Match report: Saints 0-6 Celtic

The visitors put in a dominant performance and they thought they had taken the lead on 25 minutes when Daizen Maeda volleyed the ball beyond Ross Sinclair however, the goal was ruled out following a VAR review after Graham Carey had been fouled by Auston Trusty.

Celtic took the lead on 35 minutes thanks to a composed finish from Kyogo Furuhashi. The visitors then doubled their lead thanks to a fine finish from Paulo Bernardo before Furuhashi got his second and Celtic’s third just before the break.

Celtic captain Callum McGregor made it 4-0 on 54 minutes with a low strike from just outside the box. Maeda was next on the scoresheet as the Japanese winger headed home a Paulo Bernardo cross.

The visitors capped off a fine display with 7 minutes remaining when substitute Adam Idah finished from close range to make it 6-0.

Next up for Saints is a trip to Ibrox next Sunday evening to take on Rangers, kick off 8pm.

MATCH REPORT

Saints welcomed Celtic to McDiarmid Park this evening for a William Hill Premiership match. Saints had to settle for a point at Ross County last weekend and caretaker manager Andy Kirk made one change to his starting eleven as Graham Carey came in to replace Jason Holt who missed out completely. Celtic came from behind to defeat Falkirk 5-2 in the Premier Sports Cup last Sunday and manager Brendan Rodgers made seven changes to his starting eleven. Alistair Johnston, Greg Taylor, Liam Scales, Kyogo Furuhashi, Nicolas Kühn, Arne Engels and Daizen Maeda came in to replace Álex Valle, Anthony Ralston, Reo Hatate, Adam Idah and James Forrest who all dropped to the bench whilst Stephen Welsh and Luis Palma missed out completely.

Arne Engels got the match underway for Celtic and the visitors dominated the opening proceedings. On 5 minutes a good pass by Callum McGregor played in Daizen Maeda and the Japanese winger attempted to pick out Kyogo Furuhashi with a ball across the Saints goal although, Ross Sinclair was alert to the danger as he gathered the ball. However, play was pulled back as Maeda was deemed to have been offside. Then shortly after Alistair Johnston’s ball over the top played in Furuhashi however, Jack Sanders got back to block the effort for a corner.

On 15 minutes great play by Matt Smith saw the midfielder win the ball before playing in Makenzie Kirk whose cross was turned behind for a corner by Johnston. Smith took the corner form the left and his delivery was met by Sanders however, he couldn’t find the target with his header.

Then a minute later a ball over the top from McGregor played in Furuhashi but he was denied by Sinclair who made a good save. The loose ball then broke to Nicolas Kühn however, the German winger with the goal at his mercy sliced his effort wide.

The visitors continued to apply the pressure and on 25 minutes the Parkhead side thought they had taken the lead after they had been awarded a free kick following a foul by Andre Raymond on Johnston. Engels took the free kick and he played it short to Kühn who took the ball across the edge of the box before seeing his shot blocked as the ball broke to Maeda who sent a left footed volley into the top corner of the net from 14 yards. However, the goal was disallowed following a VAR review as Auston Trusty had fouled Graham Carey in the build-up.

Saints were forced into a change on 34 minutes as Aaron Essel came on to replace the injured Kyle Cameron.

The chances for Celtic continued and a minute later a Kühn corner from the right picked out Trusty who headed wide of the target.

The pressure from the Champions eventually told with 10 minutes of the first half remaining as they took the lead. Kühn’s headed pass in behind played in Furuhashi who burst forward and into the box before sending a composed finish beyond Sinclair and into the bottom corner of the net to put Celtic a goal up.

The one-way traffic continued and on 37 minutes Kühn curled a shot wide.

On 40 minutes a Carey cross from the right was punched clear by Kasper Schmeichel however, the clearance from the Celtic number one only went as far as Sven Sprangler who couldn’t make a clean connection with the ball as his effort went wide of the target.

Celtic doubled their lead on 43 minutes as a great passing move by the visitors ended with Furuhashi playing the ball back to Paulo Bernardo who sent a good finish beyond Sinclair and into the net from 22 yards.

It was then 3-0 to Celtic 2 minutes later as a Greg Taylor cross picked out Furuhashi who headed the ball past Sinclair for his second of the game. There was then a VAR check for a potential offside however, the goal stood following a review by VAR official Alan Muir.

6 minutes of stoppage time was added on at the end of the first half and deep into that added on time Sinclair produced a good save tipping a Taylor strike around the post for a corner.

2 minutes into the second half a quick Celtic break saw Furuhashi got the better of Lewis Neilson before firing an effort over the bar.

Celtic extended their lead on 54 minutes as Engels played a short corner to Kühn and the winger picked out Callum McGregor just outside the box with his pass. The Hoops captain then took a touch before firing a shot into the bottom corner of the net past an unsighted Sinclair who was rooted to the spot.

Celtic almost got another goal straight from the kick off as Engels played in Kühn however, Sinclair made a great block to deny the winger.

Saints made their second change of the game on 58 minutes as Nicky Clark was replaced by Cammy MacPherson.

Then a minute later Andre Raymond put his shot the wrong side of the post. Saints got another sight of goal on 64 minutes as Essel saw his effort pushed behind for a corner by Schmeichel.

However, Celtic made it 5-0 on 72 minutes. A cross from Paulo Bernardo was perfect for Maeda who sent a bulleted header high into the top corner of the net.

Saints then made a double change as David Keltjens and Josh McPake came on to replace Andre Raymond and Makenzie Kirk.

Celtic continued to carve out chances and with 10 minutes remaining Trusty saw his effort drift wide of the far post.

However, the visitors got their sixth of the evening on 83 minutes. A good passing move by Celtic saw substitute Luke McCowan play a neat ball over the top to Álex Valle and the on-loan Barcelona left-back produced a neat flick to lay the ball off to Adam Idah who slotted home from close range. It had look like the goal was going to be disallowed for offside as the East Stand official put up his flag however, the goal would stand following a review by VAR.

A great run forward by Keltjens on 86 minutes saw him burst deep into the Celtic half however, Maeda was able to get back and make an important tackle to halt the Saints attack.

With 2 minutes remaining McCowan saw his strike touched onto the post by Sinclair. The former Dundee midfielder then got a second bite of the cherry as he unleashed an effort which took a deflection off Sanders but Sinclair was able to claw the ball away to prevent any further misery for Andy Kirk’s side.

Saints: Sinclair, Raymond (Keltjens 73’), Cameron (Essel 34’), Sanders, Neilson, Clark (MacPherson 58’), Carey, Wright, Smith, Sprangler, Kirk (McPake 73’)

Unused Substitutes: Rae (GK), Kucheriavyi, McCrystal, Franczak, Dair

Booked: Smith

Celtic: Schmeichel, Johnston, Taylor (Valle 45’), Scales, Trusty, Furuhashi (Idah 66’), Kühn (Forrest 66’), Engels (Hatate 66’), Bernardo, Maeda, McGregor (McCowan 75’)

Unused Substitutes: Sinisalo (GK), Yang Hyun-Jun, Nawrocki, Ralston

Booked: Maeda

Scorers: Furuhashi (35’, 45’), Paulo Bernardo (43’), McGregor (54’), Maeda (72’), Idah (83’)

Referee: Don Robertson

VAR: Alan Muir

Attendance: 7,036