Celtic 5 - 0 St Mirren: Dylan McGeouch makes mark but is told to ‘keep his feet on ground’

DYLAN McGeouch fits the profile of a Celtic idol in the making. A dribbler, a goalscorer, a confident young buck who hails from Milton, Glasgow – where Kenny Dalglish and Frank McGarvey are from – a prodigal son who rejoined Celtic from Rangers and the darling of the people on Saturday evening.

McGeouch’s cameo – or his “wonder goal” as it will come to be known – was a marvellous moment on a stirring day for Neil Lennon’s team; a 70-yard run and a cool finish that brought Parkhead to fever pitch in acclamation of their 18-year-old wunderkind.

This was Celtic at their best, ramping the tempo up and up until the final whistle, playing with pace and movement and the kind of dynamism and ruthlessness that we have not seen from them for a while.

They were helped by a St Mirren side that provided all the resistance of a wet paper bag.

In the heart of the midfield and out on the left, where Georgios Samaras roamed, the visitors were chasing shadows. They were so far off the pace that they got off fairly lightly with a 5-0 drubbing. It could have been a far bigger defeat.

McGeouch was the one they were all talking about, but Lennon was wise not to get too involved in the love-in. The Celtic manager was full of praise for the young man, but there was caution as well.

When Lennon said that McGeouch needed to “keep his feet on the ground”, you knew where he was coming from. He wanted to protect McGeouch from the hype.

For all that was brilliant about the teenager’s goal, it was only one moment and precious little upon which to build a monument of certainty about his chances of being a star. You only had to look at the papers yesterday to see the scaffolding being erected.

We have been here many times before with the Old Firm, most recently when John Fleck was talked up in the media and, on mere scraps of evidence, proclaimed a player of potentially momentous influence at Ibrox.

McGeouch’s goal was fabulous, an enticing illustration of his ability, but at the risk of sounding terribly po-faced it also showed his inexperience. As he entered the D outside the St Mirren penalty area, McGeouch had two defenders facing, but two team-mates running free on either side of him; Gary Hooper to his left and Anthony Stokes to his right. The percentage option was to pass. Hooper and Stokes were calling for it. Even Samaras was trying to catch McGeouch’s eye and get him to look up and see the Irishman outside him.

“He’s taken it half the field and scored,” said Hooper later. “He should have passed to me or Stokesy, but fair play to him. It was a good goal in the end.”

Hooper admitted that had McGeouch missed he’d have had dog’s abuse. “Yeah, you know what we’re like.”

Are there similarities here with James Forrest?

“He’s not as quick [as Forrest], but Dylan’s a good ball player and tries to take it for a run. James is a more direct player.

“If he keeps coming on and doing things like that, he’s a top player. He’s got a big future. He’s only young and he’s not shy of getting on the ball and what he showed from that goal – it could be goal of the season.”

So, all sorts of ability, but much yet to learn. McGeouch took the headlines but the real architects of this victory – Celtic’s fifth in a row in all competitions – were Hooper, who got three goals; Samaras, who got the first thanks to some wretched St Mirren defending and who put in the finest performance in a hooped jersey in a year – and Stokes, who didn’t score but who created things and who worked like a dog. Stokes helped Hooper with his first and third goals, strikes that put Hooper on 12 for the season, one clear of his mate up front.

“Me and Stokesy are playing really well,” said Hooper. “I’ve told him I’ve beaten him today. He asked how many times I’ve scored and I told him. So I’m one ahead. That’s your main headline! I’ve come back [into the team] and scored in the last few games and I’m happier now. It’s going really well. I’m going for top scorer again. This could be the start of it. We’re back again, I think. Team-wise and maybe me. But we’ll see on Wednesday [against Atletico Madrid] and go from there.”

Lennon has waited a while to see his strikers come alight, but they’re firing now, no question. In Celtic’s last five games, Hooper and Stokes have scored a combined total of 11 goals and in many cases one striker has created the goal for the other. They are a partnership that is now hitting its straps in a team that is lifting itself about the mediocrity that put them so far behind Rangers in the first place. The gap is closing, though. The challenge to the champions is well and truly under way.