IT wasn’t so long ago that a feeling of impending doom would accompany Celtic and their army of supporters to Livingston whenever they would visit, but it could well be that Ange Postecoglou and his men have finally shaken that monkey from their backs.
Just as they did here back in March, Celtic coasted to victory by scoring three goals, with a fine early Kyogo finish and a blast from Greg Taylor on his 100th appearance for the club killing the contest, before a late goal from Jota upon his return from injury sealed a win that was never in doubt from the opening moments of the match.
Just before that strike, Celtic even had the luxury of missing a spot-kick, Giorgos Giakoumakis continuing his own personal penalty jinx against Livingston by hitting his effort off the outside of the post, a year to the day since he missed against these same opponents at the death at Celtic Park. It mattered little in the bigger picture though.
It has been the case in the past that David Martindale’s well-drilled outfit have made Celtic and many others bend to fit their style and the conditions at the Tony Macaroni Arena, but it was Postecoglou’s team who imposed their game onto their opponents from the off, and ultimately made them bend to their will.
It wasn’t all that long ago either that there were murmurings of Kyogo losing confidence in front of goal, with his own manager admitting that the striker felt the world was collapsing in on him after a short barren run. That seems to be fully out of his system now, with his belting finish evidence that the forward has regained his mojo.
For Taylor, his second goal in as many games – as well as the assist for the opener – was a fitting way to bring up his century of appearances for the club, underlining just how far he has come in his Celtic journey and how integral he now is to his team.
For Livingston, Jack Hamilton was handed a debut in goal following an injury to regular number one Shamal George, while Cristian Montano was also ruled out with a knock. Andrew Shinnie dropped to the bench, with Jackson Longridge and James Penrice the men to come in to the side that drew 1-1 at Ibrox last time out.
Celtic manager Postecoglou made three changes to the team that drew with Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday night, as Anthony Ralston, Aaron Mooy and James Forrest came in for Josip Juranovic, Liel Abada and Giakoumakis.
The heavens opened in West Lothian before kick-off, giving the artificial surface a zip that it doesn’t always possess. Celtic therefore looked at home in the early stages, and not just because their fans occupied three quarters of the stadium.
The champions fizzed the ball about as they looked for an opening, while Livingston’s gameplan was to go direct to Joel Nouble whenever they won possession.
Set-pieces were always likely to prove invaluable to the hosts too, and they created a decent opening for Nouble from a well-worked Stephen Kelly free-kick, but the striker could only direct the ball straight at Joe Hart.
And from the goalkeeper’s hands, Celtic sprung a lightning counter to take the lead. Hart rolled the ball out to Ralston who played it into midfield, where Taylor quickly shuttled it on to Kyogo at the edge of the Livi area. The striker steadied himself and then thumped a stunning finish high into the net with his left foot before Hamilton could move.
Kyogo then poked one over on the stretch after getting in behind and Forrest cut inside to shoot just wide as Celtic looked to kill the contest early.
The contest between Nouble and Cameron Carter-Vickers at the other end was a keen one, and the big forward was posing one or two problems for the Celtic centre-back, who was cautioned for hauling him to the ground after one exchange between the pair.
Mooy should have scored soon after, dragging a shot wide from the edge of the box, but Celtic couldn’t add to their lead before the interval, and Livingston seemed to come out in the mood to make more of a contest of it in the second half.
Jason Holt pinched the ball off O’Riley in the midfield to play Nouble in behind, with Celtic eventually scrambling clear, and a few feisty challenges started to irk the men in green and white. Their riposte was emphatic.
Mooy had a shot from the edge of the area that was charged down, but the ball broke to the arriving Taylor who smashed the ball through a ruck of bodies, through Hamilton’s legs, and into the back of the net.
The Livi keeper had a massive let-off soon after as he sclaffed a clearance straight to Forrest, but with a little help from Jack Fitzwater, he recovered to dive at the feet of the winger and retrieve the situation.
The Celtic fans greeted the return of Jota almost as enthusiastically as their goals, and they were cheering again as referee Willie Collum went over to the VAR screen to review a potential handball against Andrew Shinnie, ultimately pointing to the spot.
Substitute Giakoumakis stepped up, but he dragged his low effort wide via a nick off Hamilton's right-hand post, leaving the striker kicking himself.
Celtic shrugged off any mild disappointment though, and fellow substitutes David Turnbull and Jota combined to put the icing on the cake, the midfielder swinging a cross in for the Portuguese winger to tap home from close range.
A straightforward victory for Celtic at Livingston then. A strange concept not so long ago, but one they will be pleased to be getting used to.
