2018-01-20: Celtic 5-0 Brechin City, Scottish Cup

Match Pictures | Matches: 2017 – 2018 | 2017-18 Pictures

Trivia

• Scottish Cup Fourth Round
• Celtic scored before Brechin even touched the ball. 49 passes and a goal!
• First game after long Winter Break; First game of new year. Brechin City, apparently taking 1200 to Celtic Park on Saturday, only restricted view tickets left yesterday, from a town of 6500 folk, that's some turnout, the youths football taking 5 busses alone, kids paid for by their teams.
• Celtic draw Partick in next round.
• Raith Rovers have confirmed the signing of Celtic youngster Regan Hendry on loan until the rest of the season.
• Stuart Armstrong set for spell on the sidelines after shock hernia operation
• Attendances in Scotland’s top flight are the highest in Europe when population size is taken into consideration, new data has revealed. The European Professional Football League (EPFL) commissioned its second Fan Attendance Report, which was made public on Monday. The organisation, which represents 32 leagues in 25 countries, measured attendances at matches over seven consecutive seasons, from 2010/11 until the 2016/17 campaign.
• Paul Lambert has been made the Stoke manager. Interesting as forerunner was Martin O'Neill who passed on it.
• TV footage showing Sevco player Carlos Pena wiping his nose on a pair of Sevco shorts as he arrived for his medical with Mexican side Cruz Azul.TV images showed Pena with a pair of white, red and blue shorts complete with the number 27 on them before he went into a local hospital ahead of his reunion with Pedro Caixinha. Ibrox fans accused the 27-year-old midfielder of disrespecting the kit, adding: “He won’t be back.”
• Edinburgh is apparently a rugby city (it’s a football city): an in-form Edinburgh pro team couldn’t tempt more than just under 5,000 for a big European game last Friday. Nuff said!
  
• Cyrille Regis: The former West Bromwich Albion player died from a heart attack, aged 59. A trailblazer for black footballers who overcame racism and bigotry to inspire a generation. Celtic prior to this match held a one min standing ovation in his memory, respect.
• Transfer Window:
  
• New signing Marvin Compper may have to wait another month to make his Celtic debut after the recent signing picked up a calf injury.
• Celtic have completed a three-year deal for young Australian winger Leo Mazis. The 17-year-old signed for the Ladbrokes Premiership leaders after impressing in a trial period. He joins from Belconnen United in Canberra’s National Premier League.
• Lewis Morgan has signed for Celtic from St Mirren for 300k, and will be loaned back. He grew up a fan of Rangers (deidco).
• Besiktas president Fikret Orman has insisted that the SuperLig side ‘have no interest in parting ways’ with Serbian defender Dusko Tosic, despite interest from Celtic. Di Marzio suggested that the Serie B side, who are chasing promotion, could make a move for the former Hibs loan star if the trial is successful.
  
• Ciftci joins Motherwell on loan.
• Celtic have reignited their interest in Chelsea midfielder Charly Musonda. Brendan Rodgers was keen on the player last summer but a move failed to materialise.
• Sviatchenko has moved on loan to FC Midtjylland, signalling the likely end to his first team career at Celtic.
• Liam Henderson has left to join Bari (Italy) on a permanent contract. Good luck to him.
  

Review

(jbc of KDS)
easy game at the end of the day playing a lower tier side.

Enjoyable run around, and Celtic players are refreshed after the winter break as needed.

(Fatboab of KDS)
We took to the field today without Simunovic, Compper, Armstrong, Rogic, Bitton, Roberts, Dembele and Griffiths. That’s a lot of talent to be able to call on in the next month or two.

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Articles

Celtic 5 – 0 Brechin: Moussa Demeble left out after enquiries

Celtic's Dedryck Boyata heads home to make it 4-0. picture: SNS/Craig Williamson

Celtic produced what Brendan Rodgers called “a professional performance” to blitz Brechin City and breeze into the fifth round of the Scottish Cup. The fact Moussa Dembele did not contribute to that on an afternoon in which Rodgers fielded his strongest available side the Irishman intimated afterwards was no mere coincidence.

Across this transfer window, the 21-year-old Frenchman has been constantly linked with English Premier League clubs – Crystal Palace, Brighton and Everton, largely – without any making the £20m bid that might trigger actual activity. The speculation surrounding Dembele yesterday led Rodgers to make the stark admission that he feels rendering the forward inactive is best for his side. With his team exhibiting focus, freshness and a sense of purpose on their return to action after a three-week winter break, the Celtic manager does not believe those facets can be guaranteed from the player who was such a sensation as he exploded on to the Scottish football scene last season with 32 goals – he’s netted just eight in this campaign.

“There have been a couple of enquiries for him [Dembele] and I think it is clear he has not been quite the same as he’s been for over a year or so,” Rodgers said. “My job as the manager is always to protect the club and ensure everyone who plays is totally focused.
“He’s a good kid, has done great for us but there has always been speculation around him and I think for young players it can be difficult at times.
“This window, it is a difficult window for players. They are unsure, especially in his case. But he has no issue, there is no problem. I could have played him today but for the team and for the dynamic of everything I wanted to put young Odsonne [Edouard] in.
“Moussa is training, he is working and nothing happens between now and the end of January then between then and the end of the season we will see that player really focussed and fighting and running and working for the team.”

The men Rodgers sent out certainly did not lack purpose or effervescence and inside 121 seconds – without the visitors’ touching the ball – were a goal up through James Forrest. He swept in from eight yards after Scott Sinclair waltzed down the left flank and cut the ball back from the byline.
Darren Dods admitted his side – without a win in the Championship – could hardly have endured a worse start than falling two behind ten minutes later. That goal was the product of an over-ambitious forward pass from James Dale inside his own box, which Callum McGregor intercepted and knocked into the path of Sinclair, who beat Brechin keeper Graeme Smith at his near post.

There could only be a degree of relief for a commendably strong Brechin support when their team actually managed a break into the Celtic half shortly afterwards, greeted by high-pitched roars from the visiting section – testament to the family outing enjoyed by the Angus day-trippers.

But they would have known further punishment was to come.
It arrived just after the restart when Mikael Lustig hung up a cross from the right that allowed Celtic’s midfield orchestrator Olivier Ntcham to power in an unstoppable header. Celtic’s aerial threat brought no.4 in the 56th minute when Dedryck Boyata met a McGregor corner and headed it wide of Smith. In the closing minutes, Edouard completed the scoring – after Brechin substitute Issac Layne had caused some anxiety for the Celtic backline – when he met a neat through-ball from Lustig on the half-turn, and angled a low effort into the far corner.
Rodgers, who expects to have the injury-sidelined Leigh Griffiths back for Tuesday’s Premiership clash at Partick Thistle, is cagey on new signings in the ten days before the window closes next week. “It is important to stay calm,” he said. “The key was to strengthen in this window and I believe we will do that. If you are trying to bring in a specific type of player it takes a little more time.”

BBC

By Jane Lewis

BBC Scotland at Celtic Park

From the section Scottish Cup

Highlights: Celtic 5-0 Brechin City

Celtic cruised into the Scottish Cup fifth round with a routine victory over the Championship's bottom side.

James Forrest side-footed home Scott Sinclair's cut-back before Brechin had even touched the ball.

Scott Sinclair then capitalised on some calamitous defending to tuck away his 17th goal of the season.

Second-half headers from Olivier Ntcham and Dedryck Boyata, and a crisp finish from Odsonne Edouard, completed a comfortable victory for the hosts.

The Premiership leaders, refreshed from their mid-winter break, fielded a strong starting 11 despite opponents who find themselves 16 points adrift at the foot of Scotland's second tier.

Their intent yielded a reward after just two minutes, Sinclair twisting his way to the left by-line before cutting the ball back for Forrest to slide home his 13th goal of the season.
James Forrest celebrates scoring for Celtic
James Forrest scored his 13th goal of a productive season

Only two Brechin players had played at Celtic Park before, and the Championship strugglers were not enjoying this cup tie.

Celtic's dominance continued, efforts from Kristoffer Ajer, Ntcham and Sinclair coming close to adding to their lead.

But they didn't have to wait long. Callum McGregor pounced on an ill-advised attempt to pass the ball out of his own box by Paul McLean and set up Sinclair for an easy finish.

Sinclair's agent and inspiration Cyrille Regis died this week, the former West Brom and England forward's passing marked by a minute's applause before kick-off.
Celtic defender Dedryck Boyata
Celtic defender Dedryck Boyata scored his side's fourth goal with a header

Brechin saw very little of the ball, but they did have one effort in the first half. Jordan Sinclair broke through but his effort was cleared away.

But Celtic were well on top and you sensed they would add to their tally in the second half.

Ntcham's terrific header from Mikael Lustig's floated cross made it 3-0, and seven minutes later Boyata rose well to head in McGregor's pass.

Brechin did force Craig Gordon into a great save from McLean's header, and moments later Sean Crichton fired wide, while substitute Issac Layne's effort in the 72nd minute also drifted wide.

Despite those chances for the visitors, Edouard's smart finish – collecting Lustig's pass and smashing the ball inside the near post – completed the rout.
Post-match reaction:

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers: "It was a good game for us to come back to after three weeks away. It was a professional performance.

"We scored some good goals; we created other chances and could have scored more, but we are happy with five.

"Credit to Brechin; it is tough being a part-time team when nearly everyone else in their league is full-time, but they showed their spirit today and defended well at times.

"We won three trophies last season, we have got one this season and we want to go on and win more.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers says there has been "some interest" in striker Moussa Dembele

"We definitely want to get some more players in before the end of January, to help with the creativity in the team. We certainly want to strengthen.

"I don't know [if Moussa Dembele will still be here]. Time will tell. He is very much a Celtic player. There has been some interest in him, of course, but nothing official."

Brechin City manager Darren Dods: "We got off to the worst possible start. We knew all week it was going to be difficult and Celtic would be a strong team. We lose a goal after the first minute then we're 2-0 down after 10 minutes, with an uncharacteristic error for the second goal.

"It was maybe just the occasion. After that we could have crumbled, but we managed to regain our composure and see it through to half-time.

"Credit to the players, they kept going, kept pushing themselves. We did work their goalie late on. It was pleasing to come here and get a few chances. It's a level most of them have never played at and they take the experience."