MX23RW : Sunday, December 15 04:32:45| >> :120:28791:28791:

Sinclair treble helps Hoops crush Saints at Parkhead

Sinclair treble helps Hoops crush Saints at Parkhead
© Reuters
Celtic are comfortably into the quarter-finals of the William Hill Scottish Cup.

Scott Sinclair helped himself to a hat-trick as Celtic made St Johnstone suffer again in their thumping 5-0 William Hill Scottish Cup win at Parkhead.

The Hoops forward squeezed in the opener in the third minute before skipper Scott Brown thundered in a 30-yard drive six minutes later.

Returning winger James Forrest added a third in the 52nd minute, with Sinclair scoring twice more in a one-sided affair to seal the cup holders' place in Monday night's quarter-final draw.

Celtic had beaten Tommy Wright's side 2-0 both home and away in the Ladbrokes Premiership before their midweek win over Hibernian and it was their fifth victory of the season over the Perth side, who are on the slide after five successive defeats.

Brendan Rodgers' team have now won seven matches out of seven since the turn of the year, scoring 21 goals and conceding none as they turn their attentions to Thursday night's first leg of a Europa League tie against Valencia.

The visitors' chances of pulling off a cup shock ended almost before they had started.

When striker Oliver Burke burst all too easily through the Perth defence it looked like he made an error in squaring the ball instead of shooting as Sinclair was at an acute angle.

However, the Hoops winger beat Zander Clark at his near post, with the McDiarmid Park keeper looking culpable.

What remaining belief Saints had – and it could not have been much – evaporated when Brown picked up a clearance and arrowed a drive high past the flailing Clark for his first counter in two years.

The visitors struggled to cope with Celtic's movement and fluidity.

However, just after the half-hour mark, Parkhead keeper Scott Bain had to throw himself to his right to push away a Chris Kane drive and the home side defended consecutive corners.

Wright swapped midfielder Sean Goss with Tony Watt for the start of the second half while Kristoffer Ajer replaced Celtic centre-back Jozo Simunovic.

The visitors tried to press Celtic high but that left gaps and Burke was sent racing clear by a wonder Ryan Christie pass, but he looked off-balance as his weak attempt at a shot went straight to Clark.

Moments later in another swift Celtic counter, however, left-back Jonny Hayes, in for injured Emilio Izaguirre, sped through the middle before laying the ball off to Forrest, who slotted in from 12 yards.

Two minutes later, after Forrest had set up Burke, Sinclair tapped in from close range.

A rout similar to the 6-0 win over Saints in October was threatened and it should have been five when Christie headed over a Forrest cross.

Defender Niall Keown, on loan from Partick Thistle, replaced winger Matty Kennedy to make his St Johnstone debut as the visitors sought to limit any further damage.

Christie made way for French striker Odsonne Edouard and, in the final minute, after the latter's shot fell to him inside the Saints box, Sinclair slammed his third in from 10 yards, taking his tally to an impressive 16 so far this season.

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Ronnie Esplin, Press Association Sport');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', '0cf4d25b-0dfc-40df-9f7e-f71ae958a361');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:club-news,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:match-reports,paservice:sport:uk');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Sinclair treble helps Hoops crush Saints at Parkhead'});

ID:349943: cacheID:349943:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5874:
Written by
P A
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Callum McGregor celebrates his opener during the Champions League qualifying game between Celtic and AEK Athens on August 8, 2018
Read Next:
Callum McGregor insists Celtic have no margin for error against St Johnstone
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
6pm
Chiefs
@
Browns
6pm
Ravens
@
Giants
6pm
Jets
@
Jags
6pm
Cowboys
@
Panthers
6pm
Washington
@
Saints
6pm
Dolphins
@
Texans
6pm
Bengals
@
Titans
9.25pm
Colts
@
Broncos
9.25pm
Patriots
@
Cardinals
9.25pm
Buccaneers
@
Chargers
9.25pm
Steelers
@
Eagles
9.25pm
Bills
@
Lions
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Celtic1514104444043
2Aberdeen16104230181234
3RangersRangers1510232791832
4Motherwell168172226-425
5Dundee UnitedDundee Utd166642519624
6St Mirren176382228-621
7Dundee165472729-219
8Hibernian173682129-815
9Ross County173681333-2015
10St Johnstone1742112032-1214
11Kilmarnock163581734-1714
12Hearts163491825-713


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!