Alloa Athletic 1-2 Celtic: Giakoumakis & Abada see off spirited League 1 hosts

Goals from Georgios Giakoumakis and Liel Abada earned Celtic a Scottish Cup last-16 place – but only after a late fright against League 1 Alloa Athletic.

Conor Sammon’s late header gave the part-timers hope as the visitors passed up a flurry of second-half chances.

But Barry Ferguson’s third-tier side were unable to force extra-time as Celtic saw the game out comfortably.

The League Cup holders will welcome Raith Rovers in the last 16 on weekend of 12/13 February.

The Premiership side’s wastefulness will be a cause for concern for boss Ange Postecoglou, who was dealt a blow as trio Callum McGregor, Yosuke Ideguchi and Abada all suffered injuries.

Captain McGregor was substituted following a first-half head knock, while Ideguchi and Abada were on the end of strong tackles.

“Abada and Yosuke [Ideguchi] should be okay,” Postecoglou said. “Cal [McGregor] is the one we’re most concerned about. It’s a facial injury; he’s not a great shape. It’s not going to be short-term, it looked quite significant.”

• Celtic to host Raith in last 16
• Reaction & as it happened

Celtic made their early dominance count when Liam Scales’ inch-perfect cross found Giakoumakis, who cushioned a fine finish into the roof of the net.

The opening goalscorer had the chance to double the lead moments later, but failed to scoop an effort on target when through on goal.

Celtic continued to probe as Daizen Maeda had a near-post effort turned behind, but Alloa did well to avoid passing up a host of chances even though Ferguson’s men were chasing shadows.

The League 1 side stuck in there, though, and very nearly got themselves back in the game when Sammon raced through and struck on the volley, only for Celtic keeper Joe Hart to make a big save.

The hosts were made to pay for that miss when Abada came off the right and guided in an excellent left-foot finish high into the far corner.

Abada maintained his level of threat before he had to be forced off, with Alloa keeper David Hutton clawing a dangerous cross from the 20-year-old off the line.

Hutton bettered that stop soon after, tipping a diving header from Maeda round his near post, while at the other end Sammon gave Hart no chance with a header of his own, glancing into the far corner.

That fuelled the part-time hosts with hope, who gave their all until the final minute when Alan Trouten’s eyes lit up on the edge of the area, but the 36-year-old fluffed his lines with the game’s last chance.

Alloa Athletic manager Barry Ferguson: “I’m delighted with the effort my players put in, I’m proud of the boys. The second goal killed us a wee bit.

“But I said at half-time to keep going and they certainly done that. We made a game of it. We nearly got there in the end, we just couldn’t get that wee bit of luck.”

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou: “Overall, it was OK. We got the job done, that’s the most important thing.

“We could’ve created more and been more clinical. The game got a bit scrappy second half. We made things more difficult than we needed to.”