IT’S ROSY FOR SCOTT
Two-goal Sinclair steals the show as Celts breeze to win and set up Norwegians clash
POINTING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION Sinclair celebrates opening the scoring CELTIC dodged the Buckfast in Belfast and showed they had the Champions League bottle back in Glasgow’s east end last night.
The Hoops might not feel the need to break out the bubbly after seeing off Northern Irish outfit Linfield in a walkover but they can toast a decent job done with the minimum of fuss.
While the Parkhead punters and their pals from over the water got distracted with ancient tribalism the modern side on the pitch kept their eye on the present-day prize.
A sensational display from Scott Sinclair – who notched either side of a Tom Rogic scorcher – and a slick late strike from sub Stuart Armstrong saw Celtic stroll into the third qualifying round in front of a packed house.
It will be tougher against Rosenborg. It certainly can’t be much easier than Brendan Rodgers’s side made it look last night as their part-time opposition took a pummelling.
Linfield battled bravely enough to keep it at four but had some Hoops stars packed their shooting boots it could have been much more.
Mercifully, a few old war songs and banners from both sides apart, there was no repeat of the Windsor Park carry-on when carryouts were lobbed at Leigh Griffiths.
Instead, the only missiles were the ones being launched at the Linfield goal all night.
Sinclair was sublime but Hoops fans are already enchanted by Olivier Ntcham after his competitive debut.
The midfield powerhouse was a surprise starter and needs a few games to get up to speed. But the 21-year-old Frenchman is already hinting he’s Champions League class.
Celtic just need to make sure they get there although the main thing is they’re on their way to the group stage.
For a fairly straightforward tie there had been a heck of a lot of statements.
There were club statements, chairman statements, police statements – the only thing missing this week was a circular from Theresa May. And last night Rodgers made a couple of his own.
They weren’t stuck out on a website and were a lot more subtle than some – but the message would have been received loud and clear.
There was an interesting one for Armstrong. The 25-year-old’s absence from the starting line-up could be dressed up in any manner of ways but the intent was clear.
The midfielder’s contract discussions are in danger of turning into a saga yet here he was on the bench. No player is bigger than the club? Perhaps. There was another one for Erik Sviatchenko.
When there are only two fit centrebacks in the squad and one of them isn’t in the starting XI it’s fair to say something is up.
The big Dane wasn’t exactly at his best in Belfast during last week’s 2-0 first-leg win and found himself joining Armstrong among the back-up brigade.
Ntcham was thrown right in though after catching the eye on his debut against Lyon last weekend as Rodgers went with a back three. The smart money was on an early blitz given Celtic wanted the job done and the tools away early. Sure enough Rodgers’s men got stuck in straight away.
Kieran Tierney, playing in a roaming centre-back role, set the tone when he lashed over in the first couple of minutes.
Linfield took a collective deep breath as they got a taste of what was coming down the pipe. It hit them after barely three minutes.
Sinclair started and finished Celtic’s opener when he raced through and tucked away from a tight angle after Ntcham’s side-footed effort was deflected into his path.
It was now a question of how many. Not that it was ever anything else.
For Hoops fans it was a chance to watch some of their star turns turn it on after shaking off any lingering pre-season rust.
Sinclair left his poor marker facing a job untangling his legs while Ntcham slotted in like he’d arrived at Parkhead months ago rather than days.
The Frenchman looks a formidable force. Although he may be built like a gable end the 21-year-old has a quickness of feet several levels above
the likes of Linfield and isn’t afraid to have a go at goal.
The ex-Manchester City midfielder drilled wide – as did Rogic – while Moussa Dembele’s diving header was beaten out by Roy Carroll before he sent a close-range volley spinning past.
Ntcham was making the Hoops tick and the countdown was on to No.2.
Celtic hemmed the Blues in on the edge of their box, zipping passes from side to side and in behind.
It’s not so easy carving a side open when they have six men across the back plus another three jammed in front and at times the traffic was tricky to get through.
The one occasion Linfield did get up the park they were almost picked off immediately. It was a brilliant break as Ntcham got back to clear from his own box and Scott Brown spun his man to feed Rogic who then played in Sinclair.
But the on-song wideman’s cute clipped effort was inches off target.
Dembele did the exact same soon after as Linfield started to buckle under the strain, Robert Garrett and Andrew Mitchell going into the book after lamping Sinclair and Ntcham in quick succession.
It defied belief Celtic’s cushion was only one at the break as Rogic fluffed another sitter. However, the inevitable second did come just a minute after a bizarre botched restart from the Blues. The double kiss at the restart may have added to their possession count but it gifted Celtic the ball and Aussie playmaker Rogic promptly rammed it into the bottom corner.
Sinclair pounced again after finding some wiggle room eight minutes later as the scoreline started to look more realistic.
Linfield looked bust while the home side turned on the style. Armstrong may have only got a late cameo but the Scotland international made it count with a smart finish to complete the rout. As the Buckie boys might say, this was just the tonic.