By ,
Published February 05, 2015
Dingwall, Scotland (SportsNetwork.com) - Anthony Stokes scored a goal in each half as Celtic rolled to a 5-0 win at last-place Ross County on Saturday.
The Hoops entered the match nine points back of leaders Hamilton, which won 3-0 on Friday against Aberdeen, and they got off to a great start with two goals in the opening 15 minutes.
John Guidetti tallied the opener in the 12th minute when a free kick bounced around the box and fell to his feet, allowing him to sweep the ball home from close range.
Celtic doubled its advantage just two minutes later with Guidetti playing provider as he cut the ball back for an unmarked Callum McGregor to hammer past goalkeeper Mark Brown.
Stokes got in on the act on the half-hour mark with a lovely curling effort from the edge of the box that managed to evade the reach of Brown, while Jason Denayer capped a rampaging first half for Celtic when he scored on the rebound after Mikael Lustig's shot was saved.
The visitors eased off the pedal a bit in the second 45 minutes, but Stokes still managed to add a fifth goal with a fine shot from 20 yards that found the net after striking the post.
Dundee United edged Partick Thistle, 1-0, as Nadir Ciftci converted a penalty kick in the 84th minute, while Kilmarnock got two first-half goals from Josh Magennis in the span of three minutes to down St Johnstone, 2-1.
Dundee FC scored three times in the opening hour against Motherwell and held on for a 3-1 win to capture a third win in 10 games on Saturday.
The other match in the Scottish Premier League saw Inverness hold off St Mirren, 1-0, behind Greg Tansey's 43rd-minute penalty kick, while Inverness played the final 40 minutes with 10 men after Ryan Christie was sent off.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/stokes-helps-celtic-rout-ross-county