ICT put to the sword as Celtic march on No second slip-up in Inverness as Hoops win in style

INVERNESS 0 CELTIC 4

Celtic ensured that there would be no second slip-up at Inverness in an almost flawless Ladbrokes Premiership season with a thumping 4-0 win at the Tulloch Caledonian stadium.

The only two points the runaway league leaders had dropped in the previous 26 games was in the 2-2 draw against the Highlanders at the same venue last September.

However, after attacker Scott Sinclair fired Celtic ahead just before the break, a botched clearance from keeper Owain Fon Williams just seconds into the second half allowed in-form Hoops striker Moussa Dembele to effectively seal the points with an easy goal.

Midfielder Stuart Armstrong added a third with an impressive free-kick before Dembele scored his 11th goal in five games and his 31st of the season.

In what is becoming a stats-fest, Brendan Rodgers’ side went 27 points clear of Aberdeen with their 22nd successive league win which extended their unbeaten domestic run since the start of the season to 33 games.

Inverness had dropped back to the bottom of the table on Tuesday night with Hamilton’s surprise 1-0 home win over second-placed Aberdeen and will continue their battle for survival hoping confidence has not been badly dented.

Celtic, for their part, face St Mirren in the William Hill Scottish Cup quarterfinal on Sunday with their sights firmly on a domestic treble which is becoming more likely by the game.

Rodgers could hardly have been more confident on his return to Inverness given his side’s form, and he made two changes to his side with fit-again right-back Mikael Lustig replacing Cristian Gamboa, and winger Gary Mackay-Steven in for injured James Forrest.

Caley Thistle boss Foran had to do without loan defender Jamie McCart, who was unable to play against his parent club, while Carl Tremarco and Jake Mulraney missed out through injury out as skipper Gary Warren, Brad McKay and Billy King came in.

Evidence of Inverness’s confidence following their 2-1 home win over Rangers on Friday night was revealed as early as the fourth minute with midfielder Liam Polworth’s speculative attempt from 45 yards which went wide.

The home side, though, found themselves relying on some dogged defending as an energetic Celtic took control. In the end, ICT were happy to finish with no more damage to their goals-against tally.

Inverness CT: Fon Williams, Brad McKay, Laing, Warren, Raven, Draper, Tansey, King, Cole (Vigurs 64), Polworth, Billy McKay (Anier 81). Unused subs: McNaughton, Ebbe, Fisher, Boden, Hoban.

Celtic: Gordon, Lustig, Boyata, Sviatchenko, Tierney, Brown (Henderson 78), Bitton, Mackay-Steven (McGregor 69), Armstrong, Sinclair, Dembele. Unused subs: Toure, Izaguirre, Griffiths, Gamboa, De Vries.

Referee: Andrew Dallas.

Picture: SNS. Moussa Dembele clips the ball past Owain Fon Williams for his second goal of the night.