2019-02-03: St Johnstone 0-2 Celtic, League

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Review

(flatbackground of KDS)
Think that’s a big win for us today. Huge pressure on sevco now to win at Pittodrie.

We looked better with Toljan on in the second half. Nice to have a right back who can run. Think it helps Brown’s game too, his more conservative approach isn’t suited to playing with fullbacks who also want to stay deeper.

Thought Edouard actually added a lot too before he went off. Hopefully a Christie style sore-but-not-serious one.

Great to see Weah chip in with his first real crucial contribution. Especially now that he’s likely to be in the starting 11 in the next few games.

Thought Izzy was well off the pace in the first half, kept giving away stupid fouls. No real options to change him though.

Said on here the other day that we’re running Forrest and McGregor into the ground and we’d soon lose them to injury. No surprise to see Forrest picking up a muscle strain.

(Haitch of KDS)
Thought that was a really important result. Disappointed with aspects of the performance but we done well to keep plugging away. We are getting seriously unlucky with injuries ffs.

Bain continues a phenomenal clean sheet record. 5 out of 5 in 2019. Lovely.

Thought we were noticeably more of a threat down the right in the second half as Toljan is much more attacking than Lustig.

Simunovic was really good.

Ajer has a good 92 minutes but that was a moment of madness that we could have done without.

Izzy made a few rash challenges but otherwise done well especially getting forward.

Brown was careless in possession a few times but broke up the play well for most of the game.

McGregor was quiet.

Christie struggled but was carrying a rib injury according to BR.

Sinclair anonymous for most of the game, his poorest game in a while.

Forrest was quiet too but was a threat on the rare occasions he had the ball and made the breakthrough.

The star of the show was undoubtedly Weah. Goal and an assist. He’s going to be a huge asset for us and I’m dreading him leaving already.

As I said big big win. Hopefully the start of an upward spiral in our away performances/results.

Teams

St Johnstone

• 1Clark
• 19Foster
• 15Kerr
• 5Shaughnessy
• 3Tanser
• 33Kennedy Substituted forO'Halloranat 77'minutes
• 8Davidson
• 28Callachan
• 27GossBooked at 82mins Substituted forHendryat 82'minutes
• 11SwansonBooked at 62minsSubstituted forWotherspoonat 64'minutes
• 32Watt

Substitutes

• 10Wotherspoon
• 12Bell
• 17O'Halloran
• 22Hendry
• 23Gordon
• 26Craig
• 31Keown

Celtic

• 29 Bain
• 23 Lustig Substituted forToljanat 45'minutes
• 5 Simunovic
• 35 AjerBooked at 90mins; red card (straight)
• 3 Izaguirre
• 8 Brown
• 42 McGregor
• 49 ForrestBooked at 79mins Substituted forat 83'minutes
• 17 Christie
• 11 Sinclair
• 25 Burke Substituted for Edouard at 66'minutes, Substituted for Weah at 74'minutes

Substitutes

• 1Gordon
• 2Toljan
• 6Bitton
• 15Hayes
• 22Edouard
• 30Weah
• 73Johnston

Referee:
William Collum
Attendance:
6,242

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Stats

Home Team
St Johnstone
Away Team
Celtic

Possession
Home43%
Away57%

Shots
Home6
Away17

Shots on Target
Home2
Away7

Corners
Home3
Away7

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Home12
Away16

Articles

St Johnstone 0 – 2 Celtic: Weah the hero as Celtic go six points clear

Stephen Halliday
Published: 14:22 Sunday 03 February 2019
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/competitions/premiership/st-johnstone-0-2-celtic-weah-the-hero-as-celtic-go-six-points-clear-1-4866840

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It took them longer than they would have liked but Celtic duly and deservedly restored a six point lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership with another victory over a St Johnstone side who must be heartily sick of the sight of the champions.

Two goals in the closing stages from James Forrest and substitute Timothy Weah broke the gutsy resistance of the Perth side and their outstanding goalkeeper Zander Clark. It was a repeat of the scoreline between the teams at Celtic Park four days earlier and the bad news for Tommy Wright’s men is that they must square up to the double-treble winners again in the Scottish Cup next weekend.

The only sour notes for Brendan Rodgers on an afternoon which saw his team reassert their authority in the title race were injuries to Mikael Lustig, Forrest and Odsonne Edouard, which will be assessed in the coming days, and a late red card for Kristoffer Ajer.

Saints carried more of a threat in the opening moments of this contest than they had managed in the whole 90 minutes at Parkhead in midweek when they had failed to record a single attempt on target.

Scott Bain had been little more than a spectator for most of that evening but the Celtic ‘keeper had to make a fine save after just five minutes here to prevent the hosts taking an early lead.

Celtic were temporarily down to 10 men, Ajer off the pitch after treatment for a head knock following an accidental clash with Tony Watt, when Matty Kennedy combined with Murray Davidson to slice through the visitors’ short handed defence. Kennedy was left one-on-one with Bain who reacted smartly to keep out the forward’s shot.

While Celtic gradually settled into their accustomed pattern of dominating possession and playing the majority of the game in the opposition half, Saints were lively and menacing on the counter-attack. They came close again in the 12th minute when a swift raid saw Scott Tanser break free down the left. The full-back’s low cross picked out Watt but the former Celtic striker blazed his first time shot wide of Bain’s right hand post.

Two minutes later, Oliver Burke’s pace proved troublesome to St Johnstone for the first time and might easily have earned Celtic a penalty. The on-loan West Brom man seized upon a sloppy pass back from Danny Swanson and surged into the area. Before Burke could get his shot away, he went down under Jason Kerr’s challenge. Referee Willie Collum was unmoved by appeals for a spot-kick, ruling that Kerr had won the ball.

It was Burke who came closest to making a first half breakthrough for Celtic when he linked up well with Ryan Christie down the left before sprinting into the penalty area. From a tight angle, he managed to squeeze the ball beyond Clark but Richard Foster had made a good covering run and was able to clear off the line.

Celtic remained in the ascendancy, albeit lacking the incisiveness required to put the Saints defence under sustained pressure. Indeed, it was the home side who almost snatched the lead in first half stoppage time when Jozo Simunovic did well to block a shot from Ross Callachan after Ajer’s mistake had helped create the opening.

Celtic resumed after the break with Jeremy Toljan making his debut as a replacement for Lustig. The on-loan Borussia Dortmund right-back was soon prominent in a bright start to the second half from Rodgers’ side. Toljan combined cleverly with Forrest to set up an inviting chance for Burke in the 49th minute but Clark was equal to the task as he made a superb one-handed save to keep out the Scotland international’s well struck low shot.

Saints remained alive to opportunities to try and catch Celtic on the break, most notably through Kennedy, and Watt perhaps should have done better when he lacked the conviction to get on the end of a dangerous cross from his front line partner.

As Celtic upped the tempo and intensity of their work, Clark was called into action far more frequently, making saves which seemed to come with an ever increasing degree of difficulty. He blocked another effort from Burke, who was then replaced by Edouard, before stepping off his line to deny Simunovic who had ventured forward to join the waves of Celtic attacks. Edouard was next to find Clark an impenetrable barrier when his precise shot was brilliantly stopped low to the keeper’s right.

The next assault on the Saints goal brought an end to Edouard’s brief involvement when he was injured in a clash with Joe Shaughnessy in a frantic melee inside the six yard box after Clark had made yet another save, this time from a close range Scott Sinclair effort.

Edouard was led away on a stretcher as he was replaced by Weah whose impact saw Celtic finally make their merited breakthrough in the 78th minute. Sent clear down the left by Scott Brown, the American teenager’s low cross picked out Forrest for a simple close range tap-in.

It was Weah who wrapped up the points for Celtic. With Saints committing greater numbers forward in search of an equaliser, they were undone by a lightning counter which saw Callum McGregor lay the ball on a plate for Weah to score his third goal in five appearances since his loan move from Paris Saint Germain.

Celtic finished the match with just nine men on the pitch, Forrest limping off injured after all three substitutions had been made, then Ajer receiving a straight red card in stoppage time for pulling down Callum Hendry when the Saints sub was racing through on goal.

BBC

By Clive Lindsay

BBC Sport Scotland

Celtic moved six points clear in the Scottish Premiership as goals in the final 12 minutes by James Forrest and Timothy Weah floored St Johnstone.

The visitors were thwarted by a series of Zander Clark saves before Forrest finally jabbed in Timothy Weah's cross.

Weah scored Celtic's second on the break before the visitors' Kristoffer Ajer was sent off in the final minutes.

The fifth-straight win may have come at a cost, with Mikael Lustig, Odsonne Edouard and Forrest all injured.

St Johnstone's third consecutive defeat – after a run of 10 wins in 14 games – leaves Tommy Wright's side sixth in the table, five points adrift of Hearts.

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Celtic dominate after changes

A match-up between the two sides with most clean sheets in the top flight this season was always going to be a tight affair.

Celtic had won three in a row against St Johnstone – most recently the 2-0 victory in Glasgow last Wednesday – and had not conceded in the previous five meetings.

Brendan Rodgers' side were unchanged from that midweek triumph, but their was rhythm disturbed inside the first few seconds when Ajer's chin collided with former Celtic striker Tony Watt's crown.

The centre-half lay motionless for several minutes receiving treatment and, as the Norwegian eventually stumbled to the sidelines, Matty Kennedy bulldozed his way through the area he vacated only to be denied by the outstretched leg of goalkeeper Scott Bain.

With Ajer back on the field, Celtic began to dominate possession against a St Johnstone side in which Sean Goss made his debut in one of four changes following Wednesday's lacklustre display.

The visitors had a penalty claim rejected by referee Willie Collum, who judged Jason Kerr to have got a toe on to the ball as he slid in on Oliver Burke, but St Johnstone were creating the better chances and Watt flicked over the crossbar from close range.

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Celtic were forced to blood new signing Jeremy Toljan earlier than Rodgers would have liked as Lustig failed to emerge after half-time and, with that change, the flow of the game turned in the visitors' favour.

The on-loan Borussia Dortmund right-back's cut-back from the byeline gave Burke the chance to deliver a powerful low drive that forced a superb one-handed save from Clark.

St Johnstone should have gone ahead moment later, but Watt inexplicably failed to connect with Kennedy's cross from two yards out, perhaps distracted by the possibility of colliding with a post.

Celtic responded by dominating the rest of the game as Clark saved from Burke, Jozo Simunovic, Edouard and Scott Sinclair.

The visitors were not to be denied, though, and Forrest – who scored four goals on Celtic's last visit to Perth – stabbed in as Scott Tanser hesitated at the back post.

As St Johnstone pressed for an equaliser, Weah turned in a Callum McGregor cross after a flowing move, and although Ajer was sent off for hauling back Callum Hendry, Celtic had already secured a sixth consecutive win at McDiarmid Park.
Zander Clark
Zander Clark made a succession of splendid saves for St Johnstone but was eventually beaten
Celtic dig deep to beat 'outrageously good' Clark – analysis

BBC Scotland's Alasdair Lamont at McDiarmid Park

Celtic's persistence was ultimately rewarded on what looked for a long spell like being a frustrating afternoon.

There was an inevitability about it, such was the pressure on the St Johnstone goal in the second half. But, to overcome that doggedness, the champions had to dig deep and, when they did make the breakthrough, it had the feel of a significant moment. It was certainly celebrated as such.

Manager Wright will wonder what his side have to do to take anything from Celtic. They defended stoically for the most part and had Clark in outrageously good form. Even he could not keep Celtic out, but by performing at such a high level, as he has done regularly, against high-profile opposition, he must surely have caught the eye of Scotland head coach Alex McLeish.

Wright now has seven days to plan how to get the better of Rodgers and Celtic when they meet again in the Scottish Cup's last 16.
'A brilliant result against a good side' – reaction

St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright: "I'm disappointed for them, but we did ask for an improved performance and I think we got that.

"We created Celtic more problems than Wednesday and, first half, we created the best chance. We contributed to Celtic's first goal and the second was on the counter."

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers: "We knew that we had to be patient, while keeping the intensity of our game.

"Eventually, once we tire them out and the spaces open up a bit more in the last 25 minutes, then we took our chances to score. It was a brilliant result against a good side."