THERE is nothing particularly romantic about Airdrie on a bitterly cold Sunday afternoon in January with a steady drizzle falling from grey skies.

Yet, Albion Rovers warmly embraced their brief encounter with Celtic in the fourth round of the William Hill Scottish Cup yesterday and will have gladdened the hearts of their supporters with their gallant performance in a tie played at the home of their Lanarkshire rivals.

Celtic duly extended their unbeaten domestic run to 25 games – just one shy of the record set by the Lisbon Lions back in the 1966/67 season – and remained firmly on course for only the fourth treble in their 129-year history with what was ultimately a comfortable triumph.

But, boy, did Brendan Rodgers’ side have to work hard for their victory. It took them a full half-hour to wear down the stubborn resistance of Darren Young’s part-timers and open the scoring, and then until the closing stages to add two further goals and make sure of their progress.

Rovers could certainly be proud of themselves as they walked off the park at the end of the 90 minutes – to a rousing ovation from fans who had filled half of the main stand at the Excelsior Stadium – having contributed so much to a match which was broadcast live by Sky Sports.

Rovers failed to create much going forward and at no stage, even when the scoreline was delicately balanced at 0-0, did there appear to be a chance of an upset. But many top-flight clubs have failed to contain Celtic so effectively this season.

Young was disappointed with the way his team had performed in possession and in their defending at goals scored by Scott Sinclair, Moussa Dembele and Stuart Armstrong. But it was impossible for him to be overly critical.

“It’s been great for the club and for me,” said the Rovers manager. “It’s been great to go and pit my wits against a quality team like Celtic and a manager like Brendan Rodgers. For the players, it’s been a good experience. To see that quality up close gives them an idea of hard they need to work to get up to that level.”

There were rare first-team starts for Dedryck Boyata at centre-half, Cristian Gamboa at right-back and Nir Bitton in central midfield for Celtic. But the Belgian, Costa Rican and Israeli are all internationals so it was hardly a weakened team.

The return to action of Kieran Tierney – the left-back who made his first start since the Betfred Cup semi-final against Rangers at Hampden in October – certainly injected quality into the visiting side.

The Scotland international, who underwent both ankle and shoulder surgery during his time out, came through the outing unscathed and set up Sinclair for the opening goal. His return to action is hugely positive for both his club and his country.

Mikael Lustig, who last week signed a two-year contract extension, formed a new central defensive partnership with Boyata, and they were largely untroubled by their lower league opponents.

Albion striker Paul Willis tried his luck from long-range in the first minute of the match and managed to get his low shot on target. But it was a rare intrusion on Celtic’s goal.

Young opted to field a five-man back line, with a four-man midfield stationed not that far in front of them. And his ultra-defensive tactics had the desired affect for the opening half an hour.

Rodgers paced around the tech- nical area nervously as Celtic probed for an opening to no avail.

Bitton fired over from outside the penalty area, Armstrong had a shot tipped over the crossbar by Rovers goalkeeper Ross Stewart, Dembele headed a Lustig cross into the stand and Sinclair was denied from a few yards out.

Celtic finally made the breakthrough in the 30th minute. Tierney fed Sinclair on the edge of the Rovers box and the winger unleashed a high shot which arched over Stewart and into the top right corner of the net.

Jozo Simunovic took over from Lustig at the start of the second half, but Celtic continued to dominate. James Forrest, Armstrong, Boyata and Simunovic all had opportunities to add to their side’s tally.

Substitute Patrick Roberts was involved in Celtic’s second goal in the 77th minute. He sent Scott Brown racing into the box, the midfielder squared the ball to Dembele who prodded the ball into an inviting empty net.

It was the French striker’s 20th goal of the campaign and was one of the simplest he has scored.

Roberts then had a role in Armstrong’s strike in the final minute, with the on-loan winger weaving through the Rovers defence before cutting the ball back for his team-mate to drill high into the net.