Celtic 3 United 0

United left Glasgow defeated as Celtic came out 3-0 winners at Parkhead today. By Joe James. United made three changes to the side unable to progress further in the Scottish Cup Wednesday evening: in came John Souttar for the injured Callum Morris, Paul Dixon returned from suspension whilst Charlie Telfer replaced Chris Erskine. It was a quiet start from both sides with Celtic holding the vast majority of possession but looking content to knock the ball around in midfield and dictate the tempo of the match, However, at 16 minutes the Hoops opened the scoring through former Arabs favourite Gary Mackay-Steven. The dynamic midfielder received the ball around 25 yards from goal before lashing a ferocious strike into the bottom corner. Celtic continued to pass the ball around with purpose and just after the half hour mark, doubled their lead after John Guidetti's curling left foot shot rose above Cierzniak and dipped just below the crossbar. With just seconds remaining of the first period, Stefan Johansen delivered a free kick inside the box that fell to Jason Deneyer who effortlessly back-heeled the ball into the back of the net. United did look an improved side after the break but struggled to produce the killer final ball to create any clear-cut chances. At 51 minutes, United were handed a golden opportunity when a defensive error saw Nadir Ciftci go one-on-one with Craig Gordon only a last ditch slide tackle denying the striker a goal. United: Cierzniak, Dixon, Souttar, Fojut, McGowan, Paton, Butcher ('46 Dow), Rankin, Telfer ('78 Muirhead), Spittal ('78 Anier), Ciftci. Unused subs: Zwick, Erskine, Connolly, Spark. Celtic: Gordon, Ambrose, Van Dijk, Deneyer, Izaguirre, Bitton, Brown, Armstrong ('75 Henderson),  Johansen, Mackay-Steven('6 9 Commons), Guidetti ('69 Scepovic). Unused subs: Zaluska, Griffifths, Fisher, Forrest. Referee: Kevin Clancy Full report to follow.