Celtic trialist Andrea Capone boosted his chances of securing a long-term deal at Parkhead with a goal in a convincing 5-1 victory at QPR.
Capone's long-range effort opened the scoring for the visitors midway through
the first half at Loftus Road.
Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink atoned for an early penalty miss by claiming a
double and new signings Scott Brown and Scott McDonald also got on the
scoresheet, while Kieron St Aimie grabbed a consolation.
Capone, who is available on a free transfer from Cagliari, broke the deadlock
in the 22nd minute when his strike proved too strong for QPR keeper Jake Cole.
Cole had earlier pushed away Vennegoor of Hesselink's 10th-minute penalty but
let the Italian midfielder's shot spin in off his hand.
Capone, 26, caused problems when drifting in from wide positions and came
close with an ambitious chip just before his opening goal.
He also missed a good chance for the second after good work from McGeady, who
set up Brown to tuck home Celtic's second in the 39th minute.
The home side's best first-half effort came when Martin Rowlands struck a
free-kick just wide.
QPR striker Dexter Blackstock headed wide from six yards just after the break
and Massimo Donati soon missed a good chance at the other end.
Vennegoor of Hesselink then struck twice in quick succession, the first a
superb angled drive in the 54th minute after good work from Capone and the
impressive Brown.
The Dutchman pounced from close range two minutes later after John Kennedy saw
his strike blocked on the line following a corner.
St Aimie burst past Lee Naylor and found the bottom corner in the 65th minute,
soon after Celtic boss Gordon Strachan had made his first three substitutions.
One of them, McDonald, forced a great save from Cole before being set up for a
simple fifth after Kenny Miller had sprung the offside trap and crossed in the
73rd minute.
The game died down in the closing stages as both managers made a number of
changes.
Celtic boss Gordon Strachan was pleased with the second and final game of
their trip to the south of England following the 2-1 win over Peterborough on
Friday.
'It was a good performance,' he told
Sky Sports News.
'We played quite well at Peterborough the other night there and we had a good
training session yesterday, and a great work-out today.
'I think everybody enjoyed it. It was a fantastic crowd - a great following
again from our supporters - and everyone saw a lot of good football.'
Loftus Road boss John Gregory was impressed by the Scottish champions.
He said: 'We are gearing up for August 11 so today was just a training
exercise in many respects.
'But it was certainly a very difficult game to play in because of the quality
of the opposition.
'Celtic played outstandingly well.'
