An electric performance from Celtic saw them breeze through to the final of the Scottish Cup as they bulldozed St Johnstone 5-0 at Hampden Park.
Despite the game starting fairly even, a fine strike from Callum McGregor (34) opened the floodgates for the holders, with goals from Daizen Maeda (37, 45+1) and Adam Idah (45) blowing away St Johnstone before the half-time break.
Makenzie Kirk saw a stunning long-range drive ruled out early in the second-half for a foul in the build up as Simo Valakari’s side endured the grimmest of afternoons in Glasgow, before substitute Jota rubbed salt into wounds by slamming home Celtic’s fifth (67) in a game that was effectively dead by the time the second period had even began.
St Johnstone now return to Scottish Premiership action as they look to stave off a relegation to the second tier, but for Celtic, it’s full steam ahead in their quest for a domestic treble. They’ll face Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup back at Hampden Park on Saturday 24 May.
Here’s how The Scotsman rated the performance of each player in Celtic’s 5-0 win over St Johnstone at Hampden Park:
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1. Viljami Sinisalo (Celtic) - 6/10
Had almost nothing to do, with St Johnstone failing to register a shot on goal throughout. His save from Makenzie Kirk was smart, but it was offside anyway. | SNS Group Photo: SNS Group
2. Andy Fisher (St Johnstone) - 5/10
Little he could do about any of the goals. But there were a lot of them. | SNS Group Photo: SNS Group
3. Alistair Johnston (Celtic) - 8/10
Always available to overlap for James Forrest. Just a really good footballer, and one having an excellent season. Deserved assist for the fifth. | SNS Group Photo: SNS Group
4. Sam Curtis (St Johnstone) - 4/10
Struggled with Maeda, whose pace and quick change of direction was a threat all afternoon. Poor for the second goal, which Maeda punished him for. | SNS Group Photo: SNS Group