Celtic continue to crank up the pressure on Rangers. They increased their lead at the top of the Premiership to six points with this emphatic win and also augmented their superior goal difference, which could yet prove a factor in a title race that’s expected to go the distance.
They are now unbeaten in 31 matches in Scotland, 27 of them wins, and haven’t lost to a Scottish side on their own pitch since St Mirren in January 2021. If they were pushed hard by County to take all three points at Dingwall in December, when Anthony Ralston scored a 97th-minute winner for Ange Postecoglou’s side after they were reduced to 10 men by a red card for Carl Starfelt, then this soon proved to be a far easier encounter with Malky Mackay’s side.
It quickly became a case of how many they would win by, rather than whether they would, after a couple of early goals from Giorgos Giakoumakis, who later completed his hat-trick with a second-half penalty, then a red card for County’s Kayne Ramsay after Daizen Maeda scored Celtic’s third. All that came inside the opening half-hour.
Callum McGregor is still playing in a protective mask, but it has not lessened his ability to make Celtic tick from a deep position behind the rest of their midfield. County perhaps missed a trick by not parking a player of their own on Celtic’s captain as he made so much mischief, pulling them apart with his passing.
It’s a victory that puts Celtic in the perfect place for the final two months of the season after the international break and Postecoglou will pray that his key players return fit and well from representing their countries. He used all five of his substitutes early here to rest the likes of McGregor, Jota and Josip Juranovic in the closing stages. The only sour note was an injury to Tom Rogic from the tackle that saw Ramsay red-carded.
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Mackay’s team have moved emphatically away from the relegation issue, but this was a setback in their bid to push for a top-six place and even European qualification, and County have still to record a win at Celtic Park.
He named the same side that beat St Mirren 1-0 a fortnight ago, while Postecoglou made two changes from last Monday’s 3-0 win over Dundee United in the Scottish Cup, with Rogic replacing Matt O’Riley in midfield and Jota on the wing in place of the injured James Forrest. David Turnbull, sidelined through injury since December, managed to get on for the final 15 minutes or so of this romp.
Celtic will face competition to make Jota’s successful loan move from Benfica permanent, and he again underlined his importance by creating their first goal after 11 minutes. He shuffled his fast feet at Ramsay before curling a perfect cross to the back post from the left wing and Giakoumakis was waiting to outjump Alex Iacovitti and score with a thumping header.
The Greek striker has become increasingly influential this season and scored his and Celtic’s second seven minutes later. Juranovic’s cross from the right was knocked back across goal by Maeda and after his first header was cleared off the line by Jack Baldwin, Giakoumakis neatly placed another into the bottom corner when the ball came back to him.
In between Giakoumakis’s goals, Celtic were also refused a penalty by Don Robertson, the referee, when a Jota cross hit Joseph Hungbo’s arm in County’s box.
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Normally an attacking side, the visitors were struggling to get out of their own half. Ross Laidlaw made an instinctive save to stop Maeda’s header, then got down brilliantly low to his left to stop McGregor’s shot.
Yet Celtic’s third came soon enough. Incredibly, Giakoumakis was again allowed a free header from Jota’s corner on the right and Maeda stabbed the ball home when it broke to him.
County’s problems only increased when Ramsay was sent off for a needless lunge on Rogic shortly after Celtic’s third. As he departed, Mackay summoned his players to the touchline with Plan A for the afternoon already in shreds. It was now an exercise in damage limitation, to morale and goal difference.
Mackay didn’t think it was a straight red card for Ramsay. “I have looked at it again,” he argued. “His right foot comes through and takes the ball, with the momentum his left foot comes off the ground and that’s what the referee gives the sending off for. Letter of the law you could say his feet are off the ground, but I don’t think there was any malice in it.”
Rogic could not continue and was replaced by O’Riley in Celtic’s midfield. Called up by Denmark’s Under-21s last week, O’Riley pulled his shot narrowly wide at the end of some slick passing after being teed up by Maeda’s exquisite flick.
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County belatedly calmed down a bit and even managed an attack, with Regan Charles-Cook’s dribble down the left yielding a corner. The last five goals Celtic have conceded in the Premiership have all come from set plays, but County could not capitalise on it.
Instead, it was Celtic who increased their lead on the hour. Giakoumakis completed his hat-trick by calmly rolling in the penalty after Iacovitti handled in his penalty area. Juranovic, who usually takes the spot-kicks if he’s on the pitch, nobly stood aside and instead handed the ball to the Greek striker. County’s defence were similarly generous to him yesterday.
