Celtic Football Club proceeded with their stellar performance this season by securing a clear 3-0 victory over St Mirren in the William Hill Premiership match held in Paisley. Celtic captain, Callum McGregor, set the ball rolling with an early goal within three minutes. His midfield counterpart, Reo Hatate boosted the score further with a second goal in the 33rd minute. Finally, Celtic’s defender, Alistair Johnson, sealed their triumph with a third goal in the 71st minute, demonstrating the team’s ambition early in the season.
Brendan Rodgers’ team have remained undefeated in all four matches so far, racking up 12 scores and only allowing one, which should bolster their assurance during the forthcoming Old Firm match against the Rangers in Parkhead.
Stephen Robinson’s team gave their all, but the gap in performance was significant, and they have experienced four consecutive losses now. Following their loss to Dundee United in the Premier Sports Cup, Robinson reshuffled the team, letting debutant Killian Phillips, on loan from Crystal Palace, play. Jonah Ayunga, Jaden Brown, captain Mark O’Hara, and Richard Taylor were also in the starting line-up, whilst Roland Idowu, Mikael Mandron, Oisin Smyth, Scott Tanser, and Fraser Taylor were benched.
Despite the gloomy weather in Paisley, Celtic striker, Adam Idah, and midfielder Paulo Bernardo were chosen to participate in the match, replacing Matt O’Riley who is moving to Brighton, and Nicolas Kuhn who sat out amongst the substitutes.
McGregor initiated Celtic’s dominance in the match with a goal, within three minutes, aided by a pass from James Forrest. This marked his second goal this season equalling his record from the previous one. Celtic’s aggressive offence resulted in Balcombe blocking attempts from Hatate and Idah in the 14th minute. Even Bernardo’s move to send Idah clear didn’t bear any fruit as Balcombe interfered again. A potential penalty for Celtic, involving Daizen Maeda, was dismissed after a VAR check.
After taking an early lead, Celtic proceeded to increase their advantage courtesy of Hatate firing in a low shot, having been setup by Maeda who headed Johnston’s sublime cross towards the far post.
Despite a VAR review when Maeda was challenged in the penalty box area by Shaun Rooney, the claim for a penalty was dismissed.
In the hopes of changing the course of the game, Robinson substituted Mandron and Idowu in place of Gogic and Ayunga as the second half commenced, but Celtic remained the more dominant team and incessantly posed threats.
Just minutes before the hour, Idah and Forrest were replaced by Kyogo Furuhashi and Kuhn. Eight minutes into their debut, Furuhashi was denied a goal by Balcombe after being set up by Johnston who sent a pass that cut through the defense.
However, this was only a postponement of what was expected; Kuhn later moved into the St Mirren box from the right wing and composed a pass to Johnston who sent the ball soaring into the net from a distance of 10 yards, extending Celtic’s lead to 3-0.
As the game came to a close, the promising 18-year-old Francis Turley was introduced into the game by Hatate, further showcasing Celtic’s depth even without the presence of their influential Danish midfielder, O’Riley.