Celtic 12 points clear after seeing off Kilmarnock

Celtic extended their Scottish Premiership lead to 12 points over Rangers as their attacking persistence paid off against Kilmarnock.

And Celtic doubled their lead after the break when Kilmarnock defender Ash Taylor deflected Reo Hatate’s cross into his own goal under pressure from Kyogo Furuhashi.

Rangers – in second place – travel to face Dundee United on Sunday (16:00 GMT) with precious little margin for error.

Celtic had such a glut of chances towards the end of the match that one could be forgiven for forgetting how sore Kilmarnock must have felt at Jota’s opener.

Derek McInnes’s men had defended stoutly for the opening 45 minutes, limiting Celtic to one deflected shot on target, that from Jota who was stymied by Taylor’s desperate block.

Kilmarnock, in truth, were worth no more than parity at the break. Seeking their first league win at Celtic Park since October 2012, they relied on long balls directed at debutant Kyle Vassell for their attacks.

The Englishman was badly isolated, though, and Cameron Carter-Vickers was too fast and composed and would dispossess the striker and build another period of Celtic possession.

That was the theme, save for Taylor’s looping header from Liam Polworth’s cross that landed on top of Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart’s net.

Celtic benefited from the energy of Hatate, Callum McGregor and Aaron Mooy, the midfield trio afforded time to look up for passes to Maeda and Jota, the Portuguese winger switching wings to try to break Kilmarnock down.

Taylor’s own-goal six minutes after the re-start was tough on the big centre-half, for if he had not made contact, Kyogo would surely have scored.

Visiting goalkeeper Sam Walker conceded two goals but had an outstanding match. He kept out an 18-yard drive from Hatate, getting down low to his right to parry, and after the break he dived high to his left to save a powerful Giorgos Giakoumakis header, aided by the woodwork.

The Greek striker smacked the crossbar a few minutes later as the visitors tired and the hosts became energised by the introduction of Giakoumakis, Liel Abada, James Forrest, Matt O’Riley and David Turnbull.

Late in the game, Forrest gave the fans who were still in the ground further excitement with two right-footed shots from eight yards, the first saved by Walker, the follow-up rebounding off the upright.

Player of the match – Reo Hatate

What did they say?

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou: “It was a sticky first half for us, we couldn’t find our rhythm. Credit to Kilmarnock for making it difficult but I still think we made some poor choices.

“Second half, we took control, played in their half and looked a lot more threatening. To be fair, we probably should have had two or three more (goals).

“Sometimes things don’t go your way and it’s not about trying to motivate the players, it’s about staying disciplined. We’re a very fit team and we’ll work hard for 95 or 100 minutes and opposition teams have to match that.

“We’re comfortable where we are, we know there are still 17 games to go. We want to finish the season stronger than we started. We have a cup semi-final to look forward to now. It’s unusual to be playing the same team two weeks in a row but it will be a different set of circumstances and a different challenge. It will be a special day.”

What’s next?

Celtic and Kilmarnock meet again in a week’s time in the League Cup semi-final at Hampden (17:30 GMT).