given a second yellow for a foul on the almost unplayable Forrest, as Celtic’s sublime second-half performance set down a clear marker before the two sides meet again in the League on Saturday.