Peterhead 0 - 3 Celtic: Slick Celtic extinguish the northern lights

THE top team in Scotland against the side currently ranked second lowest was not the complete mismatch that had been feared, although Celtic stuck with the theme of the weekend and comfortably warded off the threat of a shock.

The fact that the scoreline was closer than many had expected is down to Anthony Stokes’ profligacy. The striker scored one hat-trick and could have had another.

If the visitors were concerned that they might have an aversion to a place known as the Blue Toon, it wasn’t borne out by the evidence. Celtic took advantage of the relatively clement conditions and played some slick football, although they were robust when they had to be against their fired-up opponents.

Teams from Scotland’s fourth tier do not often beat those from the top division. Such a seismic occurrence would have been entirely out of keeping with a weekend of ties which went largely as expected. This was another encounter when hopes of a shock were quickly extinguished although Peterhead did manage to leave some blood on the tracks.

Joe Ledley had to be substituted just before the hour mark by Victor Wanyama, after a clash with Peterhead midfielder Jamie Redman which left him with a gash in his head. Neil Lennon, the Celtic manager, later suggested that the victim had been struck by a flying elbow although if he had been, it appeared accidental. It was an at-times fiery encounter. However, it stopped short of becoming nasty. The sum total was three bookings, all earned by players from the home team as they set about trying to harass their distinguished guests.

The closest Peterhead got to a replay was when one of the temporary floodlight systems suddenly stopped working with 15 minutes remaining. The home side’s hopes rested on a complete black-out.

The lights flickered back on again minutes later and the game was played out in the required level of brightness. It was already plain to see that there was no way back for the hosts, who had given a good account of themselves in the first half after surprising their opponents by lining up in what was, initially, a 3-4-3 formation.

Peterhead were the first to gain a corner and, indeed, threatened in the opening seconds, before Lukasz Zaluska, the recalled Celtic goalkeeper, had the opportunity to settle back into place. Kelvin Wilson tangled with David Ross amid weak shouts for a penalty. Zaluska quickly got his bearings and discovered he was far, far north and that this clash, Peterhead’s first against Celtic, would require the visitors to show their mettle in virgin territory.

It could have been more inhospitable, however. The rain relented and the corner flags gently shook from side to side rather than being bent double by a North Sea gale. The hosts were admirably quick to take the game to Celtic, who handed Emilio Izaguirre his first start since breaking an ankle in August. Gary Hooper dropped out as Lennon had suggested he would following last Monday’s victory over Dunfermline.

Paddy McCourt, meanwhile, was drafted in, as was Wilson at centre-half. McCourt’s guile provided an obvious contrast to the industrious exertions of the Peterhead players. The wet, heavy pitch helped spice up challenges. Peterhead were certainly not intending to stand on ceremony. Celtic, to their credit, took the dunts without too much complaint, although Scott Brown, almost inevitably, was at the centre of a couple of snarl-ups in midfield.

If this tactic was designed to put Celtic off their stride, then it seemed to work at first. Stokes, who was taking the heaviest punishment, spurned two clear opportunities to put Celtic ahead in the opening half an hour, though redeemed himself later. His first chance was a weak effort blocked by the boot of Callum McDonald while his second saw him blaze high over after an intelligent cut-back by the lively Cha Du-Ri. Brown let him know about both wasted efforts.

The skipper knew Celtic had to give the best of themselves. When he wasn’t snapping at his team-mates, he could be seen engaging in a running battle with Redman. Perhaps it was a sign of frustration on Celtic’s part. The half-hour mark arrived and the scores remained level, although this was thanks to the crossbar. Charlie Mulgrew instigated a training ground manoeuvre in which he cut back a corner kick to the edge of the box, where Ki was waiting. The midfielder had time to tee it up, but his drive cracked back off the bar. Some idea of the power of the shot could be gauged from the fact that the ball rebounded back as far as Ki again.

The bar had hardly stopped shaking when Celtic finally went in front five minutes later. The intensity of attacks had been building and Peterhead finally buckled, though it took skill and vision by McCourt to send Samaras on his way via a 40-yard crossfield pass to the right flank. Samaras took the ball in his stride before squaring for Stokes, who stroked it into the unguarded net.

Peterhead struggled to contain Celtic down their left, where Cha Du Ri was being allowed to wreak havoc. Stokes had a second goal ruled out for offside after another Samaras run, but he was rewarded for hi persistence and willingness to keep taking shots at goal, in the second half.

After 57 minutes, an exchange of passes with Izaguirre set Stokes up with another chance to take aim and he drove an angled drive into the far corner of Paul Jarvie’s net from the edge of the box. Stokes’ hat-trick, the third of his career, was completed with eight minutes remaining following an impressive burst of action by Dylan McGeouch, who had just come on as a substitute. The youngster’s cutback was eventually funnelled out to Stokes by Brown, and the Irish striker completed the scoring with another well-struck drive into the corner.

Rory McAllister had a late chance to reduce the margin, but he headed wide when he should have set up Dennis Wyness with an easy chance to score. Sadly, then, the home team failed to conjure up even a goal for their fans in the record attendance to cheer.