Celtic 5-0 St Johnstone: Scott Sinclair hits hat-trick as Hoops run riot in Scottish Cup

Celtic 5-0 St Johnstone: Scott Sinclair hits hat-trick as Hoops run riot in Scottish Cup
Celtic booked their place in the Scottish Cup sixth round with a thumping 5-0 defeat of St Johnstone – with Scott Sinclair helping himself to a hat-trick at Parkhead.The Hoops forward squeezed in the opener in the third minute before skipper Scott Brown thundered in a 30-yard drive six minutes later.2

Sinclair was loving life on Sunday afternoon

Returning winger James Forrest added a third in the 52nd minute, with Sinclair scoring twice more in a one-sided affair to seal the cup holders’ place in Monday night’s quarter-final draw.Celtic had beaten Tommy Wright’s side 2-0 both home and away in the Premiership before their midweek win over Hibernian and it was their fifth victory of the season over the Perth side, who are on the slide after five successive defeats.Brendan Rodgers’ team have now won seven matches out of seven since the turn of the year, scoring 21 goals and conceding none as they turn their attentions to Thursday night’s first leg of a Europa League tie against Valencia.The visitors’ chances of pulling off a cup shock ended almost before they had started.When striker Oliver Burke burst all too easily through the Perth defence it looked like he made an error in squaring the ball instead of shooting as Sinclair was at an acute angle.However, the Hoops winger beat Zander Clark at his near post, with the McDiarmid Park keeper looking culpable. What remaining belief Saints had – and it could not have been much – evaporated when Brown picked up a clearance and arrowed a drive high past the flailing Clark for his first counter in two years.The visitors struggled to cope with Celtic’s movement and fluidity.However, just after the half-hour mark, Parkhead keeper Scott Bain had to throw himself to his right to push away a Chris Kane drive and the home side defended consecutive corners.Wright swapped midfielder Sean Goss with Tony Watt for the start of the second half while Kristoffer Ajer replaced Celtic centre-back Jozo Simunovic.The visitors tried to press Celtic high but that left gaps and Burke was sent racing clear by a wonder Ryan Christie pass, but he looked off-balance as his weak attempt at a shot went straight to Clark.2

Scott Brown scored a rare goal with James Forrest grabbing Celtic’s other

Moments later in another swift Celtic counter, however, left-back Jonny Hayes, in for injured Emilio Izaguirre, sped through the middle before laying the ball off to Forrest, who slotted in from 12 yards.Two minutes later, after Forrest had set up Burke, Sinclair tapped in from close range.A rout similar to the 6-0 win over Saints in October was threatened and it should have been five when Christie headed over a Forrest cross.Defender Niall Keown, on loan from Partick Thistle, replaced winger Matty Kennedy to make his St Johnstone debut as the visitors sought to limit any further damage.Christie made way for French striker Odsonne Edouard and, in the final minute, after the latter’s shot fell to him inside the Saints box, Sinclair slammed his third in from 10 yards, taking his tally to an impressive 16 so far this season.

---

London: A Chelsea fan has been banned from football matches for three years after being ejected from their Premier League game against Brighton for shouting homophobic abuse. Representative image.
Chelsea fan banned for three years for homophobic abuse

---

Guendouzi no go. Unai Emery does not want to cash in on Matteo Guendouzi. Paris Saint-Germain are said to be monitoring the midfielder and have been linked with a £60 million move. Arsenal spent just £7 million to land the French midfielder from Ligue 2 outfit FC Lorient in the summer - and could make a huge profit if they sell.
'£150m and Mbappe!' Arsenal fans react to shock Matteo

---

Marko Arnautovic and Samir Nasri have been named in West Ham's starting XI for their Premier League game against Arsenal, who have left out Mesut Ozil. Arnautovic's future at West Ham was
Arsenal Team News: Injuries, suspensions and line-up vs West

---

Liverpool v Cardiff City confirmed teams: Fabinho makes first Premier League start, Salah, Mane and Firmino also in starting XI make his first Premier League start in Saturday's clash

---

Championship table predicted: Supercomputer reveals FINAL standings after huge Leeds win LEEDS UNITED thrashed promotion rivals West Brom 4-0 on Friday night - but the final standings on the
Super Computer predicts The Championship - it's good news for

---

Interim manager Neil Lennon endured an afternoon of frustration on his return to Parkhead as Celtic were held to a 0-0 draw by Aberdeen. The former Hoops captain and boss returned after the departure of Brendan Rodgers to Leicester but, after wins at Hearts and Hibernian, his homecoming in the Ladbrokes Premiership was spoiled by an organised Dons side.
Neil Lennon's homecoming falls flat as Aberdeen hold Celtic

---

Man United success may leave Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk homeless. Virgil van Dijk to become joint-highest earner at Liverpool to ward off Chelsea, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona and
Virgil van Dijk: The whole squad helped us reach the final

---

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer acknowledged Manchester United's performance may not have matched the result as the Reds overcame West Ham United 2-1 at Old Trafford on Saturday. at right wing, Andreas
Man Utd news: Solskjaer's answer to fans who want Pereira

---

Crouch restored Tottenham's two goal advantage before Kenwyne Jones ended his 13-game goal drought with a thunderous 30-yard strike to make the scoreline 3-2 at half time. In the second period Stoke should have levelled but Walters with an open goal hit his shot against the post and Spurs were able to hang on for the three points.
Theo Walcott | Fran's Watford Blog

---

Arsenal 'hugely concerned' Mkhitaryan will miss Europa League final in Baku because of tensions between Azerbaijan and his native Armenia Alan Brazil slams FA decision to give Poland 10,000
Chelsea 4-1 Arsenal - Europa League final: RESULT | Daily

---

Liverpool transfer news: When West Ham star and Reds target

---

Sam Allardyce has backed Cardiff City boss Neil Warnock for his furious reaction to his side's controversial defeat to Chelsea on Sunday. The former England manager also took aim at Jamie Carragher, after the Liverpool legend came to the defence of the linesman who failed to spot Cesar Azpilicueta was offside for the Blues' vital equaliser.
Neil Warnock has launched ANOTHER attack on refs after

---

In a Champions League semi-final that no-one would've predicted at the start of the season, Tottenham host Ajax at their new stadium for the first-leg of the tie this evening. Both sides have
Tottenham vs Ajax - Two teams with a common Jewish identity

---

City can become the first English team to win a domestic treble if they beat Watford in Saturday's FA Cup final. De Bruyne is sitting in the club's state-of-the-art academy before a last training
FA CUP FINAL: Manchester City vs Watford date, time, channel

---

Cheik Tiote's stunning equaliser against Arsenal - 05/02/11. 76 likes. Fictional Character. Jump to. Sections of this page. Accessibility Help. Press alt + / to open
Barcelona, Man Utd, Belgium & football's 10 greatest

---