SOMETIMES, the scoreline doesn’t tell the full story. In the end, Celtic were clear and deserved winners against Hamilton, but their final tally flattered them and was harsh on Accies in equal measure.

That it wasn’t always pretty, and was often frustrating in the extreme for Celtic, will be neither here nor there for their manager Neil Lennon. What mattered was that his men eventually dug out the win that as required to twist the knife into Rangers and extend their lead at the top of the Premiership to seven points.

For so long, it looked as though the champions would follow their city rivals in spilling points, falling behind in the first half to a goal from the excellent Marios Ogkmpoe and then struggling to break down the valiant 10-man hosts after Odsonne Edouard had dragged them level. The free-kick that led to that equaliser had seen youngster Jamie Hamilton ordered off for the hosts.

Once they got the all-important second goal through Christopher Jullien, the roof fell in on the shattered Accies, with Edouard and James Forrest sticking the boot in.

You won’t hear anyone from Celtic saying that they have inflicted a fatal blow in the title fight just yet, but that they kept their foot on the throat of their staggering rivals felt like a big moment.

It was no surprise to see Celtic manager Lennon sticking with the 3-5-2 formation that worked so well in the devastating first-half showing at St Johnstone during the week, but it was maybe more of an eyebrow-raiser to see youngster Stephen Welsh handed his competitive debut on the right of the backline. Injuries afforded Welsh his opportunity, and he acquitted himself well.

Scott Brown made his 700th career appearance in the midfield, but it was a quiet afternoon for the Celtic skipper.

Hamilton, led from the dugout by assistant Guillaume Beuzelin as manager Brian Rice served the first match of his suspension for betting offences, lined up in a 4-3-2-1 formation that served them well as they stifled Celtic in the midfield and caused problems up top.

The first notable action though was a flashpoint between Griffiths and Sam Woods that had the home fans baying for the Celtic striker to be dismissed. The Celtic forward appeared to stand on his opponent when he was on the deck, with the only question being whether or not he could have avoided doing so. He followed that up by getting into a shoving match with Gogic, but the caution for both players that referee Nick Walsh produced was probably the right call.

The home side had a great opportunity when Kristoffer Ajer fluffed a header as he tried to clear an Aaron McGowan cross, the ball landing perfectly for Ogkmpoe to volley on target, but Fraser Forster made the block to keep Celtic level.

The hosts were gaining the upper hand though, and they wouldn’t be denied for long. A forceful run from Scott McMann down the left gave Accies a corner that was swung into the near post, where Ogkmpoe had run off Jullien to nod home.

It was no more than Accies deserved, and you couldn’t grudge the goalscorer his moment either, with Ogkmpoe giving the Celtic defence a torrid time from the off.

Celtic were handed a massive lifeline though just seven minutes later as a long ball from Jullien was chased by Griffiths, who was pulled down by Accies youngster Hamilton right on the edge of the area. Referee Walsh flashed the red card in his direction, and Edouard added insult to injury by curling home the subsequent free-kick into Luke Southwood’s top-left corner.

Accies survived until the break, but Griffiths should have put Celtic ahead early in the second half as he met Forrest’s cross on the volley, but the forward blazed well over.

Celtic started to up the pressure, and Griffiths rattled the bar from a free-kick before Ryan Christie made his first appearance since the winter break off the bench, though Hamilton gave their own statement of intent as the returning David Templeton followed him on soon after.

It was Christie who would make the telling impact though, haring down the left and firing a low ball across goal that was met brilliantly by Jullien – appearing from nowhere – with a deft sidefoot finish that beat Southwood and broke Hamilton’s brave resistance with 12 minutes remaining.

Another substitute would then play his part in killing the game stone dead a three minutes later, Tom Rogic exchanging passes with Edouard who slipped the ball under the keeper for Celtic’s third and his own 22nd goal of the season in all competitions.

They added a fourth in stoppage time, which was harsh on the Hamilton players who had simply run out of steam. Edouard turned provider this time, slipping the ball back to Forrest to finish high past Southwood from inside the area. Job done, and time will now tell if this weekend proves to be as significant as it felt.