Celtic 3-0 St Johnstone: Change as good as a feast

Published on Saturday 20 March 2010 20:11

Celtic 3 Thompson 15; Keane 67 pen; Samaras 87 St Johnstone 0

IT'S ALL window dressing now where the championship is concerned, but at least there were suggestions of flowering rather than withering for Tony Mowbray's Celtic side yesterday.

Convincing to the point they could indulge in a chancefest of a second half, they haven't often won by three clear goals this season. More pointedly, they haven't in years strung together three consecutive clean sheets, as their shut-out brought up. Two years, to be precise, with January 2008 the last time they went three successive games without losing a goal.

You could never accuse Mowbray of taking the path of least resistance. His line-up yesterday was an example of his restless, enquiring nature as a coach. Or a demonstration that he's a tinkerman. Take your pick.

Whatever, no one would have predicted that Paul McGowan would come from nowhere and be given his first start since scoring the closing-seconds equaliser away to Rapid Vienna four months ago. Less so that, playing off Robbie Keane in a 4-2-3-1 that meant Georgios Samaras and Morten Rasmussen kicking their heels in the bench, he would prove outstanding as Celtic's creative fulcrum.

He was the engaging element of an afternoon in which Celtic cut Rangers' lead at the top of the Scottish Premier League to a mere ten points.

"He's a young lad who deserved the opportunity. I'm delighted for him he took it. In my mind he's cemented his place in the first team squad now and I hope he can push on," said Mowbray.

Until winning his first league start for the club yesterday, it seemed the 22-year-old would be pushed out. "It has been a long time coming," said the "half-forward, half-midfielder", as described by his manager. "I was getting a bit disillusioned but hope things can get better for me now."

Maybe Mowbray felt he had licence to experiment because of the horrendous selection problems afflicting his counterpart Derek McInnes. The St Johnstone manager was without than eight first-team squad members through injury, while on-loan striker Cillian Sheridan was out of contention because his parent team is, of course, Celtic. Add to that the fact McInnes had to put Liam Craig and Graham Gartland on the bench despite both being fully fit. He confessed to be prioritising Tuesday's home game against Falkirk and the wisdom of that was shown when Kenny Deuchar had to limp off after 13 minutes to be replaced by 17-year-old Steven Reynolds – the fourth striker he had to do without.

As Deuchar lay incapacitated at the far side, matters for his team took a turn for the worse with the concession of a soft goal that was notable for a number of reasons. When Josh Thompson untidily met a free-kick from the right touchline delivered by Edson Braafheid and the ball slid over his head and into the bottom corner it provided the 19-year-old with his opening goal for the club. It also meant a name other than Keane's on the Celtic scoresheet for the first time since the 4-4 draw with Aberdeen a month, and eight goals, before.

Normal service was resumed in the 67th minute, when Keane slammed in a penalty award that appeared suspiciously like the dubious award Rangers earned in their Scottish Cup tie against United last week. Which would be a blow to Celtic conspiracy theorists everywhere. St Johnstone keeper Graeme Smith slid in to challenge Marc-Antoine Fortune, and seemed to get a touch of the ball.

And that was the end of the contest, at the end of a second-half spell when Celtic had pounded the Perth side's goal for all it was worth, Aiden McGeady skiffing the goal frame, which McGowan had in the first period, with Keane denied by the keeper on more than one occasion. Substitute Samaras succeeded where his team-mate had failed in carving his way down the left channel and shrugging off several challenges before neatly side-footing passed Smith with two minutes remaining.

"It was OK," Mowbray said of his team's display. "In spells it was entertaining but at times a little pedestrian and slow." Which could be said of his team's non-existent title challenge which the Celtic manager didn't attempt to suggest would be vitalised by a win away to St Mirren on Wednesday that would put his side within seven of a Rangers team who would have played two games fewer. "We are not sitting here thinking we are chipping away at anything," he conceded. "Rangers have shown great consistency this season. We just have to keep winning football matches."

For the first time in months, they finally looking capable of doing even that.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Paul McGowan won that honour out of the park. He was full of running and ingenuity. Missed a pinch of a header and one effort that grazed the crossbar.

QUICK FACT

Not only is three clean sheets on the bounce a first for Celtic in 26 months, it is only the third time in four seasons that they have achieved such a sequence.

TALKING POINT

McGowan, who was a real wildcard of a selection and yet looked as if he could be the man who knits together a previously disjointed attack and make a change of system to 4-2-3-1 work.