HOOPS WERE TOO STRONG
MIRREN MATCHES AS THEY WERE REPORTED AT THE TIME
Celtic..................... 3
St Mirren ................0
Goals from Stefan Johansen, Leigh Griffiths and Anthony Stokes were enough to end St Mirren’s hopes of a shock result in the SPFL Premiership.
Johansen headed home the opener a minute before the interval, before Saints’ nemesis Griffiths came back to haunt them with goal number two just past the hour mark.
Stokes put a gloss on the victory with number three into time added on.
Saints, though, were good value for long periods of this game, especially in the first half, but Celtic’s ruthlessness in
front of goal proved telling in the end.
After seven minutes Saints forced the first real chance when midfielders John McGinn and Conor Newton combined on the left to release Paul McGowan who, from the edge of the six-yard box, forced a save from Fraser Forster.
Hoops defender Charlie Mulgrew then caught McGowan late and the visitors won a free-kick 30 yards out on the right.
Kenny McLean swept it to the back post, Darren McGregor got a head to it, but Virgil Van Dijk shepherded it away to safety.
After 14 minutes the encouraging signs for the visitors continued as McGowan saw a turn and shot blocked by Mulgrew after he picked up Steven Thompson’s cross.
McGowan then forced a Saints corner over on the left but when McLean’s cross eventually fell to the Saints number 10, his attempted scissors kick flew well over target.
Marc McAusland and Josh Magennis both saw shots in the Celtic box blocked as Saints grew in stature during the first-half exchanges.
Right full-back Jason Naismith stung the fingers of Forster with an angled effort in the 27th minute.
Griffiths did have the ball in the back of the net in the 31st minute after taking a pass from Stokes, but ref Stephen Finnie ruled it out for offside.
Moments later Griffiths should have made it 1-0 when he raced clear on the right, but his shot was headed away by McGregor.
Before the break Kris Commons saw a flicked effort spin into the hands of Kello as he connected with a Henderson free-kick.
McGowan saw a shot at goal deflect behind for a corner in some welcome respite for the visitors.
And from the set-piece by Newton, possession cannoned out only as far as McLean – but he hoofed a right-foot effort well over.
Moments later the champions scored the opener as Johansen saw his header fly into the net from a Griffith cross to the centre of the box.
After the break goalie Kello leapt to his left to take a Henderson effort as the Celtic star picked up a return pass from
Adam Matthews.
At the other end, McGinn spun away from a couple of opposition jerseys and played in McGowan for an opportunity at goal, but once again the towering figure of Van Dijk was there to deny him.
Celtic then went up the park to extend the lead as Griffiths ran on to a pass from Stokes to guide a shot from 12 yards past Kello and into the bottom far corner.
Striker Stokes then nodded the ball
home at the back post from a Matthews pass, but the ref ruled the effort out for a foul on Kello in the build-up.
Saint boss Lennon made a double substitution as Newton and McGowan went off after 74 minutes, and on in their places came Jim Goodwin and Gregg Wylde.
Stokes made it 3-0 for Celtic when he controlled a Georgios Samaras pass into the box and then fired a powerful shot into the net from 12 yards.