Dembele’s demolition job is over in a flash
Another rapid treble for Moussa as dire Inverness are hit for six
AFTER his stunning hat-trick from the bench at St Johnstone, it was hard to see how Moussa Dembele could do much better on his first start of the year.
The young Frenchman responded with his second hat-trick in six days and executed it within 14 deadly minutes — ten faster than the gap between his first and third strikes at McDiarmid Park last Sunday.
A measure of Celtic’s dominance can be taken from the fact both full-backs joined the club’s top marksman on the scoresheet, while there was even a rare goal for skipper Scott Brown, who completed the rout with virtually the last thunderous kick of the ball.
Having eased into the quarterfinals of the Scottish Cup, Brendan Rodgers’ side are effectively three games away from clinching a domestic Treble and have won 24 consecutive domestic matches.
This was a brutal clubbing of Inverness Caley Thistle. Richie Foran’s side may be the only outfit to have made a mark on Celtic after an early-season draw in the Highlands but, now rooted to the bottom of the Premiership table and out of the Cup, they look short of both the ideas and morale that will be needed to rescue their top-flight status for next season.
Having performed something of a verbal gamble by questioning his players’ fortitude in the wake of a league defeat to Hamilton Accies, Foran got a reaction in the shape of the comeback which salvaged a 2-2 draw against Dundee last weekend.
Their resistance here virtually ended before a ball had been kicked. Skipper Gary Warren might have won the toss, thereby forcing Celtic to switch ends, but this was virtually the last 50-50 claimed by a Highland player as one-way traffic ensued, with James Forrest and Scott Sinclair incorrigible on the flanks and Dembele providing a muscular focal point through the middle.
Far from being distracted or having his head turned by transfer speculation in January, Dembele has returned from a minor knee injury looking deadlier than ever but he was beaten to a goal here by an unlikely scorer.
Mikael Lustig gained wide acclaim for the ‘rabona’ flick that helped set up Dembele’s final goal in Perth and here he was the beneficiary of another audacious assist, this time from the right boot of Nir Bitton.
Having collected Forrest’s pass 20 yards out, the Israeli weighed up his options and chose the least likely, in the shape of the Swede’s underlapping run from right-back.
His lofted pass had the trajectory of a golfer’s wedge shot and dropped out of the sky for Lustig dead centre of the goal with only Owain Fon Williams to beat. The defender killed the ball on the six-yard line, spun and jabbed a low finish to bag his first Celtic goal since the Champions League qualifying win over Lincoln Red Imps in July.
It is rare to see Rodgers display any negative emotion on the touchline but he became infuriated by a spell in which Inverness’s tackling became increasingly forceful.
While Ross Draper’s kick at Brown was not especially meaty, it did occur off the ball and right in front of referee Kevin Clancy. His decision to show yellow provoked howls of derision from the crowd and an angry word from the Celtic manager to fourth official John McKendrick.
The ire escalated moments later when Iain Vigurs took out Sinclair from behind. The challenge seemed much more dangerous than Draper’s act of petulance but met with the same punishment, his booking one of four collected by Foran’s players in the first half.
Celtic took retribution by doubling their lead before the break. Forrest’s acceleration and sharp change of direction left Carl Tremarco in a heap and the winger found Dembele with a low pass. The Frenchman has produced truer finishes but there was just enough purchase to squeeze the ball under Fon Williams and inches over the line.
More emphatic was the 20-yearold’s finish five minutes after the restart, his angled effort sweeping across Fon Williams after David Raven’s last-ditch tackle had thwarted Sinclair’s intentions to shoot.
Much has been made of the threat posed by Sinclair and Kieran Tierney down Celtic’s left flank but Dembele’s third showcased Forrest’s threat down the other side.
The move started with Brown chipping a pass to the winger from the right-back area and the ball quickly being transferred inside to Dembele.
Forrest’s forward gallop was rewarded with a raking return pass from the striker and he repaid the favour with the perfect cross that just begged to be attacked at the penalty spot.
Forrest ought to have made it five when he nipped in ahead of Brad McKay for a free hit but the finish scuttled wide. He made amends by teeing up Tierney for the fifth with another inviting cross which the fullback bulleted home with his head.
Rodgers afforded ovations to both Dembele and the ever-improving Dedryck Boyata with late substitutions but his players remained relentless, not least Sinclair and Forrest.
Neither made it onto the scoresheet but the former’s burst down the left resulted in the cross that was partially cleared and invited Brown to deliver a thumping conclusion to this thoroughly one-sided affair.