Celtic 3 - 0 Morton: Celtic into Scottish Cup semis

Celtics Gary Mackay-Steven puts the ball out of reach of stretching Morton goalkeeper Derek Gaston. Picture: PA

On an afternoon when defeat was unthinkable for the beleaguered Deila, first-half goals from Leigh Griffiths, Gary Mackay-Steven and Callum McGregor brushed aside what proved to be a negligible challenge from Morton.

Jim Duffy’s Championship outfit lacked both the conviction and competence necessary to emulate the shock victory they earned on their last visit to Celtic Park in the League Cup in 2013.

While a move away from his regular 4-4-2 system failed to pay dividends for Duffy, the deployment of a 4-3-3 set-up worked well for Deila. Celtic were far from scintillating, but were always firmly in control of a tie played in front of a three-quarters empty stadium.

Celtic's Gary Mackay-Steven celebrates. Picture: SNS

For Duffy’s game plan to have any chance of success, he required the players selected in his 3-5-2 formation to keep individual errors to a minimum. Unfortunately for the Morton boss, his strategy was undermined by one such glaring error which assisted Celtic in securing their 14th-minute opener.

Thomas O’Ware, the man at the heart of the visitors’ three-man central defence, completely mis-timed his jump for what should have been a straightforward interception of a Mackay-Steven cross from the left.

The ball dropped invitingly into the path of Griffiths who eagerly seized upon the chance to score his 34th goal of the season, drilling home a close-range right-foot shot which Derek Gaston got a hand to but was unable to keep out.

The goal settled any nerves Celtic may have harboured and came just at a stage when Morton’s own confidence had appeared to be growing.

Morton's Ross Forbes with Leigh Griffiths. Picture: SNS

O’Ware provided a more impressive indication of his prowess when he made a terrific block inside the penalty area to divert a Kris Commons shot behind for a corner as Celtic upped the tempo.

Gaston made a smart save to keep out a Griffiths shot, following slack work from Rickie Lamie in a Morton backline now struggling to cope with the pressure. They were duly breached again when Celtic made it 2-0 with a neatly worked goal in the 25th minute.

McGregor, Kieran Tierney and Mackay-Steven combined slickly to create the opening on the left, their speed of thought and movement stretching the Morton defence. Tierney showed good composure to cut the ball back into the path of Mackay-Steven who swept a left-foot shot beyond Gaston from around six yards.

Craig Gordon had to make a fine save to keep out Stefan McCluskey’s dipping right foot shot but that was an isolated incidence of attacking threat from Morton who already looked like a beaten side.

Celtic's Gary Mackay-Steven scores his side's second goal. Picture: SNS

That was certainly the case when McGregor claimed Celtic’s third goal ten minutes before the interval. The midfielder, relishing his central role in Deila’s reshaped line-up, surged unchallenged towards the edge of the Morton penalty area and curled a left-foot shot beyond Gaston’s right hand into the corner of the net.

It should have been an afternoon when referee Willie Collum could safely avoid any controversy, but the official found himself subjected to the ire of the Celtic players and supporters on the stroke of half-time when he failed to spot or penalise a high challenge from Michael Miller, who had already been booked, on Stefan Johansen which left the Norwegian midfielder writhing in agony before being helped off.

Johansen did not reappear for the second half and was replaced by Colin Kazim- Richards as Deila switched to a 4-4-2 formation. Now pretty much in cruise control, Celtic made their second change on the hour when Griffiths made way for Patrick Roberts.

The on-loan Manchester City winger did not take long to make his presence felt, weaving his way past a couple of challenges before striking a powerful shot against Gaston’s left-hand post.

Kazim-Richards, whose only previous Celtic goal came in the previous round against East Kilbride, should have added to his account when he wastefully slashed a shot wide from close range after being played in by Commons.

There was a fresh flicker of ambition and threat from Morton when Gordon had to make a tremendous one-handed save to keep out a close-range effort from Declan McManus. But Celtic were quickly back on the front foot as Mackay- Steven thundered a shot against the crossbar from eight yards with Gaston beaten.

Substitute Bobby Barr almost grabbed a late consolation for Morton when his shot was deflected narrowly wide but Celtic maintained their fourth consecutive clean sheet at home as they saw out the  closing stages of a functional victory.