First team
Match Report | Celtic 4-0 Ross County
21/03/2022
Ross County were defeated 4-0 in a difficult afternoon at Celtic Park in the cinch Premiership this afternoon.
A hattrick from Giorgos Giakoumakis and a goal from Daizen Maeda completed the scoring for the hosts as they breezed past 10-man Ross County.
After just 11 minutes, Celtic took the lead. Jota picked the ball up on the left-hand side following a cleared Celtic corner and the winger used some neat footwork to beat Kayne Ramsay and clip the ball to the back post. In-form Greek striker Giorgos Giakoumakis then met Jota’s fine cross at the back post, nodding the ball beyond the scampering Ross Laidlaw from close range.
6 minutes later, Celtic doubled their advantage when Giakoumakis headed home his second of the match. The striker was picked out by Jota in the centre of the box, but his initial header was cleared off the line by the recovering Connor Randall. Yet Randall’s goal-saving efforts were made redundant as Giakoumakis made no mistake with his second attempt, heading the ball into the opposite corner to beat both Randall and Laidlaw on the line.
Daizen Maeda and Calum McGregor each had an attempt on goal saved by the County goalkeeper before the Japanese forward eventually made it 3-0 in the 27th minute. Jota’s corner arrived on the head of Cameron Carter-Vickers and the American international was able to redirect the ball into the path of Daizen Maeda on the corner of the six-yard box. Maeda stuck out a toe to poke the ball past the helpless Ross Laidlaw to grab his 6th goal in Green and White.
At 3-0 down County were already having a difficult afternoon at Celtic Park, but right back Kayne Ramsay soon compounded the Staggies’ first half misery when he was sent off just 1 minute after conceding a third goal. The Southampton-loanee was dismissed for a reckless challenge on Tom Rogic, forcing his side to complete the remainder of the match with 10 men.
On the hour mark, Giakoumakis clinched his hattrick and made it 4-0 to Ange Postecoglou’s side. Referee Don Robertson pointed to the spot after he adjudged that Alex Iacovitti had handled the ball inside the area whilst contesting a header. To match the theme of the Greek striker’s recent overall performances, he calmy and confidently dispatched the resulting penalty, waiting for Laidlaw to move before rolling the ball into the opposite corner.
County started today in 6th position, but this afternoon’s unfortunate result has sunk them to 8th in the table. Despite this, a top half is still very much in the Staggies hands as just 2 points separate the 7 clubs between 4th and 10th position in the table.
