LIFE without Matt O’Riley started for Celtic in encouraging fashion in the wind and rain in Paisley this afternoon as they recorded a comfortable win over St Mirren which ensured they will go into their first meeting of the season with Rangers next weekend two points clear of their city rivals at the top of the table.
Parkhead manager Brendan Rodgers finally confirmed the worst kept secret in Scottish football when he spoke to BBC Radio Scotland before kick-off in the William Hill Premiership fixture at the SMiSA Stadium.
Rodgers admitted O’Riley, the Danish internationalist who netted 27 goals in 125 appearances for the Glasgow club he joined for £1.5m from MK Dons in 2022, was down in Brighton undergoing a medical ahead of his record £26m transfer to the Premier League outfit.
The sale is another astute piece of business by Celtic. However, the departure of the skilful playmaker begged a question. How would Callum McGregor and his team mates fare without a individual who has been one of their most consistent performers for the past two-and-a-half seasons?
They allayed any fears which their fans in the North Stand may have had by strolling to a one-sided triumph thanks to first half goals from their skipper Callum McGregor and Reo Hatate and a second half Alistair Johnston strike and reclaiming top spot in the division.
Here are five talking points from the encounter.
Red hot Hatate
Paulo Bernardo filled the berth in the Celtic starting line-up which O’Riley usually occupies and worked hard to break down St Mirren attacks and create openings in the final third for the front three to capitalise on.
It was a decent enough display from the Portuguese midfielder, who joined from Benfica in a £3.4m switch at the beginning of the month, considering he was making his first start of the 2024/25 campaign.
Rodgers set his side up in a 4-1-2-3 formation – with Bernardo and Hatate forming the threequarter line ahead of McGregor – when they were in possession and a 4-2-3-1 when their opponents had the ball.
It was the Japanese internationalist who made more an impact going forward. He certainly took his goal well after his compatriot Daizen Maeda had nodded an Alistair Johnston cross down to him in the hosts’ area. His first-time volley snuck in off the inside of the right post.
He continued to cause the St Mirren defence all kinds of problems in the second half and was unfortunate his efforts did not result in more goals.
Hatate was replaced by Francis Turley – the promising 18-year-old academy graduate from Northern Ireland who made his competitive debut – and the adulation which the travelling support showered him with as he left the field told a story.
Idah impact
Kyogo Furuhashi returned to the Celtic squad for the first time since suffering a recurrence of his shoulder injury in the 2-0 victory over Hibernian at Easter Road a fortnight ago.
But Rodgers preferred Adam Idah, the Republic of Ireland internationalist who completed his £8.5m move from Norwich City last week, up front.
The striker, who had endeared himself greatly to Hoops fans during a loan spell north of the border in the second half of last season and had netted a last-minute winner in the Scottish Cup final against Rangers in May, made his presence felt straight away.
Idah helped to tee up Hatate for an attempt at goal shortly after McGregor had broken the deadlock and got a follow-up shot on target after Ellery Balcombe had saved. He should, though, have done better after Hatate sent him through on goal later in the first half. His tame effort was easily denied by the goalkeeper.
He made way for Furuhashi on the hour mark as Nicolas Kuhn took over from Forrest. He will benefit from the run-out and will be keen to feature against Rangers at Parkhead a week today. But his fellow forward, whose record against the Ibrox club is formidable, should get the nod if he is fit and available for selection.
The man who was linked with a move to Manchester City earlier this week did well to get on the end of a Johnston through ball and test Balcombe during his time on the park.
McGregor masterclass
Scotland manager Steve Clarke, who will name his squad for the Nations League matches against Poland and Portugal at Hampden on Tuesday, returned to his first club to take in the match today.
Clarke would doubtless have been left ruing the fact that he can no longer select McGregor, who announced his retirement from international football earlier this month, at the end of the 90 minutes.
The Celtic skipper put his side in front in just the third minute after he had received the ball from James Forrest. His low shot eluded Balcombe and found the bottom right corner. He proceeded to dominate the centre of the park and dictate play.
Champions' class
Celtic have started the new season in hugely impressive form. This was the third game in a row they have scored in the first five minutes and the fourth match in succession they have netted twice in the opening 45 minutes.
Right-back Johnston sewed up the three points with just his third goal for the club he joined from Montreal in his homeland at the start of last year when he rifled in a Kuhn pass.
Sorry Saints
The SMiSA Stadium has often proved to be a problematic venue for Celtic in the past. But they were worthy winners this afternoon. St Mirren failed to lay a glove on them and were fortunate the margin of defeat was not even greater when the final whistle blew.
Stephen Robinson was clearly unhappy with what he had witnessed at half-time. He took off Jonah Ayunga and Alex Gogic, who was yellow carded early on by referee Chris Graham for a rash foul on Maeda, and put on Mikael Mandron and Roland Idowu. The replacements failed to make a difference.
They will not play a better team this season - but they will have to be an awful lot better to get a result when they return to action against Dundee at Dens Park on Saturday.
