Celtic in cruise control as they drive past Airdrie in search of the treble treble
The Scottish Cup holders secured their place in the last 16 with a fuss-free win at Celtic Park.
Two goals from Scott Sinclair plus a single from new Bhoy Timothy Weah added up to (almost) zero stress for the Hoops and their fans. To be fair on a day that saw the 2018 runners up, Motherwell, and Ayr United, dramatically dumped out of the tournament, Brendan Rodgers took no chances in this home tie against League One opposition.
It took only a glance at the teamsheet here to see the depth of the Celtic manager’s determination to drive on in the hunt for a Treble Treble.
Seven of the starting 11 against Rangers in the recent Old Firm derby were in place – Brown, Sinclair, Christie, Boyata, Benkovic, Mcgregor and Forrest.
Of the four changes, three – Scott Bain, Olivier Burke and Emillio Izaguirre – were internationalists.
The first two named for Scotland and Izaguirre for Honduras, who he represented in the World Cup Finals last summer. The remaining member of the quartet, Anthony Ralston, is a current Scotland U-21 player.
And if the last of Burke’s handful of caps came two years ago, the fact that the 21-year-old has already generated £28 million in transfer fees would not have been lost on envious Diamonds boss Ian Murray.
Implausibly, it was Izaguirre who was first to show off his attacking, winning his side a penalty when drawing a foul out of Chris O’neil.
Keeper David Hutton pulled off a magnificent save to deny Scott Sinclair from the spot, diving full length to his right to push the ball away.
It was only a temporary reprieve, with Celtic and Sinclair recovering from the setback to grab the lead with a goal of real quality. Ralston sent James Forrest scampering down the right and, from the cutback, Burke sent a snap shot in on goal.
Again Hutton did well to save but this time he only succeeded in pushing the ball into Sinclair’s path. From a tight angle, the winger shot home.
Fans might have been forgiven for expecting a procession after that but, remarkably, the hosts were lucky to go in at the break ahead. CELTIC:
(4-2-3-1) Bain 7; Ralston 7, Boyata 6, Benkovic 6, Izaguirre 7; Brown 7 (Bitton 81 5), Mcgregor 8; Forrest 6 (Johnston 68 6), Christie 7, Sinclair 7 (Weah 68 6); Burke 6. Unused – Gordon, Lustig, Ajer, Henderson.
AIRDRIE:
(3-5-2) Hutton 7; O’neil 6, Crichton 6, Macdonald 6; Stewart 6 (Duffy 76 5), Campbell 5 (Carrick 60 5), Gallagher 6, Millar 6, Edwards 6; Wilkie 6 (Glass 51 6), Mcintosh 5. Unused – Robertson, Mckenzie, Page, Cairns.
It took a fantastic save from Scott Bain to keep out Kyle Wilkie’s effort and then a decent follow up block to thwart Leighton Mcintosh.
“I would have loved it to have hit the back of the net and we go in 1-1 and suddenly we have got a wee Cup shock on our hands,” said Airdrie manager Murray.
“On another day it goes in, but I certainly have no complaints with the scoreline or with my team’s performance – they can hold their heads up high.”
Instead, it was Sinclair who showed how it should be done, coolly shooting home when Hutton again put the ball in his direction – this time from a strong header from Dedryck Botyata.
Airdrie were clearly deflated but stuck to their game plan.
The gulf in class was evident. However, never more so than when Scott Brown gave Diamonds sub, Declan Glass, a few yards of a start in a ball chase before simply kicking it up a gear to cruise past his opponent and pass back to Bain.
Sinclair thought he had got the match ball when netting with a tap in after a fierce effort by Burke. But it was not to be, with the far side assistant flagging him offside.
The winger’s slightly disappointed shrug was just about his final contribution to the match with Rodgers taking the chance to underline the difference in resources, in both financial and playing terms, by turning to his subs bench.
Off went Sinclair and Forrest, on came Timothy Weah, the on-loan teen from Paris Saint-germain and Mikey Johnston, an undeniably talented young Scot.
Weah it was who made the most of his chance, sliding home from Boyata’s clever pass to round off the scoring.
“He’s 18 years of age and has now scored in his debut here, which is great. You can clearly see he is a talent,” said his delighted boss, Rodgers.
“I was also really pleased with Oliver. He’s got incredible talent. “He’s a good tactician. “Tactically we’re working on his game for his movement and his runs.” Scott Sinclair got a brace and was pretty sharp all round, Anthony Ralston and Scott Brown both looked good but best on show – yet again – was BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! On his debut for the Bhoys, Weah makes it three!