Saints sink to the new depths
There’s lots left in reserve for rampant Celtic
When Celtic’s starters weren’t quite firing, Ange Postecoglou looked into his armoury on the bench.
And the Hoops showed they have plenty in reserve as they blew St Mirren out of the Scottish Cup.
At just 1- 0 down, the Buddies believed they were well in this tie going into the second half.
But Stephen Robinson’s men couldn’t live with Celtic’s strength in depth.
After Daizen Maeda had given the Hoops an early lead, they craved more goals to see off Saints.
Liel Abada, Reo Hatate, Matt O’Riley and Hyeongyu Oh were thrown on from the side – and they took the game beyond the visitors.
Hatate scored a double, O’Riley notched and new boy Oh got his first goal for the club.
Saints’ Mark O’Hara hit a consolation from the spot for the Paisley club who had Richard Taylor sent off.
But they were blitzed by Celtic in a blistering spell that resulted in a heavy cup defeat.
O’Riley, whose third goal put Postecoglou’s side home and dry yesterday, admits he’s more potent as a sub – and was glad to finally be on target.
He said: “It was nice because the goal has been a long time coming. I’ve had about 365 shots so it was good to see one go in.
“The squad’s strength in depth was evident today but it shows most weeks.
“It is super strong. Everyone wants to play but, as long as we’re all helping out, there’s no need for frustration.
“The team are winning and we’re in a good place.
“I think I’ve even more edge coming on. Of course, I’d like to start every game but understand the manager’s choice.
“I’m just happy whenever I get on the pitch. I always try to contribute – and thankfully I did against St Mirren.
“There’s a competitiveness in training every day and that is making us better.” Postecoglou had rewarded David Turnbull for his patience – and goal at St Johnstone - with a rare start in Celtic’s midfield.
He must have been tempted to have a proper look at new signings Tomoki Iwata and Oh, who have been kicking their heels on the bench.
That he didn’t was a sign of the importance Postecoglou placed on this tie.
Buddies boss Robinson made two changes from a week ago when they lost to Hibs.
Charles Dunne and Greg Killie dropped out, replaced by Declan Gallagher and Richard Taylor.
But it was the same 5- 3-2 system that served them so well when they beat Celtic back in September.
And no Scottish team has managed to repeat the feat since.
From the off, you could tell
Robinson’s men had been well drilled all week and were going to put serious graft in to try and cause an upset.
But that’s the thing about this Celtic side.
It doesn’t matter how hard you work – because they’ll still work harder.
That’s the Postecoglou ethos and the most impressive aspect of the job he’s done here.
Even though they win every week, these players never seem to slacken off.
Jota signalled his intent with a shot that stung the palms of Trevor Carson.
Then Maeda got on the end of a brilliant ball from Greg Taylor, sliced a cross that beat the keeper but it crashed against the inside of the post.
It was a lively start in a decent Parkhead atmosphere.
Under the disco lights and
smoke bombs from the away end, the cup tie certainly had a different feel to it.
But Celtic were dealt a huge blow when top scorer Kyogo limped off.
It looked innocuous when he got sandwiched in between Alex Gogic and Keanu Baccus.
But he couldn’t recover and sub Abada was called on, with Maeda shifted up front.
The Israeli winger doesn’t usually waste any time and almost immediately, he had a hand in the Hoops’ opening goal.
He caressed a per fectly-weighted pass into the path of Aaron Mooy who wasn’t tracked from midfield.
Richard Taylor was slow to react and the Aussie was in behind St Mirren’s backline.
His low cross was met by Maeda on the run who managed to steer it past Carson from close range. It was a well-worked goal by Celtic – but Robinson will be fuming that ex- Buddie Mooy, wasn’t stopped in his tracks.
After Maeda’s strike, the second biggest cheer of the half came when home fans unveiled a lessthan- complementary banner about Holyrood’s Tory party leader Douglas Ross, who just happened to be running the line. Only in Scottish football eh? To St Mirren’s credit, they managed to compose themselves after going behind.
And if it wasn’t for Cameron Carter-Vickers, they might have been level straight away.
Alex Greive engineered the chance for himself in Celtic’s box and the Kiwi striker’s effort was destined for the top corner.
But the Celtic centre- back – who barely put a foot wrong all night – defended brilliantly to divert it for a corner. Tony Watt was back at Parkhead and came on for crocked Greive just before the break.
But Celtic started fast in the second half and didn’t stop.
Maeda was denied early by a post again after good work from Abada and Alistair Johnston.
They were desperate for a second goal to kill St Mirren off.
And they got it from the penalty spot after a VAR check by ref Steven McLean.
Abada was unmarked at the back post from a terrific Matt O’Riley cross.
He cut past Carson but Taylor blocked his shot on the line.
McLean initially waved play on, believing it had hit the defender’s chest.
But after being instructed to go to the monitor, he gave the penalty – and sent the big centre- half packing.
Sub Hatate stepped up to slot it in the corner and secure Celtic’s place in the quarter-finals.
Not long after that, new boy Oh got himself on the scoresheet.
Callum McGregor’s drive was spilled by Carson and the big striker pounced on the rebound to make it 3- 0.
Saints are nothing if not resilient. And they pulled a goal back from a penalty of their own late on.
Carl Starfelt upended Kiltie in the box and skipper Mark O’Hara buried it. But even the mooted celebrations in the away end were short lived.
In typical Celtic style, they just went up the other end and grabbed a fourth. Sub O’Riley produced a curling finish to make it 4-1 from the edge of the box.
Then Hatate put the icing on the cake with the fifth – lashing the ball past Carson from Abada’s inch-perfect pass.