Celtic right-back Alistair Johnston was in good spirits on Saturday evening after the Hoops’ thumping 5-1 win over Kilmarnock, playfully casting doubt over one of the day’s standout moments.
Taking to Instagram, Johnston shared a celebratory photo with Cameron Carter-Vickers, cheekily captioned: “Still not convinced it wasn’t a cross,” referring to the centre-back’s stunning long-range goal. Goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo added to the humour, replying with laughing emojis and a simple “agree”.
Carter-Vickers’ strike was Celtic’s third in a ruthless opening 24 minutes that saw them dismantle Derek McInnes’ side in front of a jubilant Celtic Park crowd. It was a rare moment of attacking flair from the usually no-nonsense defender, who stepped into midfield and unleashed a rocket into the top corner.
The moment formed part of a relentless first-half display as Brendan Rodgers’ side responded emphatically to last weekend’s shock defeat at St Johnstone. Reo Hatate opened the scoring with a sublime finish before Daizen Maeda tapped in number two. After Carter-Vickers’ screamer, Hatate grabbed his second and Celtic’s fourth before the break, rounding off a fluid team move.
Although Danny Armstrong fluked a goal back for Kilmarnock before half-time, it was never going to change the course of the match. Celtic dominated throughout and capped off the performance when Anthony Ralston weaved into the box in stoppage time and fired home a fifth.
Celtic Champions in Waiting
The result moves the champions-elect to the brink of another league title, which could be sealed as early as Sunday if Aberdeen get a result against Rangers. Rodgers, who made four changes to the side that lost in Perth, praised the performance as one of the best opening half-hours of the season.
“As frustrated as I was last week, that was a brilliant reaction,” Rodgers told BBC Scotland. “The first 30 minutes were as good as we’ve been.”
The mood around Lennoxtown will no doubt be buoyant again, with Celtic hitting form at just the right time—and the dressing room clearly in good spirits, if Johnston’s post-match banter is anything to go by.
Why re you saying the Armstrong goal was a fluke ? It was a cross like Vickers that went straight into the net and our goalkeeper should have saved .
Wind yer neck in.
CCVs was a shot. Yermans was very obviously a cross