Balde goal puts Bhoys six clear

Neil Lennon told Celtic fans to expect to see more of Amido Balde after the big striker came off the bench to score the clincher in the 2-1 Scottish Premiership victory over Partick Thistle at Firhill yesterday.

The 22-year-old, born in Guinea-Bissau but who has represented Portugal at under-20 level, has been consigned mostly to the bench since signing from Vitoria Guimaraes in the summer for a reported fee of around £1.7 million on a four-year deal.

And he wasn’t on the field 10 minutes when he netted on 75 minutes to leave the Hoops unbeaten in the league this season.

Celtic boss Neil Lennon said: “We know what we have got with Amido. He knows and we know that he is here for the long haul and we are going to try to polish off the rough edges that he has.

“We think he has got great attributes and we saw that today. He has been very patient. He understands where he is within the squad and he will be a good player for Celtic,” he added.

Elsewhere, St Johnson moved up to sixth thanks to a 2-0 win at home to fourth-placed Motherwell.

After a goalless first half, Stevie May converted from close range just after the interval.

Faroe Islands goalkeeper Gunnar Nielson then slipped trying to clear Simon Ramsden’s back-pass to allow Nigel Hasselbaink to curl into an unguarded net.

On Saturday Aberdeen climbed to second with a 2-0 win at Hibernian.

Late goals from substitutes Scott Vernon and Gregg Wylde gave them victory at Easter Road.

Kilmarnock striker Kris Boyd took his season’s tally to six goals by netting twice in the 2-0 home win over Hearts.

Dundee United returned to winning ways in style as they outclassed St Mirren 4-0 at Tannadice.

Nadir Ciftci’s first-half double put Jackie McNamara’s team in the driving seat before Ryan Gauld’s and substitute Chris Erskine netted in the second half.