Kasper Høgh scored a hat-trick, his first goals for Celtic, as the Scottish champions made light of the absence of their manager Martin O'Neill with a 5-1 win at Kilmarnock on Sunday.
Victory Without the Manager
Victory made it two wins out of two Premiership games for Celtic, with 74-year-old boss O'Neill missing the trip to Rugby Park after what the club had said earlier this week was a “small procedure” in hospital.
No details were given about O'Neill's operation, which came after the veteran Northern Irish manager took charge of Celtic's win against Dundee in their first game of the season. But the club's assistant manager, Shaun Maloney, speaking before Sunday's kick-off, said O'Neill was on the mend.
“He is doing better again,” Maloney told Sky Sports. “He came to the team hotel and spoke to the players but he just needs an extra few days.”
Høgh's Quickfire Treble
O'Neill's mood would doubtless have been improved by the performance of his side, with Celtic 3-0 ahead before half-time thanks to Høgh. The Danish striker, who joined in July from Bodø/Glimt, needed less than a minute to score his first Celtic goal, heading in at the back post from a cross by Arne Engels.
Høgh doubled Celtic's lead in the 33rd minute, with Camilo Durán seizing on Johnly Yfeko's pass out of defence. He combined with Benjamin Nygren to work the ball to Høgh on the left edge of the box, with the forward finishing well.
Two minutes later, Høgh had his hat-trick. Nygren slipping the ball right for Durán, whose cross took the Kilmarnock goalkeeper Max Stryjek out of play, with Høgh nodding into an empty net.
Second-Half Surge
Celtic extended their lead early in the second half after they were effectively gifted a fourth goal by Stryjek. His pass out of defence went straight to Nygren in front of goal and his shot into the top corner made it 4-0.
Michael Schjønning-Larsen pulled a goal back for Kilmarnock in the 56th minute after finishing a well-worked move. But Celtic went four goals ahead again when Luke McCowan, moments after coming on, volleyed in from close range 15 minutes from time after Kilmarnock made a mess of trying to clear the ball from a corner.
Other Premiership Matches
In Sunday's other Premiership matches, Hearts – last season's runners-up – are at home to Dundee United as they look to bounce back from their opening-day defeat by Aberdeen, with Motherwell hosting Falkirk and Rangers facing Hibernian at Ibrox.
