Neil Lennon’s Celtic side temporarily climbed to the top of the Premiership table after a 2-0 victory against lowly St. Johnstone. The home side were extremely solid from a defensive perspective, and their pressing was enough to completely neutralise the Celtic attack for most of the fixture. It finally took a 90th-minute header from Leigh Griffiths to open the scoring for the champions, before Patryk Klimala produced a moment of real quality to double their advantage. Although the win wasn’t necessarily deserved, they were able to get over the line thanks to Lennon’s timely substitutions.
Here Are The Celtic Player Ratings Vs St.Johnstone:
Celtic Player Ratings Vs St. Johnstone
Vasilis Barkas – 6
The Greek keeper made several smart saves to keep the home side off the scoresheet tonight but was fortunate that an early second-half strike ricocheted off the post. A rather quiet evening though.
Hatem Abd Elhamed – 6
The stand-in centre-half put in an average performance down the side of the defence. He was easily surpassed by the home attackers on various occasions but tried to get forward at times.
Shane Duffy – 7
The Brighton loanee showcased his class over the course of the ninety and was the Hoops’ best defender of the afternoon without a doubt. Won multiple key headers at the back as well.
Kristoffer Ajer – 5
The youngster had what was arguably one of his worst performances of the season so far. Made multiple careless decisions, but did make some important defensive challenges though.
Jeremie Frimpong – 6
The youngster was far from his usual best as a majority of his crosses didn’t find the intended target. Did bombard forward like he usually does, but needs to show more conviction on the ball.
Callum McGregor – 6.5
The midfield playmaker was handed added responsibility today as Scott Brown started the tie on the bench. Played some good passes but didn’t do enough to really control the tempo.
David Turnbull – 4.5
The summer signing’s performance in midfield must be described as a poor one. Took far too much time before releasing the ball and wasted an excellent opportunity to impress from the start.
Greg Taylor – 5.5
The speedster’s work-rate and attitude were right up there, but serious questions have to be asked about his defensive quality. Allowed the home attackers to run past on various instances.
Olivier Ntcham – 4
The Frenchman continues to offer an extremely ineffective figure in the middle of the park. Tried to get on the ball and make things happen but produced next to no quality over the ninety.
Mohamed Elyounoussi – 3
The former Premier League ace showed why Southampton have chosen to send him to Glasgow with that performance tonight. Poor on the ball and never looked like causing any problems.
Odsonne Edouard – 4
The Frenchman was watched extremely well by the St. Johnstone defenders and failed to get into the game. Despite this, he had a couple of good scoring chances which were wasted.
Substitutes
Ryan Christie – 5
The speedster added a bit of pace and directness to the Celts’ attack after coming on but didn’t produce the quality required to change the game.
Patryk Klimala – 7
The youngster’s dynamism and energy were on full display after he came on. Made multiple smart runs and finished off the evening in style with a brilliant goal.
Leigh Griffiths – 7
Scored the opener in stoppage time and looked the likeliest to produce something positive for Celtic.
Tom Rogic – NA
Didn’t have time to make an impact.
Scott Brown – NA
Didn’t have time to make an impact.
