Celtic 5-0 Buckie Thistle: Holders end Highlanders League side's Scottish Cup adventure
- Published
Kyogo Furuhashi scored Celtic's third of a fruitful first half
Holders Celtic powered into the last 16 as Highland League Buckie Thistle's Scottish Cup adventure ended on a sodden Glasgow afternoon.
The fifth-tier side from the north east of Scotland, cheered on by around 2,500 travelling fans, had drawn the plum tie as top-flight sides entered the competition.
And they held the Scottish champions for 25 minutes before eventually succumbing 5-0 at Celtic Park.
Paulo Bernardo dinked the opener, Odin Holm netted his first Celtic goal with a neat finish and Kyogo Furuhashi made it three before half-time.
Luis Palma and Rocco Vata added further strikes in the second period of a contest that also included four disallowed Celtic goals, as Brendan Rodgers maintained his 100% winning record in the Scottish Cup.
The draw for the fifth round takes place later on Sportscene on BBC Scotland and iPlayer, with the programme starting at 19:15 GMT.
The tie was about the occasion for Buckie, who came close to reaching the SPFL play-offs last season but had only played three times since the third round at the end of November due to weather-related call-offs.
Their association with Stephen King did not curse them to a nightmare akin to a passage from one of the horror author's novels. Rather they made their hosts work for their goals and gave their supporters a memorable, if inclement, day out.
The persistent rain threatened to spoil the spectacle and a lengthy VAR delay also dampened enthusiasm early on.
The game at Celtic Park was the only fourth-round tie to use the review system and it was called upon to discern whether Liel Abada had been fouled in the Buckie box. That proved to be a moot point with offside against the winger the decision that ultimately prevailed.
Part-time Buckie continued to play an effective offside line. A Greg Taylor cross turned in by a defender was ruled out and Kyogo and Bernardo were also frustrated when converting crosses from a flagged Abada.
The visitors' resistance was broken when Matt O'Riley released Bernardo, who chipped the onrushing Stuart Knight for a third goal in four games, and Holm finished off an intricate move with a strike off the left post.
It was always going to be a tall order for Buckie, even more so when two down but, after Liam Scales had headed against their crossbar, Josh Peters found himself in on goal and the forward's shot was blocked by Joe Hart's foot.
Celtic's typically ruthless response was an Abada delivery and Kyogo finish from close range. This time it counted and reminded home fans what they missed during Abada's injury absence in the first half of the season.
Palma got in on the act after the break when he cut inside on the right and beat Knight at his near post.
Abada was foiled by the offside flag again when he netted from the right and, at the other end, Peters' claim for a penalty following Scales' challenge left the officials unmoved.
The sight of Kyogo and Abada making way for Vata and Mikey Johnston might have had the Buckie players breathing a sigh of relief.
But the substitutes combined for the fifth goal, Johnston getting to the bye-line and squaring for youngster Vata to score his maiden Celtic goal.
What they said
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers: "It was good from both teams. The players continued where they left off before the break. The intensity was good. We scored some very good goals and just were offside in a few more.
"Rocco, great for him to get his first goal. If he keeps a discipline and can keep improving, he may have a chance to be a Celtic player."
Buckie Thistle manager Graeme Stewart: "If I'm being critical, I'm not happy with a few of the goals but we're playing against Celtic so we have to be realistic. You could see how hard they were working.
"We'd like some more of it, this week's been great. Not just this week, the last five, six weeks has been fantastic. It's been fun. Going out there playing, it's exciting. The atmosphere was fantastic."