It was supposed to be a stroll in the park for Celtic who hosted Raith Rovers this evening in a Scottish Cup 5th Round fixture. The Hoops knocked the same opponents out from the League Cup and they did so once more with another stellar Cup performance at Celtic Park. The game ended 4-0 in favour of the Premiership leaders.
Below are the Celtic players rated in their comprehensive win against Raith Rovers.
Joe Hart: 7
Was hardly tested between the sticks except for some routine saves. Another cleansheet now for the veteran Englishman.
Anthony Ralston: 7
Enjoyed his minutes with overlapping runs, crosses and link-up play down the right-hand flank. Combined well with the attackers, also threatened the away side with cut insides and layoffs.
Cameron Carter-Vickers: 7.5
Made his presence known in the heart of the backline. The Rovers hardly had a chance to break down the Hoops in their defensive third. Made way for Christopher Jullien who is finally back from his long-standing injury problem.
Stephen Welsh: 7.5
Did well to partner Carter-Vickers and Jullien as he got the nod ahead of Carl Starfelt. Was in the right place at the right time, made some timely recoveries and clearances to ease off the pressure.
Liam Scales: 8.5
His stellar strike from 20 yards out saw the Celts breaking the deadlock midway through the first half. Was relentless with his marauding runs from the left-hand flank. Had little trouble at the back due to the visitors’ limited attacking moves.
Nir Bitton: 8
Started in place of skipper Callum McGregor. Controlled the midfield show with his distribution, holding and passing traits. Made some timely tackles to regain possession in the centre of the pitch, also fired in the closing minutes to make it 4-0 from the rebound after his spot-kick was saved by Jamie MacDonald.
Reo Hatate: 7.5
Exquisite once again as he operated in a box-to-box role, made down the middle runs and showed his creative spark in the attacking third. Came close to finding the net early into the game, but was denied by MacDonald in the Raith goal.
Tom Rogic: 7.5
Set it up for Scales who did the rest in the first half. Enjoyed his time on the pitch with lots of dribbles and one-twos. Was taken off in the second half in favour of returning Yosuke Ideguchi.
James Forrest: 6.5
Had some impressive moments down the wide, but the veteran Scotsman should have been more consistent and clinical given his quality and expertise in the attacking third. Made way for Liel Abada midway through the second half.
Mikey Johnston: 7.5
Started the game well with swift movements, flashy footwork and link-up play from the left. But was forced to leave the pitch in the second half due to yet another injury setback. Filipe Jota replaced him for the remainder of the contest.
Giorgos Giakoumakis: 7.5
Missed a few opportunities before converting one around the 67th-minute mark. A calm finish from the Greek centre-forward before being replaced by Daizen Maeda.
Celtic Subs Vs Raith Rovers
Filipe Jota: 7.5
Squared it for Giakoumakis to double the lead in the second half.
Liel Abada: 7.5
His corner was eventually nodded home by Maeda soon after replacing Giakoumakis.
Yosuke Ideguchi: 7
Enjoyed his minutes in the middle of the park as he returned from an injury picked up against Alloa Athletic in the previous round.
Daizen Maeda: 7.5
Headed home from close range to make it 3-0.
Christopher Jullien: 7
Massive cheers from the Parkhead faithful as the big centre-half returned to action recovering from a year-long injury nightmare.
