Kenyan forward helpless as Celtic inflict heavy defeat on St Mirren

STARS ABROAD Kenyan forward helpless as Celtic inflict heavy defeat on St Mirren

Mark Kinyanjui 07:00 - 03.01.2024

Ayunga, who has scored two goals so far this season, came on in the 65th minute but could not get going as the side, who were reduced to 10 men, were thrashed by the Scottish giants.

Kenyan forward Jonah Ayunga came on as a substitute but could not help St Mirren survive the threat of Celtic, who thrashed them 3-0 in a Scottish Premiership encounter played on Tuesday evening.

Ayunga, who has scored two goals so far this season, came on in the 65th minute but could not get going as the side, who were reduced to 10 men, were thrashed by the Scottish giants.

Daizen Maeda scored Celtic's first goal of the year for the third successive January when he dashed away from Scott Tanser to fire beyond Zach Hemming after just 54 seconds.

After neatly setting up the first, Matt O'Riley smartly tucked away the second. His wonderful first touch created the angle for Hemming to be nutmegged to round off a magnificent move in the sixth minute.

The half could not have started any worse for Stephen Robinson's side and it ended in similar disappointment as Toyosi Olusanya was shown a red card after a VAR review after his boot caught Joe Hart's face.

That decision made a tough test even tougher for St.Mirren and Greg Taylor's second-half thunderous volley inflicted further misery.

If it wasn't for the St Mirren goalkeeper, the scoreline could have been much heavier. Substitutes Oh Hyeon-gyu, Yang Hyun-jun and Liel Abada were all denied, while Kyogo also headed wide when a goal appeared likely.

Following Rangers' early win against Kilmarnock, Celtic reclaimed their eight-point advantage, albeit having played two games more, while St Mirren remain in fifth, two points behind Kilmarnock.

Backing up Saturday's derby day victory was imperative for the league leaders, but against a St Mirren side who took an early lead the last time the sides met at Celtic Park, there were no guarantees the three points would come easy.

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