Soccer

Furuhashi scores brace and Adam Idah on target as Celtic hit St Johnstone for six

Brendan Rodgers’s side have now won their first nine matches of the season and have yet to concede a goal

Adam Idah scores Celtic's sixth goal during the Scottish Premiership match against St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park in Perth. Photograph: Jane Barlow/PA Wire
Adam Idah scores Celtic's sixth goal during the Scottish Premiership match against St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park in Perth. Photograph: Jane Barlow/PA Wire
Sat Sept 28 2024 - 20:08
Scottish Premiership: St Johnstone 0 Celtic 6

Kyogo Furuhashi struck twice as Celtic continued their imperious start to the season with a 6-0 triumph over St Johnstone in Perth.

The Japan forward scored either side of Paulo Bernardo in the final 10 minutes of the first half.

Callum McGregor added to the lead with his fourth long-range goal of the season, Daizen Maeda got on the scoresheet after having a first-half effort controversially disallowed and substitute Adam Idah rounded off the scoring.

Brendan Rodgers’s side have now won their first nine matches of the season, scoring 33 goals along the way, and have totalled 17 consecutive victories stretching back to last term.

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With Auston Trusty starting in place of the injured Cameron Carter-Vickers in central defence, Celtic maintained their record of not conceding a goal in the Scottish Premiership this season following their sixth match.

Rodgers will now take his side to Germany to face Champions League runners-up Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday in top form.

Celtic were regularly getting the ball to Furuhashi in behind a deep-lying Saints team from the start, and the Japan forward was twice denied by Ross Sinclair before the goalkeeper was beaten by Maeda’s first-time volley in the 26th minute.

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However, referee Don Robertson was called to the monitor by video assistant Alan Muir with Graham Carey lying injured in the box. It looked like the Saints midfielder had been knocked down in an accidental collision with Trusty after moving in the way of the Celtic defender’s run as Arne Engels lined up to take a free-kick but Robertson disallowed the goal for a foul.

Saints lost captain Kyle Cameron to injury and replacement Aaron Essel took time to adjust. He was quickly beaten in the air by Trusty as the defender headed wide before Furuhashi finished impressively after the visitors got the break of the ball from the resulting goal kick and Nicolas Kuhn headed the striker clear.

The champions doubled their lead in the 43rd minute after a passing move involving nine players that started with Kasper Schmeichel’s goal-kick and ended with Bernardo sending a dipping strike from 22 yards into the corner of the net following Furuhashi’s lay-off.

Furuhashi then headed home from Greg Taylor’s precise cross following some one-touch football to make it 3-0, while the left back came close in stoppage-time before making way for Alex Valle during the interval.

Furuhashi fired just over 90 seconds into the second half but McGregor’s 25-yard drive caught out Sinclair in the 54th minute after the captain received the ball from Kuhn following a short corner.

Sinclair then denied Kuhn after a wonderful pass from Engels and Maeda missed a chance before getting his goal in the 72nd minute when he headed Bernardo’s cross high into the net.

Schmeichel had earned his clean sheet with an excellent second-half stop from Essel down at his near post.

Three substitutes combined for the sixth in the 83rd minute as Valle back-heeled Luke McCowan’s lofted pass on to the feet of Republic of Ireland international striker Idah to slot home.

McCowan hit the inside of the post and forced a good save before the full-time whistle put St Johnstone caretaker manager Andy Kirk and his team out of their misery.