Van Dijk Sends Celtic 11 Points Clear

[Folami David]

Celtic increased their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership to 11 points with a 1-0 win over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park on Thursday.
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Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk got the only goal of the game in the fifth minute with a superb finish following a mazy run which started just inside his own half.
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Anthony Stokes also had an effort chopped off for offside as Celtic dominated the first half with the home side failing to muster a shot on target.
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St Johnstone were vastly improved after the break but Celtic's unbeaten start to the season never really looked to be in danger of coming to an end as the Hoops kept a clean sheet for the fourth consecutive league match.
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Celtic now have an 11-point lead at the top of the table over Motherwell, who moved second thanks to a 1-0 win over Aberdeen and Dundee United's surprise 4-1 loss to St Mirren.
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"It was as tight as I expected it to be and we never get it easy here," Celtic manager Neil Lennon said of the win.
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"I thought we played very well first half and scored a wonder goal. We got a little big ragged for 10 or 15 minutes of the second half but for the last half hour I thought we had good control again. It's a huge win for us."
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His St Johnstone counterpart felt his side should have got more out of the game.
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"I think we put a lot into it. Celtic had the lion's share of chances but I think we created enough chances to get something out of the game," Tommy Wright said.
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"We're really disappointed with the manner in which we conceded the first goal but I thought we showed a lot of character and dug in."
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St Johnstone had threatened to strike first as Stevie May chased down a long ball out of defence but van Dijk raced back to nick the ball off the striker's foot and put it out for a corner.

[Shola Sholaz]

Celtic's 11 points clear is a great advantage for the football club. The points are well deserved.

[Nifemi Donald]

Good news for Celtic FC. That has put them in a very lovely position. Good goal-scoring play from the team.