Bobo Balde's expected return from suspension did not happen; the big defender is suffering from an illness and Joos Valgaeren kept his place in the Celtic defence. Aiden McGeady started in midfield and John Hartson partnered Chris Sutton up-front.
Celtic had around 7,000 supporters in the ground but there were still plenty of empty seats in the away sections. Many fans have been grumbling about a lack of tickets for away games, but today was a chance to take up a large allocation. Despite it being one of the the warmest days of the summer, and being the first away game of the season, there were still too many absences. There are no excuses for these people when they moan about not getting tickets for Ibrox, Tynecastle and cup games.
On the field, The Bhoys started off in a shabby fashion. The defence looked as though they had never met each other before, and were badly missing Balde. Killie missed no less than three good opportunites to open the scoring in the early stages of the game, and on 13 minutes, they did. Stevie Murray was the goalscorer, unbelievably out-jumping the massive Celtic defence. This should not be happening.
John Hartson has come in for alot of criticism recently, many suggesting he is too and immobile. But the big Welshman latched onto Jackie McNamara's through ball a minute after Kilmarnock's opener, to slide the ball into the far corner of the net. It was a top finish from the Celtic striker.
Many will blame young goalkeeper David Marshall for Killie's second goal. Despite doing well to stop the initial shot, he failed to hold onto the ball, and Gary Wales put the home side into the lead.
The goal seemed to waken Celtic, and it was clear we needed a victory today to keep our place on top of the league.
Nine minutes later, a lovely move including Aiden McGeady and Chris Sutton resulted in Alan Thompson rounding Killie's goalkeeper and slotting the ball home.
Celtic's Championship class was beginning to show and on 42 minutes, the game, as a contest, was over. Killie's Derek Lilley blatantly handled the ball just outside the Killie area, denying Celtic a goalscoring chance. A straight red card was shown, and from the resulting free-kick, Alan Thompson scored his second and Celtic's third.
There was never going to be a way back for Kilmarnock but the Ayrshire side continued to fight. They will do well this season against the rest of the league, if they keep up today's spirit.
John Hartson scored his second on 71 minutes. Alan Thompson was once again involved, swinging the ball in for Hartson to head home.
Henri Camara came on as a late substitute and to me, looks the part. He will have a big say in Celtic's season.
So, three points and four goals away at Killie. Not too bad considering we lost two goals, the absence of Bobo Balde was a deciding factor and we hope he gets well soon.
Next up are Inverness away at Pittodrie, a week tomorrow.
Celtic:
Marshall - 7
Valgaeren - 7
Varga - 8
McNamara - 8 (Laursen - 6)
Agathe - 6
McGeady - 7 (Beattie - 5)
Thompson - 9
Lennon - 8
Petrov - 9 (Camara - 7)
Hartson - 8
Sutton - 8
Celtic-Mad Man of the Match: Alan Thompson
Celtic-Mad Moment To Remember: Mocking Killie's shitey music when we scored.
Celtic-Mad Moment To Forget: The sloppy defending which led to Killie's goals.