St Johnstone 1-4 Celtic: Ange Postecoglou’s side move nine points clear of Rangers

Ange Postecoglou insists she won’t be setting points targets for her Celtic players this season in case it distracts them from the job at hand.

God help the rest of the league if the Aussie belatedly decides such a ploy is needed for his squad to find something extra.

It seems that there is nothing stopping them at the moment. Whatever the questions the Rangers ask them as they go about their business, the answers Postecoglou’s men are providing continue to be forceful.

With just 13 games of the league campaign to go, it’s getting harder to see where exactly the banana skins will come from.

This latter task was accomplished with considerable ease. Having dropped just five points in their campaign to date, Celtic remain on pace to rack up more points than Brendan Rodgers’ 106 Invincibles managed in 2016-17.

His consistency is simply remarkable and he will surely see a second straight title confirmed in due course.

They again made light work of the task they faced in Perth. Andrew Considine’s own goal followed a promising start for St Johnstone, but Kyogo Furuhashi’s second soon after gave Callum Davidson’s men a mountain to climb.

Drey Wright made a play with a deflected shot, but an excellent finish from Aaron Mooy quickly restored Celtic’s two-goal lead before half-time.

Although it took until stoppage time late in the second half for David Turnbull to score the fourth, Postecoglou’s side were in complete control of the game. There was never much danger that the Saints would prevent their winless run against the Glasgow side from stretching to 26 games and spanning almost seven years.

You had to take your hat off to the way the Postecoglou side went about their business on a bumpy surface that could have proved extremely problematic. They did not compromise his passing game in the least. Once they got going, they really could have had any number of targets.

Furuhashi has rightly been praised for his attractive goal return to date, but he is much more than just a predator in the penalty area.

It was the Japanese who instigated the play that gave Celtic the lead on 13 minutes. Dropping into his own half to receive the ball, a clean spin preceded a sumptuous 30-yard diagonal that Daizen Maeda took in stride on the right touchline.

Maeda ate the dirt and fed Mooy. The Aussie’s clever footwork allowed him to slip a nice pass behind the Saints defence.

Furuhashi’s intention was to cross the ball for one of the arriving riders. Considine was unable to apply the brakes and guided the ball past Remi Matthews. It was an inauspicious way to mark the 600th senior football appearance for him.

On a bumpy surface, Saints had actually started well, though nothing came of the series of set pieces they forced.

With Maeda and Jota constantly switching sides, the heads of Callum Davidson’s men must have been spinning as the visitors got off to a late start. Maeda’s cross from the left proved too heavy for the Portuguese when he arrived on the scene.

Coming midway through the first half, Celtic’s second was a curious affair. When Jota collected Mooy’s long ball down the right, the vast majority inside the stadium assumed there was an offside flag on the post.

Jota, naturally, did not linger. His cross allowed Furuhashi to take a touch to calm down before firing his 23rd goal of the season behind Matthews.

The celebrations were somewhat subdued until referee David Dickinson confirmed the goal. It would take something spectacular to get the Saints back in the game. Wright certainly provided that three minutes later.

Choosing to try his luck 25 meters from the goal, the winger’s right hand had speed and movement. Despite all that, Joe Hart can feel he might have had a hand, as he conceded for the first time since January 2 at Ibrox.

However, you have to give it to Celtic. They weren’t entirely fazed to see their lead halved and immediately set about restoring their two-goal cushion.

The third was simply charming in its construction and its execution. Furuhashi seemed to be everywhere. A smart pass in a congested area chose Jota.

The winger’s chipped pass wiped out the entire Saints back line. Mooy could have put his laces through the ball, but he beat Matthews with a terrific lob.

Points looked almost certain at the interval. Without a doubt, a fourth goal from Postecoglou would have confirmed it.

Jota came the closest to finding it, hitting the bar from the edge of the box after a textbook pass and a sequence of moves that saw the visitors pick their way through the visitors from the edge of their own box.

Only Matthews’ outstretched arm prevented Mooy from scoring another Maeda cross again.

Davidson showed a frustrated figure on the sidelines. Even more so when Connor McLennan kept an eye out for Carey’s two crosses from the left that caught the Celtic defense sleeping.

Another chance came and went after Cammy MacPherson’s rambling run led to a foul by Greg Taylor at 25 yards and center. The midfielder’s free-kick didn’t even clear the defensive wall.

The introduction of Liel Abada and Matt O’Riley was designed to see Celtic cross the line, although the Israeli’s first appearance did not go as planned. Taking the ball from Mooy’s toe as the Australian looked ready to score again, he blasted a high over-the-top strike from close range.

Considine’s historic day was unforgettable. As the game went into stoppage time, he prevented Hyeon-gyu Oh as the Celtic substitute threatened to clear the goal. Dickinson had no choice but to get the red card.

The veteran defender was saved from seeing Turnbull finishing on goal in the fourth after O’Riley sent a short free kick his way.

St Johnstone pushed on but never seemed to avoid slipping to an eighth defeat in nine in all competitions. The fact that none of the teams below them in the Premiership picked up a point this weekend will be some consolation.