CELTIC’S one hundred percent record in the Premiership finally came to an end at the seventh time of asking as struggling Hibernian held the champions to a one-all draw at Easter Road.

An early own goal from Kristoffer Ajer as he inadvertently deflected Christian Doidge’s cross past Fraser Forster gave the hosts the lead, but Celtic hit back before half-time as Ryan Christie’s header drew the visitors level.

The goals were only part of the story though, and here are five talking points from a controversial afternoon in Edinburgh…

KEVIN CLANCY LOST CONTROL

Who would be a ref, eh? The official was the centre of attention at Easter Road during a feisty encounter, booking eight players and showing Hibs manager Paul Heckingbottom a red card.

While most of those bookings were justified, Clancy found himself facing the ire of both managers after the game after getting most of the big calls wrong.

Heckingbottom was sent to the stand after kicking a water bottle in frustration after Celtic’s equaliser, with Clancy hesitating for several seconds before awarding a free-kick for Tom James’s tackle on James Forrest. The problem was though that the official failed to clearly communicate that award to the Hibs players, and while they waited for a drop ball, Celtic played on and scored.

Heckingbottom was also raging abut Clancy’s failure to send off Olivier Ntcham after he needlessly lashed out at Josh Vela, but while it was an act of stupidity from the Frenchman, a yellow was probably the correct shout.

Clancy was also in Neil Lennon’s bad books for failing to award not just one, but two penalties to Celtic, as Ryan Christie and Moritz Bauer were both cleaned out as they attempted crosses in the Hibs area.

Both incidents looked like spot-kicks, particularly Lewis Stevenson’s reckless tackle on Christie, but Clancy capped off an afternoon to forget by waving away both claims.

CELTIC’S BIG PLAYERS HAD RARE OFF-DAY

Neil Lennon was reluctant to criticise his men in the aftermath of the game, and that was understandable given the level of performance that they have been churning out for him of late. But there was no getting away from the fact that too many of his go-to guys failed to turn up to the party on Saturday.

Callum McGregor was good in the middle of the park, but despite his goal, Ryan Christie didn’t have one of his best days and James Forrest was far from his best too. Odsonne Edouard was really quiet up front by his own high standards, and too many of Celtic’s attacking players were just a little bit off it.

Had they been sharper and taken more care with their final ball, Celtic could and probably should have won the match, but too often the quality just wasn’t there in the final third.

LENNON’S SUBSTITUTIONS DIDN’T GO DOWN WELL

With the greatest of respect to Jonny Hayes, it seemed a strange move to throw the winger on as a first substitution for Forrest when Celtic were pushing for a winner given that Scott Sinclair was also on the bench.

To be fair to Hayes, he actually did well when he came on and put in a few good deliveries from the left, but when Sinclair eventually did come on, he provided much more of an immediate threat to the Hibs defence.

Despite Edouard having something of an off day, it also seemed a strange move to withdraw the team’s top scorer for Vakoun Issouf Bayo, and that was borne out when the young forward lashed a late chance wildly over the bar when a spot of composure would have wrapped up another three points.

The changes did bring a renewed energy to Celtic, but the drop off in quality cost them in the end.

COLD STEVEN WHITTAKER BE THE ANSWER AT CENTRE-HALF FOR HIBS?

An unfortunate blow to the head for Adam Jackson led to former Rangers and Scotland full-back Whittaker being pressed into service as an auxiliary centre-back during the first half on Saturday, but the veteran excelled in his battles with first Edouard and then Bayo.

Whittaker has endured a pretty torrid start to the season, with his lack of pace at full-back being brutally exposed by the likes of Jordan Jones of Rangers and Sherwin Seedorf of Motherwell. At centre-half though, that weakness wasn’t laid bare quit as much, and in fact, he settled into the role and had a more than decent afternoon.

His use of the ball was also good, bringing a composure to the Hibs backline in the absence of Ryan Porteous, and it will be interesting to see what Paul Heckingbottom goes with once the youngster returns from suspension.

CHRISTIAN DOIDGE MAY NOT BE A FLOP AFTER ALL

Another player who has taken some flack this season is Hibs’ £350,000 signing from Forest Green Rovers, with the striker failing to make much of an impression on his new supporters since making the move north in the summer.

He spoke after the game about beginning to play to his strengths, and he certainly did that here as he held the ball up well and brought others into the game despite the attentions of Christopher Jullien and Kris Ajer.

Given the pressure of trying to make a positive early impact, Doidge admitted himself that he was trying too hard and attempting things that aren’t in his skill-set during his first few games for the club, but now that his teammates and manager know what they can get from him if he is used correctly, he may well be a decent target man for Hibs going forward.