Celtic remained on course for the treble as a Daizen Maeda goal and a late Adam Idah clincher allowed them to defeat red-hot Hibernian and progress to the semi-final stage of the Scottish Cup.
Maeda’s opportunistic 39th minute goal and substitute Idah's last-gasp strike separated the sides on a glorious day in Glasgow’s East End, and while the visitors - roared on by a massive travelling support - made a fight of it, Celtic merited their victory over the piece.
Here are the talking points from Celtic Park…
Wonderful setting rewarded as Brendan Rodgers maintains perfect Scottish Cup record
It wasn’t quite Hampden in the sun, but as a setting for a potential Scottish Cup classic, this took some beating.
Spring was in the air as the sun shone down on a buzzing Celtic Park, with the 7045 Hibs fans that had travelled along the M8 with the wind in their sails bringing with them plenty of noise and colour that the home support responded to in kind.
It made for the ideal platform for a cup tie, and while Celtic deservedly prevailed in the end given their territorial advantage and the greater number of chances they created, a scrappy Hibs side made a contest of it.
The FA Cup down south may not quite retain the same prestige as it once did, but it was clear just what this tournament means to both sets of supporters and indeed, the players. On afternoons like this one, it seems obvious that the famous old trophy has lost none of its lustre.
And it also clearly means a lot to Brendan Rodgers, who not only talked up its significance prior to this game, but maintained his perfect record in the tournament with his 20th win from 20 Scottish Cup ties.
Maeda’s reactions magic once more as he cements place up top
It’s proving rather difficult to come up with anything new to say about Maeda, who scored yet another goal here to take his tally for the season to 27, except to say that he may well have settled the debate of over who is best to lead the line for Celtic over the past couple of weeks.
He is of course a completely different player to Idah, who is a more than useful option for Celtic manager Rodgers to have if he wants to shake things up and go a little more direct, as he showed with his own late goal. But this side look a more dangerous proposition with their Japanese livewire at the point of their attack.
His running pulls defenders all over the place, opening up spaces for his wingers. And by putting him up top, Rodgers can also bring in Jota on the left-hand side with Nicolas Kuhn on the right.
His reactions and sharpness were the key attributes that led him to break the deadlock here, pouncing on the loose ball after Jordan Smith had somehow kept out Kuhn’s initial effort to slam into the roof of the net.
He could even afford an uncharacteristically poor miss that would have killed the contest after the interval, sliding in at the back stick to divert the ball wide from Kuhn’s low cross, but his work was already done.
The player of the year contests may well already be done, too.
Hibs juggernaut held up, but shouldn’t be derailed
Even allowing for the sensational form that Hibs have shown since their last defeat – which was here in early December – and their recent win over Celtic at Easter Road, it was always going to be a big ask for any side to come to Celtic Park and prevail in a Scottish Cup quarter final.
So it transpired as that run of just one loss in their last 18 and none in their last 15 games in all competitions came to an end, but when the pain of this cup exit subsides, perspective will surely be applied.
They only really crafted the one clear opportunity on the day, Kieron Bowie being denied by Kasper Schmeichel after a quick Nicky Cadden throw caught Celtic napping, but they hung in there and tried gamely to force a late equaliser.
The biggest damage from the defeat in fact may not be to morale, but in the form of an injury scare for the hitherto outstanding Nicky Cadden, who pulled up as he diligently mopped up an attempted Celtic attack during the first half.
As he passed the ball back to his keeper, Cadden went down with nobody near him – rarely a good sign – and he was forced from the action feeling his left leg, being replaced by Jordan Obita.
David Gray and everyone else connected with Hibs will await news on his injury with a great deal of trepidation, but overall, this reverse shouldn’t provide any reason for the Hibs juggernaut to come off the rails.
Jeffrey Schlupp stands out again
The 32-year-old left back’s arrival in the January transfer window hardly compensated for their club’s failure to bring in a striker to replace Kyogo Furuhashi in the eyes of the fans, but the Celtic support have warmed to Schlupp immediately as he proves his worth as a very smart acquisition.
A standout display in the Allianz Arena when he was preferred to Greg Taylor has allowed him to usurp his soon to be out-of-contract rival for that spot, and he was impressive again here, his cross leading to the opening goal and his second half effort that whizzed just past the post showing the attacking threat he possesses.
His physicality and defensive qualities are what has allowed him to have such a long career at English Premier League level, and whether Celtic can – or would want to – pony up the wage required to bring him north again in the summer to job share with Kieran Tierney remains to be seen.
He looks right at home in a Celtic jersey, though.
Jordan Smith an unlucky loser
If the defeat was harsh on any of the Hibs players, it was goalkeeper Smith. The 30-year-old did everything he could to keep Celtic from breaching his net, and even almost foiled them improbably at the opener with a brilliant one-handed save, but his defence couldn’t help him as Maeda reacted fastest to slam home.
Still, a series of impressive stops, including an eye-catching reach for a crashing Reo Hatate effort just before the interval, underlined the positive impact that Smith has had on this Hibs team since manager Gray promoted him over the struggling Josef Bursik.
The keeper signed an extension to his deal at the club during the week to keep him at Easter Road until 2028, and on this evidence, it is easy to see why they were keen to keep him around.
