Celtic 2-0 St.Johnstone: Dominant Hoops beat Saints to remain six points clear
Celtic beat St.Johnstone 2-0 and were able to make it look like a walk in the park. They were completely dominant and gave the opposition no chance of a getting a reward for their efforts.
They came into this game hoping to maintain their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership table. Even with all the pace that Celtic produce up front, it looked like the Saints were ready to press them and keep a high line.
As the half wore on, Celtic slowly began to dominate possession and even though they were able to knock the ball around comfortably, all the action was in front of the two lines of Saints defenders.
The Hoops kept on pushing and had a couple of half chances that were either wide or blocked by a defender but they weren’t able to test the keeper. Saints’ chances were few and far between as well and they were doing most of the defending in this match.
It was clear that Celtic needed to inject more pace into their play to really get past the stubborn defence and as the game went into half-time, the frustration was beginning to become clear.
The second haft began with a bigger impetus on high intensity and attacking play, and they were able to move the ball around with more confidence. They began to unlock new spaces that were unavailable to them in the first half.
With just 8 minutes gone in the 2nd half, the Hoops opened the scoring when a pass from Lustig found McGregor in the midfield. He took a couple of touches to set himself before launching a low shot.
It sped towards the bottom corner and the diving Clark could only watch as it nestled in the bottom corner to break the deadlock. The Saints’ defensive stability seemed to drop after this as they weren’t as solid as they were in the first half.
It took them just two minutes to find the second goal of the night. The ball was fed to Ryan Christie at the edge of the box. He took a deft touch which effectively took two defenders out of the equation.
He then burst into the area with pace and curled a beautiful shot past the hapless Clark. After this, Celtic were comfortable and with their experience and know-how, they were able to control the game.
As the minutes wore on, Celtic really came into the game as they began to create an amazing number of chances but even with Timothy Weah coming on, there was no third goal in this game as they win 2-0 to keep their 6-point lead at the top of the table.
Here’s what some overjoyed Celtic fans had to say on Twitter:
McGregor was faultless again, easily becoming our most important player. Mon the hoops.
— Free Thinker 🧠 💭 (@0p3nYourMind) January 30, 2019
Well done once again to those that come to back the Bhoys, not panic/berate the team on twitter, have faith, 6 points clear, no points thrown away like some ‘fans’ would suggest, onwards we go, HH 🍀
— Danny (@DanTheManMax) January 30, 2019
Delighted 👏👍Callum McGregor complete midfielder tonight winning ball back …puting out wee fires and making the breakthrough with the opener…player of the year for me by a country mile
— DAVID-FEARNLEY-WEBB 🏴 🇮🇪 🇵🇸 🇸🇪 (@AndyGaveUs) January 30, 2019
Excellent. Sat at the top, 6 points clear. Building up a good lead and ready to extend it at every opportunity.
— Keith Robertson (@Krobertson5808) January 30, 2019
Well done these are the games on a cold January night that champs know they have to win
— pavmas (@footieisliving) January 30, 2019
Very good tonight without getting into the zone. No let up now, lets have an invincible 2019, unbeatable this year.
— Misty Eyed Mutton (@gfficom) January 30, 2019
Good result and played well tonight. Happy to be 6 clear at the top.
— Craig s (@scotcraig1983) January 30, 2019
congratulations team 💚👑
— 3 2 1🍀 (@tirituvan_18) January 30, 2019
