Celtic Defeat Auchinleck Talbot to Reach Scottish Cup 5th Round

By Callum McFadden at Rugby Park.

Last season’s Scottish Cup runners-up Celtic booked their place in the fifth round of the competition with a 2–0 victory over sixth-tier Auchinleck Talbot.

As expected, Celtic dominated possession from the outset, but despite their territorial control, they struggled to create clear-cut chances in the opening half-hour. Talbot manager Tommy Sloan, in charge for an impressive 23 years, had his side exceptionally well organised, frustrating their vastly superior opponents.

The visitors’ best opportunity during that spell fell to Michel-Ange Balikwisha, who fired over the bar from the edge of the penalty area after a low cross from Luke McCowan.

Auchinleck threatened at the other end shortly afterwards when Celtic goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo failed to deal cleanly with a cross into the box, punching the ball behind for a corner just before Connor Boyd could pounce for the West of Scotland Premier Division side.

Celtic eventually broke the deadlock in the 33rd minute when Johnny Kenny converted a deflected McCowan cross, firing past a helpless William Muir to the delight of the travelling support.

Kenny went close to doubling Celtic’s advantage moments after the restart, his header from a McCowan free-kick clipping the crossbar. The Irish striker then saw a goal ruled out for offside just after the hour mark.

Despite the defensive resilience of the hosts, Martin O’Neill’s side finally secured the result in the 87th minute. Substitute Sébastien Tounekti cut inside the Talbot penalty area before curling a superb finish into the top-right corner of the net.

In knockout football, progression is paramount, but chants of “sign a player” from sections of the Celtic support throughout the match underlined a growing belief that improvements in both performance levels and squad quality are required if Celtic are to challenge strongly for the Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup in the latter stages of the season.

Auchinleck Talbot

Muir; Clark, Schoneville (Kerr, 79), Wilson, McPherson, Sime, Crooks, Main (Lewis, 87), Boyd, McAvoy (Nimmo, 82), Gillies.

Substitutes: Longmuir, Nimmo, Kazoka, Abed, Scott, Wood, Kerr.

Celtic

Sinisalo; Ralston, Murray, Welsh (Scales, 67), Donovan, McGregor (Hatate, 87), Bernardo, McCowan, Forrest (Tounekti, 62), Kenny (Shin, 87), Balikwisha (Nygren, 67).

Substitutes: Schmeichel, Scales, Nygren, Yang, Shin, Tounekti, Maeda, Hatate, Haney.