CELTS SHOW NO MERCY IN ROUT
Ruthless Bhoys in seventh heaven after crushing Saints for biggest win of season
ANGE POSTECOGLOU’S memorable and much-quoted mantra of ‘we never stop’ has clearly been on repeat at Lennoxtown over the past week.
A hard-fought, landmark away victory over Rangers at Ibrox last Sunday was a huge step towards the title but, if anything, Celtic ran even harder to overwhelm St Johnstone.
Built to defend and in arguably their best form of the season, Callum Davidson’s side disintegrated in a blur of green and white that lasted the full 90 minutes.
Celtic’s biggest win of the campaign saw goals shared between six players, with Matt O’Riley claiming a double from the bench.
Yet it was a victory infused with a Japanese flavour. Reo Hatate’s goal kicked things off, Daizen Maeda’s incorrigible running set and maintained an astonishing pace and a late cameo from Kyogo Furuhashi provided a sweet conclusion.
Now nine points clear with an already handsome goal difference it’s now surely a question of when, and not if, the championship will be wrapped up.
There had been plenty reason to suspect this would be much more difficult. The Premiership’s big underachievers in the wake of last term’s double cup success, St Johnstone have survival in their sights and retain hope of reining in the free-falling St Mirren and climbing out of the play-off positions.
Davidson’s men were just the kind of opponents who might be capable of choking space but Celtic started with an intensity that simply could not be subdued.
Postecoglou sent out the same starting XI that dug in so impressively last Sunday, meaning Tom Rogic was charged with finding the elusive half yards of space in which to weave his magic.
As the St Johnstone defenders were drawn to Rogic’s feet, so Hatate had extra scope to probe.
The Japanese midfielder was everywhere in the opening exchanges, in one moment hustling a defender, the next unleashing a shot at goal. Two fine Zander Clark saves from Hatate snapshots sandwiched the opening goal, a first-time effort with the left foot that arose from the patient Greg Taylor’s cutback.
Rogic’s magnetic close control helped him wriggle through the middle, forcing Clark to improvise a save with his feet and then Jota cut inside to sweep a curling shot just over as the roof threatened to cave in on the visitors.
A whirl of non-stop motion at Ibrox, Maeda’s running helped conjure the second but in truth Callum Booth’s short pass back was an unforced error.
Giorgos Giakoumakis had matched Maeda’s work-rate and reaped the reward for his high press by getting to the ball first, rounding Clark and squeezing the finish home from the tightest of angles.
That was virtually Giakoumakis’s last contribution of the game as he pulled up shortly after and his withdrawal allowed Maeda to take up the central position from which he scored the third.
Jota got the assist with an inswinging cross from the left that required just a glance of a touch off the forward’s head to beat Clark.
Rogic didn’t reappear for the second half, his midfield spot going to O’Riley, while Saints also made two changes replacing Shaun Rooney and Murray Davidson with Cammy MacPherson and Tom Sang.
In virtually his first involvement, Sang conceded a penalty, holding back and toppling Hatate as he tried to link with Maeda. Josip Juranovic tucked away the spot-kick and then whistled a free-kick just wide from inside the ‘D’.
On for Hatate, David Turnbull teed up the fifth, planting a cross onto the head of O’Riley. A cause for celebration in itself, the goal was also the signal for Celtic to ready their final two substitutes to much acclaim from the stands.
James McCarthy won’t have minded playing second fiddle as he stepped forward for some rare minutes alongside Kyogo but before either had the chance to step out, O’Riley had added another.
In a tight space, the midfielder dragged the ball this way and that before digging out an arrow of a shot that found the top corner.
‘The first goal was a frustrated header because I think I should have scored before that when Jota put a lovely ball across and I kind of shanked it,’ said O’Riley.
‘I used that frustration to go again, which worked and then the second was a bit more cultured — nice feet in the box and I managed to find the corner. I was really happy just to get goals at Celtic Park.’
Kyogo’s introduction got the roar one would have expected and the little striker sprinkled some stardust on the game by helping create the seventh with a slingshot pass that found Maeda’s chest.
The momentum of the ball carried it into Liel Abada’s path for a simple strike.
‘Celtic were relentless today,’ said Davidson, ‘and not just for 60 minutes, for the full 90.
‘But the scoreline is hard to take. We didn’t do the basics well and we didn’t make it difficult for Celtic.
‘They brought lots of energy to the game and unfortunately we just couldn’t match them.
‘Ultimately our fight is for survival. It’s not in games like this.
‘We just need to be ready for the split. That’s why I made a few changes in the game, it’s important we keep everybody fresh.’
CELTIC (4-3-3): Hart; Juranovic, Carter-Vickers, Starfelt, Taylor; McGregor (McCarthy 74), Hatate (Turnbull 55), Rogic (O’Riley 46); Jota (Kyogo 74), Giakoumakis (Abada 26), Maeda. Subs not used: Bain, Ralston, Bitton, Ideguchi. Bookings: None.
St JOHNSTONE (5-4-1): Clark; Rooney (Sang 46), Brown, Gordon, McCart, Booth; Crawford, Hallberg (Butterfield 76), Davidson (MacPherson 46), Middleton (May 64); Hendry (Bair 64). Subs not used: Parish, Cleary, Gilmour, Mahon. Bookings: None. Referee: Andrew Dallas.