 The last time Celtic went 26 games without defeat in Scotland was back in 1967 when the Lisbon Lions' won every competition they played in including the European Cup. While not comparing the two sides; today's version of the Parkhead side relied on Dedryck Boyata to score the only goal of the game against St Johnstone at Parkhead to match the record. Captain skipper Scott Brown made his 400th appearance for the club tonight as his teams struggled to break down an organised Saints side until the 73rd minute when defender Boyata, just back in the side against Albion Rovers at the weekend and making only his third appearance of the season, headed in a Stuart Armstrong corner. Celtic moved 22 points clear of Rangers at the top of the Ladbrokes Premiership. The achievement in Brendan Rodgers' first season is commendable and points the way to a possible domestic treble, the Betfred Cup already in the Parkhead trophy room. Rodgers made only one change from the side that completed the Scottish Cup fourth-round win over Rovers with defender Jozo Simunovic replacing injured Mikael Lustig. The visitors, with Tam Scobbie, Paul Paton, Chris Kane and Liam Craig back in the side, had no intention of simply sitting back for the evening.Home midfielder Nir Bitton sent a free kick from 25 yards just wide of the post in the third minute but Saints raced up the park moments later and won a corner, with captain Steven Anderson heading Liam Craig's deep cross just past the post. Winger Scott Sinclair had the ball in the net with a header in the 10th minute but the assistant linesman ruled that the ball had crossed the bye-line before James Forrest had floated it to the back post. The close calls just kept coming. St Johnstone keeper Zander Clark tipped a thunderous drive from Armstrong past and from the corner Boyata's header was cleared off the line by David Wotherspoon. In the 20th minute, following another Saints corner, Danny Swanson fired in a shot from 16 yards which rebounded off the post with the Celtic defence scrambling the ball clear. The champions' grip on the game tightened as the interval approached. But top scorer Moussa Dembele looked off the pace and twice turned Sinclair's cut-back wide of the target before Clark pushed a Forrest drive away from danger. St Johnstone remained dogged as Celtic pressed with increased tempo at the start of the second half. Clark made saves from Brown and Armstrong, the second less comfortable than the first, before Patrick Roberts replaced Forrest to give some added zip to the home side. The winger, on loan from Manchester City, immediately set up a chance with a great piece of trickery inside the box but Sinclair failed to convert. Celtic were more or less camped inside St Johnstone's half and the breakthrough eventually and perhaps inevitably arrived. The home side got another corner when Clark parried a Boyata header and when Armstrong crossed into the box again this time the Belgian stopper bulleted a header past the helpless McDiarmid Park number one. Saints came out their shell in the latter stages - there was a penalty claim when Brown appeared to push Anderson in the box - but there was no real drama and the Celtic captain blazed over the bar in added time which denied him a perfect ending to a landmark occasion |
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