Brendan Rodgers praised his much-changed Celtic team for the way they ground down a spirited 10-man Ross County side to move eight points clear at the top of the cinch Premiership.
The hosts had James Brown sent off early on and they kept the Hoops out until deep into first-half stoppage time when David Turnbull broke the deadlock.
Celtic eventually killed off County – whose goalkeeper Ross Laidlaw was in inspired form – with goals from substitutes Luis Palma and James Forrest.
Rodgers, who made six changes ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid in Spain, was pleased with the energy and patience of his team.
“We made a number of changes to bring new energy in the team,” said the Hoops boss. “It’s difficult when they get the man sent off early because it means it’s a game of attack v defence. But we had some really good chances before taking the lead.
“It was a game where we needed some energy from the guys at the beginning. We scored some fantastic goals and their keeper made some brilliant saves.
“Credit to County, they lose a man so early. You can unravel or stick at it and keep going and they did that.”
Hyeongyu Oh, Paulo Bernardo, Anthony Ralston and Hyunjun Yang were among the players handed starts in Dingwall.
“It’s all about the team,” he said. “It’s not about cementing your place in the team, it’s about contributing to the performance. The guys came in and worked very hard and were steady and concentrated.”
Prior to taking the lead, Celtic had two goals chalked off. Liam Scales had the ball in the net from close range but it was ruled out as Oh was deemed to have pushed Jordan White in the build-up.
Later in the first half, Oh netted from close range but the celebrations were cut short when VAR adjudged that Daizen Maeda had strayed offside when running on to Bernardo’s pass on the right.
“I thought the first goal that was disallowed should have been a goal,” said Rodgers. “It was two defenders challenging for the ball. I don’t know where the foul was and it takes an eternity to find out if it was a goal or not. The offside looks really close. I’d have to see it again.”
County boss Malky Mackay was proud of the way his team competed after the early red card – although he was irked that Celtic’s opener came in the seventh minute of first-half stoppage time, when a minimum of six minutes had been signalled.
“We got a mountain to climb when we go to 10 men,” said Mackay. “It was a sending off, James has apologised but he didn’t see him. He came from his blind side so you can’t say too much to him.
“Coming towards half-time we’d weathered the storm and to lose the goal at six minutes and six seconds – which is surprising and interesting – it was a great strike and the only place he could have put it for the goalie not to get to it.
“But we stuck at it, we were disciplined and organised. I have to be proud of my team.”
Barrow upset League One Northampton in the first round of the FA Cup with a 3-1 victory at Sixfields.
Emile Acquah’s early header was cancelled out by Mitch Pinnock but second-half goals from Tom White and Ben Whitfield secured Barrow’s place in the draw for the second round.
The League Two outfit made the better start and led after only nine minutes when Acquah headed in Elliot Newby’s corner.
Will Hondermarck curled wide and Sam Hoskins had a shot blocked before Northampton levelled a minute shy of the half-hour mark as Hoskins charged down Niall Canavan’s clearance and the ball rebounded kindly for Pinnock to slot home.
Barrow’s Dom Telford smashed just wide from 20 yards before Hoskins missed a good chance at the start of the second half, poking wide when through on goal.
That proved a big moment in the game as Barrow regained the lead moments later through White’s long-range shot, which took a wicked deflection and wrong-footed Max Thompson.
Victory was secured 18 minutes from time after a mix-up between Thompson and Ali Koiki allowed Whitfield to score into an empty net.
Gentlemansgame came of age by beating Gold Cup runner-up Bravemansgame in the bet365 Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby.
Having just his third run over fences, the Mouse Morris-trained seven-year-old was nibbled at in the market into 7-2 and he became the first Irish-based winner since Francis Crowley’s Sackville in 2001.
Gentlemansgame won a beginners chase at Leopardstown’s Christmas Festival but was not seen again until being beaten into second by Easy Game at Gowran in September.
Always highly thought of by Morris, who finished second in the corresponding race in 1998 with Boss Doyle behind Strath Royal, he was the trainer’s first winner in the UK since he landed the Grand National with Rule The World in 2016.
Ahoy Senor set out to make all but by halfway his jumping had once again slowed him down and last year’s winner Bravemansgame took it up.
It stayed that way until Darragh O’Keeffe brought the grey up to challenge, but at the second last the favourite had seemingly seen him off.
However, Bravemansgame jumped out of Harry Cobden’s hands at the final fence, landing on top of it and halting his momentum, allowing the Irish raider to gain the upper hand and win by a length and three-quarters.
Morris said: “I’m very happy with that, he jumped super. He was a bit fiddly at one or two, but that was to be expected on his third run over fences.
“He was taking on a seasoned, Gold Cup horse (Bravemansgame). We came here because I was limited as to where I could go. The owners (Robcour) had their other horse going to Down Royal (Gerri Colombe) and it would be stupid to take each other on.
“It’s a long way to the Gold Cup. I suppose Leopardstown at Christmas would be the obvious place to go, but we’ll see how he comes out of it.
“He’ll stay all day and we’re living the dream.”
On his Wetherby win, Morris added: “It’s a nice race and a super track with lovely people, so why not come over?”
Lando Norris saw off triple world champion Max Verstappen to take pole position for today’s sprint race in Brazil.
The British driver, 23, beat Verstappen to top spot by 0.061 seconds in Interlagos with Sergio Perez third.
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton will line up from fourth and fifth respectively for Mercedes.
Norris believed he could have taken pole for tomorrow’s 71-lap main event, but for a McLaren strategy blunder in Friday’s rain-hit qualifying session.
However, the young Briton made amends by delivering the quickest time for today’s 24-lap dash to the chequered flag.
Norris, who is seeking his first win in Formula One, said: “It felt like one of the worst laps I have done so I am a little bit surprised to be on pole.
“But I feel like we have made up for yesterday. I have no idea how the sprint will go, but the pace has been good this weekend and the car has been quick.”
Perez was a tenth back from Norris, while Russell finished 0.235 sec behind, with Hamilton 0.318 sec adrift.
Yuki Tsunoda qualified sixth ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Daniel Ricciardo.
Q1 ended early after Esteban Ocon crashed out following a collision with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
Ocon was on a hot lap, but briefly lost control of his Alpine though the left-hander at Turn 3, and thumped into Alonso.
The Spaniard was off the racing line, affording space for Ocon, but the Frenchman clipped Alonso’s Aston Martin which sent him into the tyre barrier at Curva do Sol.
“F****** idiot, Fernando,” said Ocon after he sustained significant damage to the rear of his machine.
Alonso limped back to the pits with front suspension damage leaving his mechanics scrambling to get his machine ready for Q2.
A 28-minute delay followed as the barrier was repaired but Alonso was unable to continue. He will start 15th.
The double world champion’s team-mate Lance Stroll qualified an impressive third for Sunday’s grand prix. But the Canadian will line up three places from the back for today’s sprint which gets under way at 3:30pm local time (6:30 pm GMT).
Boss Carlo Ancelotti has praised flawless Jude Bellingham as Real Madrid look to go back to the LaLiga summit.
The midfielder’s brace, including a last-minute winner, secured a dramatic 2-1 win at Barcelona last weekend.
Bellingham has 13 goals in 13 games since his £88.5million move from Borussia Dortmund in the summer and is hunting more against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, having won the Kopa Trophy this week as the world’s best player under 21.
Victory will take Real back to the top of LaLiga on goal difference after Girona moved three points clear following Saturday’s 4-2 comeback win at Osasuna.
Ancelotti told a press conference: “Jude’s shown no flaws whatsoever so far and he doesn’t really have much to improve on. At this level, the important thing is consistency.
“These kinds of players and great talents like Bellingham and Vinicius make the difference through consistency.
“His physical profile helps him to maintain the levels he’s showing. It’s not just about his goals either, we’re praising him for his hard work with and without the ball and his incredible physical capacities.
“Rodrygo and Vinicius will score more goals over the course of the season. They will get more than Bellingham and Joselu. We have no doubts about that. But if they’re not scoring, Bellingham and Joselu have done a great job so far this season.”
Atletico Madrid’s 2-1 defeat at Las Palmas on Friday did at least keep Real’s city rivals three points behind in the race for the title.
Ancelotti added: “It will be a hard-fought LaLiga campaign. We’ll be fighting against Barcelona and Atletico until the end and we’ll see how Girona go because they’re playing brilliantly.
“Those are the teams, Real Madrid included, who will be battling it out to win the competition.
“We will rotate over the next three games but the priority is tomorrow. We’ll be playing against a side in very good form, they’re well organised and solid.
“We have three games at home and now is the time to make a statement in LaLiga and the Champions League.”
Meanwhile, Rodrygo has targeted another clean sweep after signing his new Madrid deal.
The Brazil international penned a new contract at the Bernabeu until 2028 this week.
He is preparing to welcome Rayo Vallecano and after two LaLiga titles, a Champions League, the Super Cup and the Copa del Rey since signing from Santos in 2019, the forward wants more.
He told the club’s official site: “I couldn’t have imagined it. It was my dream to win everything, but I didn’t expect to do it in four seasons. I thought the Champions League, which is the most special, was going to take me a bit longer.
“I’m very happy because I’ve already won them all. Now I’d like to win them all again.”
West Indies all-rounder Romario Shepherd has been added to the Mumbai Indians roster for the 2024 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after they finalised a trade deal with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
Shepherd, who only played four IPL matches, representing LSG and Sunrisers Hyderabad, was traded to five-time champions Mumbai Indians for his existing fee of US$60 000, and he will be hoping for more playing time to not only justify the move, but more importantly, live up to his tidy reputation.
The 28-year-old is regarded for his pace bowling skills, boasting a repertoire of variations that will enable his captain to call upon him in different match situations. He can also contribute handsomely to the team's batting innings once he gets going.
Shepherd was a part of the Guyana Amazon Warriors side that won the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) tournament for the first time, in September, and he has become an integral member of the West Indies Twenty20 International set-up.
He runs tally currently stands at 301 in 31 matches at an average of 37.62, while his strike rate is 153.57. With the ball, Shepherd has taken 31 wickets at an average of 29.70.
Mumbai Indians finished fourth in this year’s IPL tournament with eight wins in 14 matches. They defeated LSG in the first elimination final but lost to Gujarat Titans in the second elimination final.
Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have confirmed that the upcoming IPL auction will take place in Dubai. It will be the first time that the auction is being hosted outside of the country.
Last year, the auction was scheduled to be hosted in Istanbul, Turkey, before a late move to be hosted in the Indian city of Kochi.
Organisers have also extended the deadline for the list of released players from November 15 to November 26.
Botox Has provided Caoilin Quinn with the most notable success of his riding career so far with victory in a gruelling renewal of the bet365 West Yorkshire Hurdle at Wetherby.
The conditional jockey won a valuable handicap hurdle on the Betfair Chase undercard at Haydock last season aboard Gary Moore’s seven-year-old, who is also a former winner of the National Spirit Hurdle at Fontwell under the trainer’s son, Josh.
Botox Has had not been seen in competitive action since finishing fourth in the Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham in January – and while Quinn was unable to use his claim in this Grade Two contest, he proved more than up to the job.
Much of the pre-race focus was on the Philip Hobbs-trained Thyme Hill and Jeremy Scott’s stable star Dashel Drasher, two high-class performers on the staying hurdling scene.
Dashel Drasher adopted his customary role at the front, but it was hard work from some way out, while the other 7-4 joint-favourite Thyme Hill was unable to land a telling blow in the testing conditions.
Botox Has (15-2) himself was off the bridle early in the straight but kept pulling out more and recovered from an untidy leap at the final obstacle to get the better of Red Risk by a length, with Dashel Drasher narrowly beating Thyme Hill to third place.
Quinn said: “It’s unbelievable, I’m speechless, to be honest, what a performance that was. He was giving weight away to a lot of them, but one thing he has on his side is he’s very tough.
“When push comes to shove, he digs deep. I didn’t think he enjoyed the ground today, we thought he would, as he does like it soft, but for whatever reason he didn’t travel as well as he did when I rode him at Haydock.
“It’s very tiring ground and I just thought it was the best thing to go and let him pop the last, but I knew he had loads left.
“It’s an unbelievable training performance. I’ve said to loads of people, he (Gary Moore) is an absolute genius.
“He’s had his problems this horse, he had a niggling problem which meant he didn’t go to the Cheltenham Festival last season. He (Moore) has got him back as good as ever and I’m very grateful.”
Tottenham can go all the way in the Premier League title race after making a brilliant start to life under Ange Postecoglou, says former Spurs defender Jan Vertonghen.
Postecoglou has made the best-ever start by a Premier League manager across their first 10 games in charge, leading Spurs to eight wins and two draws while implementing a vibrant brand of possession-based football.
The former Celtic boss could become just the third manager to go unbeaten through his first 11 games in the competition when Spurs host London rivals Chelsea on Monday.
Frank Clark (with Nottingham Forest in 1994) and Maurizio Sarri (with Chelsea in 2018) are the only men to previously achieve that feat, with the latter avoiding defeat in his first 12 matches.
With new arrivals including James Maddison, Micky van de Ven and Guglielmo Vicario requiring no bedding-in period, Tottenham have made their best start to a top-flight season since 1960-61.
On that occasion, they won their first 10 games in the old First Division before capturing what remains their most recent league title.
With a lack of European football giving Postecoglou more time to work with his players, Vertonghen believes Tottenham can dream of replicating that success.
"He's doing an unbelievable job," Vertonghen, an Athlete Partner for APEX, told Stats Perform when asked about Postecoglou's impact.
"Lots of things have happened since I left Tottenham, but this year they made all the right decisions.
"They signed the right players, the right coach with the right mentality that the club has missed for a while.
"He's doing an unbelievable job. I'm really enjoying watching them and I don't see why they can't go for the highest things possible.
"All the other clubs are playing in Europe or struggling with injuries, and besides that, Spurs have a great team and that's very important as well.
"They have the crowd behind them. I can see them going all the way."
Spurs face a familiar face next time out as Vertonghen's former boss Mauricio Pochettino returns to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with Chelsea on Monday.
Vertonghen's old club have won all four of their home league games under Postecoglou, with Manchester United and Liverpool among the teams to leave north London empty-handed in 2023-24.
Another victory would make Postecoglou the first coach to win his first five home games in the Premier League since May 2017, when Craig Shakespeare achieved the feat with Leicester City.
Jan Vertonghen believes Ajax have started to take steps towards a much-needed rebuild, though concedes things may get worse before they improve.
The 36-time Dutch champions have made an awful start to 2023-24, taking eight points from their first nine games of the Eredivisie season to sit 15th ahead of Sunday's meeting with Heerenveen.
Maurice Steijn left his role as head coach by mutual consent with the club mired in 17th place last week, just four months after he joined from Sparta Rotterdam on a three-year deal.
Hedwiges Maduro then took charge as Ajax made unwanted history against PSV last Sunday, suffering a fifth successive Eredivisie defeat for the first time in their history as they were routed 5-2.
Ajax responded by appointing former winger John van 't Schip as interim coach this week, and his first game in charge resulted in a 2-0 win over FC Volendam on Thursday.
New boss Van 't Schip represented the club for 11 years as a player between 1981 and 1992, before returning as Marco van Basten's assistant coach in 2008.
While Vertonghen – who began his career with Ajax before leaving for Tottenham in 2012 – knows his old club have a long road ahead of them, he believes they have the right structure in place to bounce back.
"It hurts. Obviously, [Ajax] can't win the league every year, but where they are now is not good," Vertonghen, an Athlete Partner for APEX, told Stats Perform.
"It was bad on every level, but sometimes you have to hit lows to get back up. I think they're getting the structure back right.
"Obviously, they've given a lot of power to someone who wasn't familiar with the culture at Ajax [Steijn]. In three or four months, a lot of damage was done.
"Where they are now doesn't reflect the quality of the squad at all. Bringing in 13 or 14 new players and a new coach, it takes time, and at Ajax you don't get that time. You need to perform. Being second is not good enough.
"They've got some people back at the club with Ajax in their heart, who want the best for Ajax. So, yeah, it will take a while, and hopefully they can get into Europe this year."
Vertonghen moved to his homeland to represent Anderlecht last September, but he endured a dismal first campaign with the 34-time Belgian champions, who finished 11th in the Pro League.
However, Anderlecht have bounced back under Brian Riemer this campaign, sitting second in the table ahead of back-to-back away games against title rivals Cercle Brugge and Gent.
Asked about Anderlecht's upturn, Vertonghen said: "Last year was a very, very bad and disappointing season, but we had a very good transfer window.
"We made great signings, people that didn't really fit in left, and we brought in some young guys and experienced players; Kasper Schmeichel, for example, guys who want to win.
"That's what we need. The atmosphere in the team is great. We have a very, very strong squad of 20 to 25 players. In Belgium, it works with a play-off system. If you get into the top six, you go through to the championship play-off, and that's our ambition: to be in that top six.
"Whoever's in the top six can be champions. It's important for all the teams who have the ambition to achieve the highest things to be in that top six.
"There are eight or nine teams fighting for that top six, and then we'll see. At the moment, we're second but still only a couple of points from seventh, so now we have two massive games.
"It's massive for us, two away games as well, so if you lose those two games, you can be seventh. That's how close it is, so we have to get at least four points out of those two games."
39-year-old Donald Thomas once again proved that age is just a number after securing bronze in the men’s high jump at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile on Friday.
The 2007 World Champion had a best clearance of 2.24m, the same height as silver medallist Luis Joel Castro of Puerto Rico.
Cuba’s Luis Enrique Zayas took gold with 2.27m.
Jamaica’s Lushane Wilson and Cristoff Bryan were seventh and 10th with best clearances of 2.21m and 2.15m, respectively.
Api Ratuniyarawa has appeared in court charged with sexual assault, hours before he was due to play for the Barbarians against Wales in Cardiff.
The 37-year-old Fiji international, from West Northamptonshire, had been due to be on the Barbarians bench for the match at the Principality Stadium, and Wales international Aaron Shingler was called up to replace him.
South Wales Police said: “Api Ratuniyarawa, 37, from West Northamptonshire, was due to appear at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court this morning charged with sexual assault by penetration and sexual assault by touching.”
Ratuniyarawa was released on bail to appear at Cardiff Crown Court on December 4.
Barbarians said in a statement: “As soon as we were contacted by South Wales Police we co-operated fully, assisting them with their enquiries.
“On their advice, we can’t comment any further as the investigation is ongoing.”
The charges against Ratuniyarawa were first reported by the BBC, and Wales Online said they related to alleged incidents at a Cardiff bar in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Ratuniyarawa played for London Irish last season, after signing from Northampton Saints.
The London Irish website said: “The Fijian lock forward arrived at Franklin’s Gardens from Agen in the 2016/17 season, spending the best part of five years with Saints before departing for the capital.
“Having made over 100 appearances for Northampton, Ratuniyarawa’s experience expands onto the international front after appearing in both the 2015 and 2019 Rugby World Cups for his native Fiji.
“A 10-years and 36 caps later, Ratuniyarawa’s international career began miles down the road from Irish’s headquarters in Sunbury when he took on England at the national stadium back in the 2012 autumn internationals.
“He brings with him accolades aplenty, both personal and as a team, attaining the ‘Breakthrough Player of the Year’ award at Northampton whilst also winning the first Premiership Rugby Cup.”
Bruno Fernandes fired home an injury-time winner to secure a much-needed victory for Manchester United at Fulham.
United came into the Craven Cottage clash under a cloud after the midweek Carabao Cup defeat at home to Newcastle.
They were quiet for long periods of the game but a moment of brilliance from skipper Fernandes, who came in for criticism from former United players after the Newcastle loss, gave manager Erik ten Hag a welcome three points.
Fernandes evaded attempts to close him down on the edge of the penalty area before placing his shot beyond Fulham keeper Bernd Leno.
United thought they had taken a 1-0 lead after eight minutes but VAR ruled out Scott McTominay’s effort for offside.
The Scot tapped in Alejandro Garnacho’s cut back but referee John Brooks overturned the goal after VAR ruled Harry Maguire had interfered with play from an offside position.
The decision was a wake-up call for the hosts who were looking to build on Wednesday’s last-16 3-1 Carabao Cup victory at Ipswich.
Craven Cottage was fired up and Willian dragged the Cottagers up the pitch with a slaloming run but his effort was blocked at the last moment.
The Brazilian was Fulham’s main creative outlet in the final third and in the 27th minute he produced a delightful cross, but, in keeping with Fulham’s season so far, no striker was there to finish at the back post.
Nigeria international Alex Iwobi marauded from his own half into United’s box but was wasteful in front of goal, failing to hit the target.
The hangover from United’s back-to-back 3-0 home defeats against Manchester City and Newcastle was clear to see as ten Hag’s side lacked intensity, with Fernandes’ skewed added time cross summing up their first-half efforts.
The visitors searched for a way into the game after halftime through Garnacho who enjoyed touches in promising areas before a dangerous cross was tipped over by Leno.
Momentum shifted in Fulham’s favour on the hour. Iwobi picked out Harry Wilson who tried from range with a powerful outside of the boot effort but he was denied by United keeper Andre Onana.
The Cottagers also came close from the following set-piece when last week’s goal scorer Joao Palhinha failed to keep his effort down as Onana made another save to maintain the deadlock.
The minutes ebbed away and substitutions from both sides sapped the games’ intensity before Fernandes’ free-kick in the 83rd minute gave United hope late on.
The Portuguese midfielder had not been heavily involved but showed what he is capable of when he struck a dipped free-kick towards Leno’s bottom corner and the Fulham keeper did well to prevent United edging in front.
But there was no denying Fernandes in added time. He combined with Rasmus Hojlund and jinked inside onto his preferred right foot before unleashing a powerful shot that proved too much for Leno, who could only palm it into his bottom corner.
Draymond Green congratulated the NBA on a "job well done" following the start of the league's inaugural in-season tournament.
The new competition started on Friday, with seven group-stage games played. The other pool games will be played on six other days across the month of November.
Green finished with 15 points as he helped the Golden State Warriors beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 141-139.
And the four-time NBA champion believes the tournament is a great idea.
"We talk about this in-season tournament and it's a playoff game," Green said.
"It was a fun game to play in. The intensity level was there.
"It's a job well done to the NBA, adding this type of excitement in November, because there'll be some dark days in November, but you get games like this, you can appreciate them. It was great."
The Warriors won in contentious circumstances, with Stephen Curry's layup with less than a second to go allowed to stand after a video review.
Meanwhile, Nikola Jokic starred for the Denver Nuggets, with 33 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists while shooting 14-for-16 from the field in a win over the Dallas Mavericks.
"What I marvel at is just the consistency," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said of Jokic.
"I mean, the guy is just great every night. He's just a great player. I just love how he impacts the game in every way, shape and form. It's really the definition of greatness."
Elsewhere, the Milwaukee Bucks beat the New York Knicks, the Indiana Pacers saw off the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat overcame the Washington Wizards.
There were also wins for the Brooklyn Nets and Portland Trail Blazers.
Celtic geared up for their midweek Champions League trip to Atletico Madrid by moving eight points clear at the top of the cinch Premiership with a 3-0 win at 10-man Ross County.
The hosts were up against it following an early red card for James Brown, but – inspired by a brilliant display from goalkeeper Ross Laidlaw – they stood firm until David Turnbull made the breakthrough for the Hoops in first-half stoppage time.
Second-half goals from substitutes Luis Palma and James Forrest allowed the leaders to see the match out in comfortable fashion ahead of their Tuesday night showdown with Atleti in the Spanish capital.
County – back at home following a run of three successive away draws – made three alterations to the side that drew 2-2 at Hibernian in midweek as Ben Purrington, Kyle Turner and Eamonn Brophy were replaced by George Harmon, Yan Dhanda and Jordan White.
Amid a hectic fixture schedule, Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers opted to freshen up his squad by making six changes to the side that defeated St Mirren 2-1 on Wednesday as Kyogo Furuhashi, Matt O’Riley, Alistair Johnson, Nat Phillips, Palma and Forrest dropped out to make way for Anthony Ralston, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Paulo Bernardo, Hyunjun Yang, Hyeongyu Oh and Daizen Maeda.
The Hoops had the ball in the net after five minutes when Liam Scales fired home from close range but it was swiftly ruled out after Oh was deemed to have pushed White in the build-up.
Celtic were the beneficiaries of a decision from the officials shortly afterwards, however, when Brown was sent off for catching Yang’s ankle with his studs while trying to halt the South Korean as he burst in from the left. The Staggies right-back was initially shown a yellow card but it was upgraded to a red following a VAR intervention.
County boss Malky Mackay, in a bid to bring fresh defensive reinforcement to his depleted team, responded by sending on Will Nightingale in place of striker White.
Despite being a man down, County competed manfully for the remainder of the first half although their goalkeeper was a busy man.
Laidlaw got down brilliantly to tip a 20-yard strike from Callum McGregor behind in the 21st minute. From the resulting corner, taken by Turnbull, Oh glanced his header over the bar.
Laidlaw made another fine save in the 28th minute when he clawed out a Scales header from Turnbull’s corner.
Celtic thought they had the breakthrough in the 31st minute when Oh forced in from close range following a Maeda cross from the right. However, after a VAR check, Maeda was deemed to have been offside as he ran on to a pass from Bernardo.
Laidlaw made an excellent point-blank save to keep out Bernardo in the 38th minute and the County keeper looked on course to end an inspired first half with what would have been a deserved clean sheet when he pushed away a Turnbull shot from just outside the box.
However, the Celtic midfielder eventually beat the defiant County keeper with another low strike from outside the box.
That late hammer blow might have been the signal for the floodgates to open early on in the second half but County and Laidlaw in particular continued to put up admirable resistance.
Five minutes after the restart, Oh was denied by Laidlaw from a tight angle before Bernardo curled a free-kick just over.
Laidlaw then made a superb double save to thwart substitute Furuhashi and Yang in quick succession, and his heroics continued as he threw himself high to his left to tip away a goalbound effort from Oh in the 77th minute.
But Laidlaw was helpless a minute later when substitute Palma looped a stunning strike from 30 yards into the top corner.
Palma then turned provider in the 84th minute as his cross from the left was nodded in at the back post by fellow replacement Forrest.
Laidlaw pulled off another double save in stoppage time to halt Furuhashi and Oh, but the damage was already done.
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