Caley Thistle downed 3-0 by champions Celtic as Greg Tansey sees red
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A RUTHLESS second-half Celtic display saw them dispose of 10-man Caley Thistle 3-0.
After a resolute first 45 minutes, Inverness were done in by Scott Sinclair’s strike four minutes into the second half.
The double-whammy of Leigh Griffiths doubling the lead and Greg Tansey being sent off knocked them for six just after the hour, with the visitors left chasing shadows for the rest of the game.
Substitute Tom Rogic added a late third as Caley Thistle, who quickly began to tire being a man down.
It took the gloss off what had otherwise been a fine display, with the Caley Jags restraining Brendan Rodgers clinical side.
After their Champions League exploits in Germany, Celtic made four changes for the visit of Caley Thistle. Cristian Gamboa, Rogic, James Forrest and Emilio Izaguirre dropped out for Jozo Simunovic, Patrick Roberts, Callum McGregor and Griffiths, with Brendan Rodgers playing two up front.
The Caley Jags were hamstrung by injuries, with David Raven the latest to join the walking wounded at the back. That meant a call up for Lewis Horner at full-back, in place of Carl Tremarco, with Owain Fon Williams and Billy King replacing Cammy Mackay and Aaron Doran respectively.
Aside from a flying block from Gary Warren, as Griffiths took aim from the edge of the area, Inverness were able to hold Celtic at arms’ length in the first half. A smart fingertip save from Fon Williams deflected a Griffiths volley on to the cross bar, as he perfectly judged McGregor’s cross, was the closest they came to breaking the deadlock.
Inverness were resolute and offered an occasional threat going forward, with Ross Draper heading an Iain Vigurs free-kick straight at Craig Gordon but as expected, Celtic dominated the ball.
Greater selfishness from Roberts could have given Celtic the lead before the break, when a quickly-taken free-kick from Stuart Armstrong got him in behind Horner. However as he bore down on Fon Williams, he elected to drill a cross in for Moussa Dembele which fizzed past the on-rushing striker, allowing Inverness to escape.
The hosts began to exert more pressure on the Caley Thistle backline as half-time approached, with Armstrong needing to do better with an Izaguirre cross that he headed well wide. A crucial intervention by Brad McKay on Sinclair, with the Celtic man one-on-one with Fon Williams, also helped keep it scoreless.
But their resistance was undone within four minutes of the second half. McGregor squeezed a pass through to Sinclair and his first-time finish went under Fon Williams into the bottom corner.
Inverness were hit with a hammer blow just after the hour as Griffiths doubled Celtic’s lead. Tansey gave the ball away to McGregor and he fed Dembele, who brought a save out of Fon Williams but Griffiths was on hand to tap in.
To make matters worse for the Caley Jags, Tansey received his second yellow card for fouling McGregor in the build-up to the goal, giving the visitors a mountain to climb.
The tide turned and Celtic were in full flight, with Fon Williams on hand to block from close-range to deny Dembele before Nir Bitton blazed over. A delicate effort from Armstrong grazed the bar as the Bhoys sought to add gloss to the scoreline.
A nasty-looking injury to Polworth compounded Caley Thistle’s misery as he hobbled off with 12 minutes to go, nursing what looked to be an ankle injury.
Rogic’s driven effort, which deflected off Josh Meekings, padded the score further in favour of the champions, as they made their second-half superiority tell.
CELTIC: Gordon; Lustig (Izaguirre, 14), Simunovic, Sviatchenko, Roberts, Brown (Bitton, 61), McGregor, Armstrong, Sinclair, Griffiths, Dembele (Rogic, 70). Subs unused: De Vries, Gamboa, Christie, Forrest. Booked:
CALEY THISTLE: Fon Williams; McKay, Meekings, Warren, Horner, Draper, Tansey, Polworth (Cole, 78), Vigurs, King (Mulraney, 62), Doumbouya (Fisher, 62). Subs unused: Mackay, Boden, Sutherland. Booked: Tansey. Sent off: Tansey.
Referee: C Allan.
