Stuart Armstrong ensured Celtic ended the night 13 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership with the only goal against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. The midfielder ran on to Moussa Dembele's lay-off to deliver a composed finish 90 seconds before half-time. Jamie MacDonald made some decent saves to keep his well-organised and spirited team in the game but Celtic gave little away in terms of clear-cut chances as they kept a seventh consecutive clean sheet in domestic football. That came with the help of Dedryck Boyata, who was handed his first appearance since April, and with Callum McGregor playing left-back after Celtic moved to a back four in the second half. Leigh Griffiths was absent after returning from Scotland duty with a tight hamstring, while Kilmarnock manager Lee Clark was missing centre-backs Miles Addison and Jonathan Burn, the latter picking up a thigh injury in training, along with Kris Boyd, who faces up to eight weeks out with a similar problem.
Kilmarnock's Adam Frizzell (right) and Celtic's Stuart Armstrong battle for the ball (c)Jeff Holmes/PA Wire/PA Images MacDonald made two good saves early in the second half, blocking from McGregor after Dembele's through-ball and then stopping a Patrick Roberts shot after the Celtic midfielder was gifted possession. That allowed Killie to retain belief they could get back into the game and they posed some problems, but some promising moves broke down as they got into the box. Their best chance came on the break just after Scott Boyd cleared off the line from Forrest after some slack defending. Substitute Nathan Tyson held the ball up for Frizzell but Craig Gordon got down well to hold his 20-yard drive. Mikael Lustig hit the outside of the post after a one-two with Forrest and Kilmarnock kept pressing but Dicker saw his header deflected wide. |
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