Kilmarnock 1-4 Celtic: Three things we learned
Celtic ran out 4-1 winners in a commanding performance against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. Let’s look at what stood out:
Celtic’s scintillating start sees them stroll to victory
Kilmarnock are embroiled in a relegation battle, so Derek McInnes would have hoped that his side would have kept it tight in the opening exchanges, but that’s certainly not how things turned out.
It took Celtic just seven minutes to break the deadlock through Kyogo Furuhashi. Things went from bad to worse for the home side as Daizen Maeda doubled Celtic’s advantage five minutes later. The goals just kept coming for Ange Postecoglou’s side as Matt O’Reilly found the net after 18 minutes. They also had the chance to score from the spot after 22 minutes, but rather uncharacteristically, Furuhashi fluffed his lines.
Daizen Maeda after he headed the ball into the Kilmarnock goal (Image: Getty Images)
However, it didn’t matter in the end as O’Reilly grabbed his second, and Celtic’s fourth just five minutes later. Celtic found themselves four goals up after less than half an hour. It was effectively game over for Killie before it had even really started.
First-half substitutions prove to be too late for Killie
After the match, the Kilmarnock manager said his team’s start was ‘like watching a car crash’, and the opening half-hour was so concerning for McInnes that he made two changes, bringing on Jeriel Dorsett and Alan Power in place of Fraser Murray and Christian Doidge. This meant a slight change in shape for the Ayrshire side, and to a degree, the changes had their desired effect with Dorsett giving them a little more defensive stability and Power adding some steel to the Killie midfield along with years of Premiership know-how.
Matt O’Reilly celebrating after his first goal (Image: Getty Images)
With these changes, the home side managed to stem the flow of chances (and ultimately goals) from the visitors. On the stroke of half-time, Liam Donnelly pulled one back for Killie, but it proved to be no more than a consolation goal. Kilmarnock did have a few chances in the second half to at least get a second goal, with the best opportunities falling to Luke Chambers and Kyle Vassell, however, they weren’t clinical enough to make them count.
Kilmarnock sit in 11th place, albeit only behind Dundee United on goal difference, however, the Ayrshire side are on their travels for their final pre-split fixture, heading to Paisley to face St Mirren. They are notoriously poor on the road having only picked up two points away all season in the league.
A second successive title all but confirmed for Celtic
This result sees Celtic extend their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership to 12 points. Mathematically speaking, they only need seven more points to secure the league. All they need to do is pick up at least two wins and a draw, and Ange Postecoglou’s side have retained their crown.