Celtic coast to win over 10-man Ross County

Celtic moved eight points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership after breaking down 10-man Ross County.

County retreated into a defensive shell, frustrating the champions until David Turnbull powered in a shot in first-half stoppage time.

The one-way traffic continued, with Luis Palma adding a stunning strike and setting up a James Forrest header.

A tenth consecutive win for Celtic over County in all competitions was never in doubt after such an early sending off.

The home side, who are now winless in seven league outings, played with commendable spirit but could not get up the pitch to pose any kind of threat.

The early exchanges were played in a shroud of mist, with Jordan White nodding wide for the hosts and Liam Scales prodding the ball home only for Oh Hyeon-gyu to be penalized for the preceding aerial joust.

David Munro had a good view when Brown lunged into a late challenge on Yang Hyun-Jun, catching the winger above the ankle, but the referee was encouraged to review his yellow card decision and a quick look at the replays resulting in a change of color .

Depleted County fell into an ultra defensive formation, camped in protecting their penalty area.

When Celtic did find a way through Ross Laidlaw saved well from Callum McGregor, Scales, Paulo Bernardo and Turnbull, while Oh’s finish was disallowed following a VAR ruling for offside against provider Daizen Maeda.

However, the Highlanders’ resolve was broken in the sixth minute of added time before the interval as Turnbull’s drilled strike from the edge of the box found the bottom corner.

The pattern of play was duplicated in the second half, with County pinned back and Laidlaw kept busy.

The goalkeeper made an impressive double save to deny Kyogo Furuhashi and Yang, then tipped over an effort from Odin Holm.

He could do nothing about Palma’s wonderful goal though as the Honduran felt the ball dipping and swerving into the net from 25 yards out.

Palma enjoyed the moment and was soon celebrating again as he dinked in a clever cross for Forrest to crash in a close-range header, ensuring that he has scored in each of the past 15 seasons for Celtic.

Player of the match – Luis Palma

What next?

Celtic visit Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday (20:00 GMT), while Ross County make the trip to St Johnstone next Saturday (15:00).