CELTIC will go into their meeting with Rangers at Parkhead on Saturday on the back of a six game winning run and with their hopes of completing a treble this season intact after opening their defence of the Premier Sports Cup with this comfortable win over Ross County.
Ange Postecoglou had urged his charges to focus on this match at the Global Energy Stadium, not the cinch Premiership game against their city rivals or the Champions League opener with Real Madrid next Tuesday night, earlier this week and they duly did so.
First-half goals from Callum McGregor and Giorgos Giakoumakis put his much-changed side – no fewer than nine players were rested after the 9-0 mauling of Dundee United in the league at Tannadice on Sunday – in complete control.
Alex Iacovitti got on the scoresheet for Malky Mackay’s team in the second-half. But Daizen Maeda struck soon after and James Forrest netted in the final minute to sew up a place in the quarter-finals.
Celtic will kick off the opening Old Firm derby of the new term this weekend in fine form and confident of recording a triumph that sends them five points clear at the top of the table having scored 25 goals and conceded just twice in the last four weeks.
Postecoglou, no doubt with half an eye on the considerable challenges which lie ahead in the days and weeks to come, freshened up his starting line-up.
There was a debut in goals for Benjamin Siegrist and first starts for left back Alexandro Bernabei and midfielder Aaron Mooy. Elsewhere, Stephen Welsh, Moritz Jenz, Anthony Ralston, David Turnbull, Maeda and Giakoumakis all returned.
It was quite a gamble by the Greek-Australian given how his team had fared on their previous visit to Ross-shire at the start of last month; it had taken a Jenz goal with six minutes remaining to give Celtic the lead in that Premiership encounter.
But Mackay also made five changes to the team which slumped to a 4-0 defeat to Rangers at Ibrox on Saturday; out went Ross Laidlaw, David Cancola, Kaleem Olaigbe, Jordy Hiwula and Yan Dhanda, who was suspended, and in came Jake Eastwood, Jordan Tillson, Jordan White, Josh Sims and Dominic Samuel.
County had topped their League Cup group in July. But the Highlanders have found points hard to come by in the Premiership to date and are in second bottom spot in the table after losing four of their games. Could they take advantage of the defending champions’ new-look side and pull off an upset?
They had ended Celtic’s four year strangehold of silverware in this competition back in 2020 when they triumphed 2-0 in the East End of Glasgow. But that result came during the their rivals’ annus horribilis, not after a record-breaking 9-0 away triumph.
McGregor and his team mates applied early pressure to their hosts’ goal and hit the crossbar twice. Firstly when Welsh rose and met a Turnbull corner and then after a Turnbull free-kick had taken a slight deflection. But it took them some time for them to make the breakthrough.
Celtic finally edged in front in the 21st minute when the captain, playing in an advanced role in a 4-1-4-1 formation, got on the end of a Turnbull corner and sidefooted beyond Eastwood. He was unmarked when he received the ball and had the simplest of tasks to score. Mackay was understandably incensed in his technical area.
Giakoumakis had missed the weekend rout of United due to illness. But the Greek internationalist looked fresh when Turnbull flicked the ball to his feet four minutes after the opener. He cut inside Iacovitti and curled a shot into the bottom left corner. It was his third strike in as many appearances.
Bernabei, a £3.75m signing from Lanus in his native Argentina back in June, will have to play well to get selected ahead of Greg Taylor given how impressively the Scot has been performing in his position in the 2022/23 campaign. However, he worked hard in both defence and attack throughout, overlapped to good effect and passed intelligently.
The South American defender has made the headlines for all the wrong reasons since arriving in this country. But the 21-year-old showed he has much to offer on the park last night. He will take heart from an encouraging showing.
When Harmon hobbled off injured just before half-time it damaged County’s hopes of staging a fightback in the second-half. Cancola took his place Owura Edwards also came on for Victor Loturi when play resumed.
Postecoglou showed the resources he has at his disposal in the 56th minute when Carl Starfelt and Forrest took over from Welsh at centre half and Liel Abada on the wing respectively. His men pushed hard for a third.
But County pulled one back in the 68th minute after White nodded an Eastwood clearance down to Iacovitti in the six yard box. The defender got in behind Jenz, stooped to meet the flick on and nodded beyond Siegrist.
Celtic refused to panic. They restored their two goal advantage just four minutes later after a period of prolonged possession. McGregor tested Eastwood from the edge of the penalty box and the keeper could only palm the effort away. Maeda slid in and netted.
New signing Sead Haksabanovic came on for the scorer and James McCarthy replaced McGregor. Forrest struck in the final minute. On to Rangers.
