Georgios Samaras has struck a rich vein of goals for Celtic this season and extended that last night with his third double of the campaign to emphatically sweep Livingston aside in an absorbing Cooperative Insurance Cup third round tie.

The Greece striker has shown a huge appetite for responsibility since converting last term’s loan deal from Manchester City into a permanent £2 million transfer and has repaid Gordon Strachan’s faith in his role in the starting lineup with nine goals. Samaras added to scoring contributions from Glenn Loovens and Scott Brown to secure Celtic’s passage.

Livingston had put up a fine display of resistance but Brown came off the bench to score a sublime third goal in 81 minutes, deftly chipping Roddy McKenzie, the goalkeeper, after a one-two with Samaras and the Greek then buried a penalty five minutes later after Shaun Maloney had been floored by Dave Mackay.

Any notions that Strachan would downgrade this competition and field a second-string side were swiftly dispelled. At Celtic, “fringe” players can encompass £7.5 million worth of recent acquisitions - Loovens, Andreas Hinkel and Massimo Donati - the top scorer from last season in 31-goal Scott McDonald and Scotland’s player of the year, Aiden McGeady.

All were eager to stake a claim after being jettisoned by the Celtic manager at Kilmarnock on Sunday, and McDonald might have made an impact after just eight minutes but dragged his shot wide.

Livingston’s resources are more modest but Roberto Landi had promised that they would show a sense of adventure at Celtic Park and the Irn-Bru Scottish League first division leaders certainly had no shortage of men pushing forward in the early stages, with Calum Elliot, on loan from Heart of Midlothian, and Rocco Quinn, loaned by Celtic, dovetailing well.

It is strange to think that both these clubs could claim equal footing when it comes to the League Cup, having both lifted the trophy on one occasion each in the last five campaigns, Livingston in 2004 and Celtic in 2006.

McGeady was proving to be the most influential cast member, cutting inside from the left in 17 minutes and spinning on the edge of the box to thread a pass to McDonald, whose quick release allowed Samaras to fashion a fierce shot that was beaten away by McKenzie.

McGeady’s hunger was evident when he robbed Mackay on the Livingston byline a few moments later and tried to set up Samaras, only for McKenzie to show great anticipation and cut out the threat.

The mounting pressure finally delivered a reward in the 23rd minute. Paul Caddis, being used in a right-side midfield role instead of his habitual full-back position, came up with a precise cross that was met by the head of Loovens and the towering Dutch centre-back planted a firm downward header past McKenzie from 12 yards for his first goal since joining from Cardiff City.

Celtic were keen to maintain their tempo and created two more chances just after the half-hour. Caddis profited from a clever pass by Samaras and raced clear, with just McKenzie to beat, but the goalkeeper kept his composure and blocked the shot. Then McDonald squandered another chance, shooting wide from just eight yards.

Livingston, though, refused to be cowed by all of this. A series of corners allowed Tony McParland to send an angled shot just wide and then Artur Boruc dropped another delivery under pressure from Murray Davidson before recovering the ball.

McGeady took that as a signal to crank up the pressure, mesmerising the visiting defence before setting up McDonald with the easiest chance but the striker headed straight at McKenzie from six yards. The Ireland player then initiated a 60-yard run and curled a right-foot effort narrowly wide from the edge of the box.

Celtic resumed with the same sense of purpose in the second half and Samaras came close to doubling their lead in the 49th minute when he was given space outside the box to club a thunderous shot which was again repelled by McKenzie’s fists.

Landi felt the need to freshen up Livingston’s threat and replaced Elliot with Jean Cuenca after 54 minutes, much to the annoyance of the Scotland Under21 player who stormed into the dugout. Soon, another of Livingston’s recent foreign recruits, Fernando Giarrizzo, came off the bench to augment the quest for an equaliser.

However, before that scenario could even emerge Celtic put the game out of reach of their opponents. The first division side escaped in the 62nd minute when Paul Hartley conjured up a free kick from 25 yards that arced over the wall and struck the bar.

The stay of execution lasted just 60 seconds. Another piece of trickery from McGeady was followed by tremendous vision to spot and find Loovens at the back post with a deep cross. The Dutchman eschewed a header and instead knocked the ball back across goal with his right boot and Samaras had the simple task of glancing the ball into the net.

McGeady almost had the place in a ferment when he skipped clear with 20 minutes left, leaving Mackay and James McPake in his wake and steering his finish beyond McKenzie, only to see it strike the inside of the post and stay out.