Ruthless Celtic took another step towards their treble ambitions with a five-star dismantling of St Johnstone. Brendan Rodgers’ side took just over half an hour to break St Johnstone’s resistance at Hampden but in a performance that oozed menace and threat from first minute to last, this was a performance from a side firstly in the mood.
Following defeat at MacDiarmid Park a fortnight ago, Brendan Rodgers was irked at the lethargy within his side as he urged them to sprint over the finish line rather than stumble across it. On the back of recent performances since then, the suggestion would be that his words landed.
Within a rampant 12-minute spell towards the end of the opening period , Celtic had left St Johnstone gasping for air. By that stage they had been submerged by wave after wave of Celtic attacks, each posing menace.
Callum McGregor kicked it off after collecting a clever back heel from Reo Hatate and drilling an effort from just inside the box into the right-hand corner. With that opener, it wasn’t just St Johnstone’s gameplay that was washed away but any belief and conviction they had.
Daizen Maeda quickly added a second, Adam Idah a third and Maeda a fourth before the break.
Celtic had set an early tone with James Forrest, Hatate and Arne Engels peppering the St Johnstone goal with efforts.
They came to nothing in terms of a tangible advantage but offered an indication of Celtic’s appetite for an early marker.
Saints found themselves hemmed into their own half for the majority of the game as Celtic dominated possession.
McGregor had tried his luck with a couple of long range efforts before his effort bore fruit just after the half hour mark.
Celtic were merciless as they turned the screw on Saints with Rodgers’ side putting Saints to the sword in a manner that suggested that a personal affront had been taken on the back of that St Johnstone in in Perth a fortnight ago.
That Saints had to emerge for the second period after the ruthless finale to the opening half felt like an act of cruelty such was Celtic’s willingness to keep their foot pressed to the floor.
Indeed, Idah ought to have have claimed his second of the day and Celtic’s fifth shortly after the interval when he sclaffed at a James Forrest ball across the face of the six-yard box and skewered it well wide.
By that stage, Celtic could afford to be profligate.
Still, it was to St Johnstone’s credit that they kept at it. Mackenzie Kirk thought he had nicked a consolation effort for the Perthshire side with a ferocious 25-yard effort only for VAR to intervene; a Daniels Balodis foul on Idah in the build-up had it chalked off.
Celtic then had a penalty call overturned by VAR after Forrest tumbled in the box.
It was a stay of execution for St Johnstone. Jota, three minutes after coming off the bench, converted Alistair Johnston’s cross on the half volley as Celtic added a fifth.
Aberdeen, whom Celtic will face in the final, will know how St Johnstone felt after they shipped six to Celtic at Hampden earlier in the season. The reverberations of that were filled through subsequent performances with the Dons knowing they can ill afford to allow Celtic to get in the mood as they did this afternoon.
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