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Celtic’s second-half siege overpowered Kilmarnock and earned under-pressure manager Neil Lennon further breathing space as his side reclaimed second place in Scottish Premiership.
After two wins from 12, Celtic have now secured back-to-back victories for the first time in 10 weeks.
Mohamed Elyounoussi’s deflected strike and a thumping Shane Duffy header ended a run of successive league draws.
It keeps Celtic 13 points adrift of leaders Rangers with two games in hand.
Kilmarnock remain eighth – four points off the bottom – after a fifth Premiership defeat in six.
Lennon’s show of faith in the fringe men who impressed in Thursday’s Europa League win over Lille meant defender Duffy, goalkeeper Conor Hazard, midfielder Ismael Soro and forward David Turnbull all kept their places
That victory had spared Lennon from the fans’ ire this time, with the board the focus of a pre-match protest as hundreds of supporters gathered outside Celtic Park.
But despite Turnbull’s best efforts, Celtic’s recent failings were again evident in a listless opening 45 minutes. They attacked in hope rather than expectation and Kilmarnock contained them without much stress.
The visitors’ goalkeeper Danny Rogers superbly tipped over a head flick from Christopher Jullien and Odsonne Edouard sent a snap-shot wide as Celtic stuttered in attack.
But Alex Dyer’s men were left powerless as the hosts cranked up the ante after the restart. Elyounoussi fired straight at Rogers before Jeremie Frimpong and Edouard forced saves following a swift counter-attack.
Duffy was next to threaten, but his free header from a set-piece followed the trend of being straight at the keeper, and Edouard somehow failed to convert Callum McGregor’s driven cross from close range.
Kilmarnock were creaking and the pressure told just before the hour when Elyounoussi’s low drive from the edge of the box diverted off sliding defender Aaron McGoan to wrong-foot Rogers.
Turnbull had a drive deflected wide before his corner helped give Celtic the comfort of a two-goal margin as Duffy’s header thudded low past Rogers.
Kilmarnock ought to have halved the deficit when a set-piece fell at the feet of Nicke Kabamba six yards out, but he could only poke into the hands of Hazard.
It was fleeting respite from Celtic pressure as substitute Ryan Christie screwed a volley off target and Duffy almost doubled his tally with a glancing header.
His side’s second-half dominance provided welcome respite for Lennon, who introduced fit-again winger Mikey Johnston off the bench for his first outing since January.
Man of the match – David Turnbull
More to follow.
How to play
Rate players out of 10 throughout or after the game. The rater will close 30 minutes after the final whistle.
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Celtic
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Squad number65Player nameHazard
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Squad number35Player nameAjer
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Squad number2Player nameJullien
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Squad number4Player nameDuffy
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Squad number30Player nameFrimpong
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Squad number12Player nameSoro
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Squad number42Player nameMcGregor
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Squad number3Player nameTaylor
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Squad number14Player nameTurnbull
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Squad number27Player nameElyounoussi
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Squad number22Player nameEdouard
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Squad number11Player nameKlimala
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Squad number17Player nameChristie
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Squad number18Player nameRogic
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Squad number19Player nameJohnston
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Squad number93Player nameLaxalt
Kilmarnock
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Squad number23Player nameRogers
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Squad number2Player nameMcGowan
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Squad number5Player nameBroadfoot
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Squad number17Player nameFindlay
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Squad number3Player nameHaunstrup
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Squad number10Player nameKiltie
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Squad number27Player nameTshibola
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Squad number6Player namePower
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Squad number7Player nameMcKenzie
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Squad number19Player namePinnock
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Squad number11Player nameKabamba
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Squad number9Player nameBrophy
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Squad number21Player nameMulumbu
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Squad number29Player nameBurke
Line-ups
Celtic
- 65Hazard
- 35Ajer
- 2Jullien
- 4Duffy
- 30FrimpongSubstituted forChristieat 69′minutes
- 12Soro
- 42McGregor
- 3TaylorSubstituted forLaxaltat 81′minutes
- 14TurnbullSubstituted forRogicat 81′minutes
- 27ElyounoussiSubstituted forJohnstonat 86′minutes
- 22EdouardSubstituted forKlimalaat 69′minutes
Substitutes
- 1Barkas
- 8Brown
- 9Griffiths
- 10Ajeti
- 11Klimala
- 17Christie
- 18Rogic
- 19Johnston
- 93Laxalt
Kilmarnock
- 23Rogers
- 2McGowan
- 5Broadfoot
- 17Findlay
- 3Haunstrup
- 10KiltieSubstituted forBurkeat 68′minutes
- 27Tshibola
- 6PowerBooked at 36mins
- 7McKenzie
- 19PinnockSubstituted forMulumbuat 68′minutes
- 11KabambaBooked at 43minsSubstituted forBrophyat 79′minutes
Substitutes
- 9Brophy
- 12Whitehall
- 14Rossi
- 16Doyle
- 18Waters
- 21Mulumbu
- 29Burke
- 33Taylor
Live Text
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Match ends, Celtic 2, Kilmarnock 0.
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Second Half ends, Celtic 2, Kilmarnock 0.
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Attempt missed. Ryan Christie (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses the top right corner from a direct free kick.
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Hand ball by Brandon Haunstrup (Kilmarnock).
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Attempt missed. Chris Burke (Kilmarnock) right footed shot from outside the box is too high from a direct free kick.
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Foul by Ismaila Soro (Celtic).
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Alan Power (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Attempt missed. Michael Johnston (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right.
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Foul by Kristoffer Ajer (Celtic).
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Rory McKenzie (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Offside, Kilmarnock. Brandon Haunstrup tries a through ball, but Eamonn Brophy is caught offside.
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Foul by Tomas Rogic (Celtic).
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Aaron Tshibola (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Substitution, Celtic. Michael Johnston replaces Mohamed Elyounoussi.
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Substitution, Celtic. Tomas Rogic replaces David Turnbull.
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Substitution, Celtic. Diego Laxalt replaces Greg Taylor.
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Attempt missed. Shane Duffy (Celtic) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by David Turnbull with a cross following a corner.
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Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Brandon Haunstrup.
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Substitution, Kilmarnock. Eamonn Brophy replaces Nicke Kabamba.
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Attempt missed. Ryan Christie (Celtic) right footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the left. Assisted by David Turnbull.
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