Match ends, Celtic 3, Partick Thistle 2.
CelticCeltic3Partick ThistlePartick Thistle2
Celtic progressed to the Scottish Cup quarter-finals as James Forrest struck a hat-trick against Partick Thistle.
Forrest scored twice in the opening 10 minutes as Celtic raced into an early advantage.
Kris Doolan, in his 350th Partick Thistle appearance, replied following a defensive mistake by Jozo Simunovic.
Forrest completed his first treble after the break, and Conor Sammon struck a consolation in the closing minutes.
Before kick-off there was a minute's silence in tribute to former Celtic midfielder Liam Miller, who died after a battle with cancer aged 36.
Thistle were in trouble within minutes of the kick-off, when a loose ball from defender Baily Cargill conceded possession to Scott Brown.
The Celtic captain instantly knocked the ball forward and when striker Moussa Dembele's shot was blocked by Partick Thistle defender Danny Devine, the ball spun to Forrest who stabbed it in from eight yards for his 14th goal of the season.
Forrest doubled Celtic's advantage when he picked the ball up on the halfway line and ran almost unimpeded to the edge of the Thistle box before checking and driving a shot past Partick goalkeeper Tomas Cerny.
Six minutes later the Thistle keeper denied Forrest a hat-trick when he stretched down to his right to tip the winger's drive round the post.
Yet for all Celtic's early onslaught, in the 20th minute, and out of the blue, Thistle were handed a lifeline.
Under no pressure, Simunovic, back in for the injured Dedryck Boyata, was woefully short with an attempted pass back to goalkeeper Dorus de Vries and from the edge of the box the alert Doolan lofted it over the Dutchman and into the net.
From looking down and out, the visitors were rejuvenated, but they found themselves two goals adrift again eight minutes after the restart.
Winger Scott Sinclair took a Kieran Tierney pass inside the box and cut the ball back for Forrest to squeeze a close-range drive past Cerny, despite three Thistle players in close attendance.
The goal deflated the visitors and Celtic continued their search for more goals. Dembele fired just wide from outside the penalty area in the 72nd minute before Sinclair drove straight at Cerny when he only had the former Hamilton keeper to beat.
However, again Thistle unexpectedly came back. With six minutes remaining, Sammon took a Chris Erskine pass and held off Simunovic before hooking a right-footed shot past de Vries and into the far corner of the net.
There was more drama in three minutes of added time, when a fine cross from Erskine almost fell for Ryan Edwards inside the six-yard box, but Tierney defended well before allowing de Vries to gather the ball on the goal-line.
Line-ups
Celtic
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 24de Vries
- 23Lustig
- 35Ajer
- 5Simunovic
- 63Tierney
- 8Brown
- 21Ntcham
- 49ForrestSubstituted forKouassiat 87'minutes
- 67MusondaSubstituted forMcGregorat 65'minutes
- 11SinclairSubstituted forEdouardat 79'minutes
- 10Dembele
Substitutes
- 12Gamboa
- 18Rogic
- 22Edouard
- 29Bain
- 42McGregor
- 59Miller
- 88Kouassi
Partick Thistle
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Cerny
- 16McGinn
- 15DevineBooked at 38mins
- 4Cargill
- 3Booth
- 37WoodsSubstituted forMcCarthyat 79'minutes
- 13BartonSubstituted forOsmanat 57'minutes
- 7Spittal
- 19Edwards
- 10Erskine
- 9DoolanSubstituted forSammonat 60'minutes
Substitutes
- 2Dumbuya
- 6Osman
- 12Scully
- 18Sammon
- 21Penrice
- 24McCarthy
- 39Storey
- Referee:
- Steven McLean
- Attendance:
- 24,191
Match Stats
Home TeamCelticAway TeamPartick Thistle
- Possession
- Home63%
- Away37%
- Shots
- Home13
- Away5
- Shots on Target
- Home6
- Away2
- Corners
- Home4
- Away4
- Fouls
- Home10
- Away21
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Celtic 3, Partick Thistle 2.
Post update
Moussa Dembele (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Post update
Foul by Danny Devine (Partick Thistle).
Post update
Attempt saved. Olivier Ntcham (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Post update
Odsonne Edouard (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Post update
Foul by Chris Erskine (Partick Thistle).
Post update
Scott Brown (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Foul by Ryan Edwards (Partick Thistle).
Substitution
Substitution, Celtic. Eboue Kouassi replaces James Forrest.
Post update
Mikael Lustig (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Post update
Foul by Blair Spittal (Partick Thistle).
Goal!
Goal! Celtic 3, Partick Thistle 2. Conor Sammon (Partick Thistle) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Chris Erskine.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Olivier Ntcham (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Post update
Olivier Ntcham (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Foul by Andrew McCarthy (Partick Thistle).
Substitution
Substitution, Celtic. Odsonne Edouard replaces Scott Sinclair.
Substitution
Substitution, Partick Thistle. Andrew McCarthy replaces Martin Woods.
Post update
Attempt saved. Scott Sinclair (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Post update
Attempt missed. Callum McGregor (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right.
