CELTS GET JOB DONE
French force too much for Duffy’s battlers as Dembele and Edouard finally breach Morton’s stubborn backline
DEREK GASTON was so proud of his defences against the snow through the week that he paraded the igloo built by his own fair hands in the back garden on social media.
Fair play, also, to the defence constructed in front of him by Jim Duffy in the exposed environment of a Celtic Park test against the Treble winners before Morton found Moussa Dembele and Odsonne Edouard too hot to handle.
The stubborn resistance melted just after the hour mark when Dembele struck, following up at the double with a disputed penalty to confirm Celtic in the last four of the tournament by 71 minutes.
Edouard, introduced at the break to form a formidable French forward line, brought out the best in the rejuvenated Dembele.
He then added the third in the final minute of a vastly-improved second-half display from Celtic.
Morton were ultimately worn down by Edouard’s involvement, a feature that Brendan Rodgers must be tempted to increase the use of after he helped Dembele and Celtic take this significant stride towards a second consecutive domestic clean sweep.
Morton chief executive Warren Hawke had called on the authorities to postpone the game because of concerns over supporter safety travelling to the east end of Glasgow. Both their vocal fans and determined players warmed to the task, however.
If Duffy’s men, with a match-fitness edge having played on Tuesday night, were going to catch anyone cold it was Marvin Compper.
The German signed for Celtic on December 20 but picked up a calf injury during a training week in Dubai before his new club’s Scottish Cup campaign got underway against Brechin City.
A minute into his debut, the 32-year-old’s pass straight to Gary Oliver well inside his own half did little to help the sparse home crowd settle cosily into their seats on a bitterly cold lunchtime kick-off.
Oliver had to be ushered away from goal by Jozo Simunovic to prevent the striker from ranging right in on Dorus de Vries. Scottish Cup debuts for Celtic defenders don’t come any more chaotic than the one endured when Gordon Strachan’s team exited the tournament at Clyde in January 2006 when Chinese centre-half Du Wei contributed to the embarrassment.
For Compper, there was no such shame and he settled steadily into the contest which involved much more Morton than Celtic defending.
Partick Thistle scored twice in the previous round here but they did so only after falling 2-0 then 3-1 behind. Duffy’s plan was to strike early and first.
When that failed to materialise from the Oliver opening and a Gary Harkins free-kick that wandered a yard wide, the initiative was inevitably handed back to Celtic to force the visitors further and further into retreat.
The challenge was set for the holders to break down a backline sometimes boasting at least six bodies spread across the penalty area and a midfield marshalled by Harkins dropping deep to form two banks for Celtic to breach.
The shape was, of course, well drilled into his men by the excellent Duffy, so Gaston wasn’t troubled for a save until the 40th minute.
He sprang smartly down to his left to
palm away a bounding drive from Tom Rogic then kept the Australian schemer out at his near post when Celtic worked the corner back into a shooting opportunity.
Hat-trick hero from that Thistle success, James Forrest, was responsible for the one decent effort crafted from Celtic after craning open some space in behind the visiting cluster.
Dembele’s fine hold-up play on the take from Scott Sinclair gave the striker the chance for a clever reverse-pass link with Forrest’s rapid, untracked run. Forrest chipped over a deep delivery for the Frenchman whose header was flicked off the line by Thomas O’Ware.
The pair duelled again in unusual circumstances as Dembele was forced to take evasive action in his own six-yard box to beat O’Ware to a header as Morton almost stole an interval advantage.
The Celtic half-time switch saw Rodgers beef up to a front two with Edouard replacing Sinclair. The opening attack presented the substitute with a golden chance to strike with his first touch.
Dembele’s shot deflected into his path but the on-loan Paris Saint-Germain forward was unable to make a clean connection and Gaston grabbed the weak effort.
Morton were afforded one more glimmer of hope that they could top the stunning 1-0 League Cup extra-time win here from September 2013.
Former Rangers midfielder Andy Murdoch took Scott Brown’s clearance on the drop and returned fire with a rightfoot dig that drifted half a yard shy of the right-hand post of De Vries.
However, Celtic crushed the rising belief on 62 minutes. Rogic found the key delivery after drawing out Mark Russell then creating himself the half yard of space to angle a delight of a cross for the soaring Dembele to attack. The header clipped the underside of the crossbar to beat and floor Gaston.
Michael Doyle earned a round of applause from his manager for a brilliantly-timed tackle to stop Edouard advancing inside the area. A minute later, he conceded a penalty for a foul that took place outside the box.
Dembele swept the spot-kick high to Gaston’s right, scoring twice in a game for the first time since October.
Edouard shaved the top of the crossbar and Gaston lifted over Dembele’s header on his line to thwart the hat-trick bid.
Celtic gave their frozen fans one final cheer — thanks to a quite superb pass from skipper Brown. His ball over the top to Forrest took out the remains of the Morton resistance and the Scotland winger spotted the movement of Edouard when glancing inside.
The striker peeled off the Morton runners tracking back, took a touch to control Forrest’s cutback and slammed home the third.