Celtic enjoyed a comfortable 4-0 win over Dundee United with goals from John Hartson, Alan Thompson and Henrik Larsson. The Tannadice side rarely looked like troubling the Hoops defence throughout this one-sided game while Celtic were unlucky not to have notched up a few more goals despite the absence of first-team stars Chris Sutton, Joos Valgaeren and Lubo Moravcik.
Hartson took advantage of Sutton's absence to fire Celtic ahead after just four minutes. The £6m signing pounced on Jackie McNamara's through ball to fire home into the bottom left-hand corner of the net. Hartson had the ball in the back of the net six minutes later but referee John Rowbotham ruled that the former Wimbledon striker had pushed David Partridge and the goal was disallowed.
However, there was no doubt when Celtic doubled their advantage on 26 minutes and once again Hartson played his part. Larsson and Jackie McNamara exchanged a cheeky one-two before McNamara squared the ball for Hartson to tap home from a few yards out.
The second-half proved a carbon copy of the first, with Celtic all over the United defence. A free-kick on the edge of the area was curled beautifully into the net by Thompson and matters worsened for the Tangerines when Celtic put the game beyond doubt in the 71st minute. Once again, the strike partnership of Hartson and Larsson proved fruitful as Hartson turned provider, playing the ball through to the Swedish international who smacked the ball in off the post.
Earlier in the day, a second minute strike by Michael Mols was enough to give Rangers victory over St Johnstone, while third-placed Livingston suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Kilmarnock.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
