Abada sparkles as Rogic stakes PoTY claim

An illness-ravaged Celtic swept St Johnstone aside in Perth yesterday with far greater efficiency than at Hampden last month.  St Johnstone went on a downward spiral after that semi-final, losing games since, but this was still an impressive performance.

Liel Abada sparkled in the central striker role, scoring two early on, and his Israeli team-mate Nir Bitton, tidied things up near the end.  Carl Starfelt made things interesting midway through the second half by conceding possession in a dangerous position, allowing St Johnstone to score with their only attempt on target.  Incidents like this will be a concern for Ange Postecoglou.

Liam Scales continued to settle into the side while Josip Juranovic on the opposite wing-back role put in one of his best shifts for Celtic.  Yet again, Tom Rogic made things happen.  The Aussie has flourished under Postecolgou and must surely be favourite for Player of the Year.

As Ange made clear after the game, the break could not come soon enough for Celtic, who ALWAYS prefer to play in front of a full crowd.