Celtic 2-0 Kilmarnock: victory relieves pressure on Neil Lennon

Celtic’s second-half siege overpowered Kilmarnock and gave coach Neil Lennon, under pressure, more room to breathe as his team regained second place in the Scottish Premiership.

Mohamed Elyounoussi’s deflected shot and a Shane Duffy header ended a series of consecutive draws in the league.

It holds Celtic 13 points behind the Rangers leaders with two games in hand.

Kilmarnock remain eighth, four points behind, after a fifth Premier League loss in six.

Lennon’s show of faith in the fringe men who impressed in Thursday’s Europa League win over Lille meant that defender Duffy, goalkeeper Conor Hazard, midfielder Ismael Soro and forward David Turnbull kept their places.

That victory had saved Lennon from the ire of fans this time, with the board at the center of a pre-game protest as hundreds of fans gathered outside Celtic Park.

But despite Turnbull’s best efforts, Celtic’s recent failures were again evident in the listless first 45 minutes. They attacked with hope rather than expectation, and Kilmarnock held them off without much stress.

Visiting goalkeeper Danny Rogers superbly overcame a Christopher Jullien header and Odsonne Edouard sent a deflected shot as Celtic stuttered on attack.

But Alex Dyer’s men were left powerless as the hosts upped the ante after the restart. Elyounoussi fired straight at Rogers before Jeremie Frimpong and Edouard forced stops after a quick counterattack.

Duffy was the next to threaten, but his free header on a set piece followed the trend of going straight for the goalie, and Edouard somehow failed to convert Callum McGregor’s cross from close range.

Kilmarnock creaked and the pressure kicked in just before the time Elyounoussi’s low shot from the edge of the penalty area deflected defender Aaron McGowan toward Rogers with his left foot.

Turnbull had a deflected shot before his corner helped give Celtic the comfort of a two-goal margin when Duffy’s header went under Rogers.

Kilmarnock should have cut the deficit in half when a set piece fell at Nicke Kabamba’s feet six yards, but he could only hit Hazard’s hands.

There was a brief break from Celtic pressure when backup Ryan Christie deflected a volley and Duffy nearly doubled his count with a glare header.

His team’s dominance in the second half provided a respite for Lennon, who introduced winger Mikey Johnston from the bench for his first outing since January.

Man of the Match – David Turnbull

What did we learn?

After the “baby steps” of victory over Lille, Lennon’s Celtic continued to move in the right direction, but still has a lot to convince.

And a clean first sheet in nine games, though largely due to Kilmarnock’s lack of leading edge, boosts the confidence of a Celtic defense whose shortcomings have been exposed in recent weeks.

Kilmarnock, for his part, was too tame against a team that has been beset by crisis. The visitors did not exert significant pressure and their total of one goal in six games, five of which were losses, sums up their problems.

What did they say?

Celtic coach Neil Lennon: “That was much better. It was a good team performance in all aspects. Really dominant, we looked strong.

“In the last games here we have been a bit anxious. There was none of that today. I am disappointed that we did not win for more.”

Alex Dyer, Kilmarnock Manager: “We were well organized in the first half, but it was the other way around after the break. We could have lost 4-0 after the first 10 minutes of the second half, easy.

“It’s a mental game and we were weak in the second half. We didn’t show personality or character.”

Whats Next?

Celtic are trying to make history by completing the quadruple treble in Hampden next Sunday when they face Hearts in last season’s delayed Scottish Cup final (14:15 GMT).

Kilmarnock is in Premiership service earlier in the day when he hosts Aberdeen (12:00).