Brendan Rodgers Celtic continued their dominance of the Scottish League after thrashing Raith Rovers 5-0 to move into the quarter-finals stage of the Scottish Cup on Saturday.
Celtic extended their unbeaten home run to 32 matches – one shy of the mark reached by Gordon Strachan’s vintage of 2007.
The former Liverpool manager brought nine players into the starting line-up, as
Daizen Maeda took his Celtic tally to 50 goals.
“Games like this can be tricky if the attitude is not right, no matter what talent you’ve got
“It’s a huge testament to the players in terms of how hard they worked in the game right from the beginning to play to the level they did,” Brendan Rodgers said.
Maeda’s hat trick helped the much-changed holders into the Scottish Cup quarter-finals.
Second-half goals from Luke McCowan and Yang Hyun-Jun had Celtic well in command before Maeda completed his hat-trick late on from McCowan’s fine assist.
The Japanese attacker, who scored twice before the break to dull the Championship visitors’ resistance, now has 21 goals for the season.
An able deputy, perhaps, for departed compatriot Kyogo Furuhashi, having now rattled in six in his last three games.
Read also: FA Cup: Newcastle survives Birmingham scare in five goals thriller
It could have been an even more difficult game for Raith had Callum McGregor’s early effort from the edge of the area not found the junction of debutant Josh Rae’s right-hand post and crossbar.
Maeda was also denied before the interval by an offside flag after tapping home Anthony Ralston’s cross.
With Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich next up at Parkhead in the Champions League on Wednesday, the likes of Alastair Johnston, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty were given the night off.
As was goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, with Viljami Sinisalo making his Celtic debut.
There was no discernable drop-off in levels for Rodgers’ men, who have now scored 14 goals in their last three games and 110 for the season as a whole.
It was a harsh lesson for Barry Robson’s Raith, who thought they were heading in just one goal down at the interval before Maeda pounced for his second to remove any doubt about the outcome.
Celtic’s quality shone throughout the second period and they can now look forward to the visit of Harry Kane and co on the back of another healthy victory.
The only downside is that man of the moment Maeda is suspended for the first leg.
“The boys gave me absolutely everything, you can’t deny that. I can’t ask for any more than that.
“What they will have done is learn what it’s like to come up against real top quality players,” Barry Robson, Raith Rovers manager said.
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