2020-09-16: St Mirren 1-2 Celtic, SP

Match Pictures | Matches: 2021 – 2022

Trivia

KO: Wed, 7.45pm
Celtic go second 3pts behind Sevco, but Celtic have one game in hand. Celtic 1 goal behind in goal difference.
Rescheduled match due to Boli’s unauthorised Spain trip breaking COVID protocols in August.
Celtic went behind from a corner after 2mins. Lennon under attack again big time due to team rotation & tactics.
Duffy scores second goal in a row, in only his second match.
COVID:
- Now St Mirren confirmed that a second player had tested positive for COVID-19. Already dealt a blow in the form of goalie Jak Alnwick testing positive for the deadly disease.
- They thus fielded a weakened side; possibly game should have been further postponed.
- Rule of six Scotland: New coronavirus restrictions come into force; The number of people that can attend social gatherings has been slashed.
- Dundee United defender Mark Connolly has been charged with not acting in the best interests of football and breaching Covid-19 regulations. Reported he refused to wear a face covering when travelling in a taxi during a night out in Dundee last month. Not exactly Bolingoli!
Sky dropped this postponed match from tv schedules, and fans have to pay £12.50 to watch the match via St Mirren club stream.
Bryan Cooney, author of the classic George Connelly biography book, has sadly passed away after a long illness. RIP.
Snooker: Legendary player Stephen Hendry awarded invitational tour card for next two seasons. Returning after long-term retirement.
Reports: Ex-Celt Anthony Stokes departs Livingston – after only THREE weeks. No appearances after agreeing a one-year deal last month. Head of football operations says Stokes struggled to adapt to training on an Astro Turf surface.
Booker Prize: ‘Shuggie Bain: A Novel’ by Douglas Stuart (Glasgow born but now long-term resident in New York) nominated in the shortlist of six for Booker Prize with debut novel based on Working Class life in Glasgow. It mentions Celtic & the Huns in it (briefly).
Macclesfield Town FC has been wound up in the High Court over debts totalling more than £500,000. A club with a long history in non-league football, twice winning the FA Trophy, they were promoted to the English Football League for the first time in 1997. They spent 15 years in the EFL, even briefly playing in the third tier, before being relegated back into the National League in 2012.

Transfers:
- Boli Bolingoli: Istanbul Basaksehir signed him on loan; few will bemoan his loss.
- Report: Celtic reportedly keen on Preston defender Ben Davies as a possible replacement for Boli Bolingoli.

Summary

“It’s difficult because there are no supporters. I think it’s really difficult for them, especially at a big club like ours”.
Neil Lennon says he’s feeling the effects of empty stadiums.

“I stay in an area that doesn’t have much light pollution, so I get a great view of the moon. Tonight I was admiring it and suddenly out of nowhere Shane Duffy rose up and headered it home”

Ex-Celt Cillian Sheridan (twitter)

“This feels a bit like Ronny days, folk had to wait until we lost the Scottish Cup semi-final before they accepted the obvious.” (twitter)

“Neil Lennon the only guy who gets out a Europe and keeps the same team but when he pumps a team 5-0 makes 4 changes” (twitter)

“Neil Lennon i think for his own sake will leave Celtic at the end of the season even if he wins 10 in a row Its obvious a lot of our support don’t like him, the abuse he gets is disgusting at times and he can’t really win no matter what he does I feel sorry for him at times” (twitter)

(MLE of KDS)

We won, which is something to be happy with but there wasn’t a lot else positive in that last night. You could argue that scoring another goal from a set piece is a good example of Duffy’s worth and a positive step in terms of chance creation. You could also say that we clearly didn’t get near top gear but still managed to break down an incredibly defensive team away from home.

Those things aside it was an extremely stodgy game of football. They got their goal right at the beginning which meant that they didn’t need to do much else and were happy to defend in their own box (even after we’d taken the lead). McGrath looked decent for them but other than that there wasn’t anything to write home about.

Our team selection was bizarre considering who else was available. I don’t want to pile on but why take our most effective breaker of lines from the weekend in Frimpong and put him on the bench? Taylor had (as far as I can remember) only 3 occasions where he moved the ball forward without losing it. Appalling for someone in his position. Forrest as well had an almost pointless game where his header proved to be his only contribution.

I said after Saturday that you could clearly see where our attacking threat was coming from but last night that wasn’t apparent at all. It’s obviously hard breaking down a team like St. Mirren that were defending in such a way but come on to eff Celtic the pace of attack needs to be better. How many times were we breaking or had gotten in behind their first line of press to just dawdle on the ball and pass it backwards or sit and wait for them to get back into the defensive formation?

Our lack of speed in attack or unwillingness to play some form of direct passing made St. Mirren’s job so much easier than it should’ve been. If we move the ball into the danger areas and actually involve the 2 strikers together in an attack we end up with more opportunities. Real improvements are needed.

Teams

St Mirren

29Zlamal
22FraserBooked at 34mins
5McCarthy
4Shaughnessy
2TaitBooked at 86mins
25ErhahonBooked at 82mins
19Morias Substituted forObikaat 79’minutes
17McGrath
16Foley Substituted forDurmusat 89’minutes
21Connolly Substituted forMcAllisterat 64’minutes
23Erwin

Substitutes

6Sheron
9Obika
10McAllister
11Durmus
14MacPherson
27Urminsky
33Jamieson

Goals

Erwin (3′ minutes)

Celtic

1Barkas
44Elhamed
4Duffy
35Ajer
49Forrest Substituted forFrimpongat 80’minutes
17Christie
8BrownBooked at 45mins
42McGregor
3Taylor
11Klimala Substituted forAjetiat 66’minutes
22Edouard Substituted forNtchamat 80’minutes

Substitutes

2Jullien
6Bitton
10Ajeti
12Soro
14Turnbull
21Ntcham
27Elyounoussi
29Bain
30Frimpong

Referee:

Goals:

Duffy (21′ minutes),
Forrest (36′ minutes)

Ref: John Beaton

Att: None (COVID)

Articles

Match Report (see below)

Pictures

Match Pictures

Match Links

Stats

Home TeamSt MirrenAway TeamCeltic

Possession

Home23%

Away77%

Shots

Home8

Away17

Shots on Target

Home2

Away9

Corners

Home4

Away3

Fouls

Home13

Away11

Articles

St Mirren 1 – 2 Celtic: Workmanlike win for Neil Lennon’s men

James Forrest supplies winner but 10-in-a-row chasing champions are far from impressive

By Andrew Smith

Wednesday, 16th September 2020, 10:30 pm

Celtic’s Shane Duffy scores to make it 1-1 against St Mirren. Picture: Craig Williamson/SNS Group

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/st-mirren-1-2-celtic-workmanlike-win-neil-lennons-men-2974428

It is only a matter of weeks since the threat of falling 11 points behind Rangers was being presented as a very real one for Celtic in this 10-in-a-row chasing season. The 2-1 win they were required to dig-out against an obdurate St Mirren last night now means that, if Neil Lennon’s men beat Livingston at home on Saturday, they will go top of the Premiership table – for at least 24 hours.

That will be the hot takeaway from a match in which the Scottish champions were largely tepid. Lennon will be relieved his team were able to recover from the loss of a goal in the opening minutes. He will take hearts from a second goal in as many games from Shane Duffy putting them on their way, before a rare, ripper of a header from James Forrest allowed them to seal the points.

Celtic: Get the latest team news, match previews and reports

Yet, there was no disguising that Celtic were far from impressive, even if they would have won more comfortably but for on-loan Hearts man Bobby Zlamal – the man St Mirren sent out the SOS call to in the midst of their Covid-19 keeper crisis – hadn’t saved a penalty from Odsonne Edouard, and made several other fine blocks.

The trust that Lennon has been expressing in the depth of his squad was reflected in some surprise changes to his starting line -up in Paisley. The volume of games ahead for the Scottish champions rather than early glitches in the performance that garnered a 5-0 win against Ross County were no doubt at play.

Still, it was unexpected to see Patryck Klimala replace the goal-every-30-minutes Albian Ajeti. Similarly with Hatem Elhamed being drafted into a three-man central defence .

The Celtic manager might quickly have been wondering about the wisdom of his recasting – which also included Greg Taylor and Ryan Christie earning starts – while his counterpart Jim Goodwin patted himself on the back over his notable selection.

Lee Erwin must have been chuffed at earning a first start for his new club in the stead of the club’s main goal source, Jonathan Obika. Within three minutes, he justified his selection with the assistance of slapdash defending from the visitors. Both Duffy and Kristoffer Ajer seemed to mistime their jumps as a Jamie McGrath corner from the left was flicked on by Joe Shaughnessy. It dropped to Erwin at the back post but, despite the striker struggling to get a good contact on the ball, he still had time to bundle it past Vasilis Barkas.

Celtic looked rattled by that shambolic moment, with Duffy left vigorously shaking his head over his part in it. It proved a different shake of that bonce that altered the complexion of an encounter following a period wherein the Scottish champions struggled to turn their nine-tenths possession into penetration. Their movement of the ball from side-to-side was matched by their opponents’ shape-shfiting to prevent Lennon’s side playing through them.

Goodwin will curse then then that their good work was undone by a set piece. Yet, it wasn’t any old set-piece. The whip and dip that Christie applied to his free-kick from wide on the right meant that Duffy was only required to stoop to guide it into the far corner of the net.

Gary Been’s claim that the Republic of Ireland captain had put his international career under threat by leaving Brighton for the backwater of Scottish football might have been unfair, but the former Irish midfielder might have been on to something when suggesting the loanee could reach double figures for goals.

Across his first two, scoring, displays the understandably rusty 28-year-old has impressed more in that department than in his primary role, it must be said.

St Mirren rarely tested the Celtic backline following the 21st -minute equalier and there was an inevitability about the visitors adding a second. If not the circumstances. Christie’s delivery was again central with a ball worked to him on the left resulting in him curling in a cross with pace. James Forrest contorted his body to meet it and sent a monstrous header flying high past the helpless Zlamal.

The period ended with St Mirren going berserk over penalty appeals for a handball. There was an expectation the second half would see Celtic going to town, but St Mirren were able to hang in as Lennon’s side never quite got into their stride.

Never was that truer than when they were awarded a spot-kick 17 minutes frm normal time when McGrath needlessly shoved Christie over at the byline. Odsonne Edouard’s stuttering run-up might have worked for him on Saturday but he seemed more distracted by the slo-mo approach than the man he had to beat, Zlamal guessing right to push away down to his right.

In ensuring Celtic retained only a one-goal advantage, the stop allowed St Mirren to give Celtic a few nervous moments in the closing stages, but that proved all.

BBC

By Martin WattBBC Scotland

From <https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53655368>

The absence of fans is having a “detrimental effect” on Celtic, said manager Neil Lennon after his side’s Scottish Premiership win at St Mirren.

Celtic closed to within three points of leaders Rangers thanks to headers from Shane Duffy and James Forrest after Lee Erwin’s early opener.

Odsonne Edouard’s penalty miss denied the visitors a more comfortable win.

With games held behind closed doors due to Covid-19, Lennon says the lack of atmosphere is “really difficult”.

Reaction & as it happened

Who was your man of the match?

The Celtic boss added: “When you’re piling on the pressure, you get this intensity and roar from the crowd, which is what we’re all missing.

“You get a head of steam up in a game and normally you get the atmosphere crackling. It gives the players a lift and there is none of that at the minute.

“Subconsciously that is a big miss for them, especially at a big club like ours.”

Lennon’s side overtake Hibernian in second on goal difference and have a game in hand on Rangers, while St Mirren remain seventh.

Celtic were rarely troubled after repairing the damage of their sloppy start, but it was far from a vintage performance.

St Mirren’s emergency loan signing Zdenek Zlamal, in his second appearance for the Paisley club, excelled with several fine saves.

Few gave Jim Goodwin’s men a hope of beating Celtic for the first time in 10 years, but they stunned the champions three minutes in. Jamie McGrath swung in a corner, Joe Shaughnessy glanced it on, and Erwin scrambled home.

But two goals in a 15-minute spell – both crafted by Ryan Christie – turned the game.

Duffy’s aerial prowess is hardly a secret weapon, yet the Ireland centre-back was left unmarked to plant a header beyond Zlamal from an inswinging free-kick for his second goal in as many games.

Christie’s next assist was superb, and matched by the quality of finish, as Forrest met the midfielder’s deep cross from the left with an unstoppable header.

St Mirren had a penalty shout ignored when a free-kick struck Duffy’s arm, and Erwin sent a dipping second-half drive narrowly over the bar.

And although Celtic were dominant, they couldn’t find the comfort of a third goal. Edouard should have provided it after Christie was felled by McGrath, but his spot-kick was too close to Zlamal, who got down smartly.

Man of the match – Ryan Christie

What did we learn?

This was Patryk Klimala’s big chance to impress for Celtic, but he failed to do so. The Polish striker, who scored as a substitute at the weekend, made his first start of the season but was largely anonymous before being replaced after 66 minutes.

His lack of striking impact was in stark contrast to on-loan Brighton centre-back Duffy, who followed up his debut goal with another key header. Duffy is already integral to Lennon’s team.

If this was Zlamal’s last appearance for St Mirren, he can return to Hearts with his head held high. The 34-year-old could have buckled after his baptism of fire against Hibs, having signed just hours before Saturday’s 3-0 defeat, but was in inspired form and kept his side in the game.

What did they say?

‘It definitely hits Duffy’s left arm’ – Goodwin says St Mirren should have had penalty

St Mirren manager Jim Goodwin: “We spoke about the importance of not giving cheap free-kicks away. From our point of view it’s two very avoidable goals.

“The one in the first half is a penalty. I don’t think Shane Duffy deliberately handballs it, but he loses the flight and it hits his left arm, stopping it landing to Richard Tait.”

Celtic manager Neil Lennon: “We had a poor start but our reaction was excellent, we played with real intensity and thoroughly deserved to go into half-time with the lead.

“Overall I’m delighted. We’ve closed the gap, it’s a great win, and we’ve made use of the extra game.”

Lennon ‘delighted’ as Celtic cut gap at top

What’s next?

Celtic can go top – for 24 hours at least – with victory at home to Livingston on Saturday, while St Mirren seek to end a three-game losing run when they head to Dundee United

Match ends, St. Mirren 1, Celtic 2.

90’+2′

Full Time

Second Half ends, St. Mirren 1, Celtic 2.

90’+1′

Post update

Foul by Albian Ajeti (Celtic).

90’+1′

Post update

Joe Shaughnessy (St. Mirren) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

90’+1′

Post update

Attempt saved. Ryan Christie (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Albian Ajeti.

90′

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Hatem Elhamed (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

90′

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Foul by Lee Erwin (St. Mirren).

89′

Substitution

Substitution, St. Mirren. Ilkay Durmus replaces Sam Foley.

89′

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Foul by Scott Brown (Celtic).

89′

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Marcus Fraser (St. Mirren) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

88′

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Albian Ajeti (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

88′

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Foul by Sam Foley (St. Mirren).

88′

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Attempt blocked. Jamie McGrath (St. Mirren) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.

86′

Booking

Richard Tait (St. Mirren) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

86′

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Jeremie Frimpong (Celtic) wins a free kick on the right wing.

86′

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Foul by Richard Tait (St. Mirren).

85′

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Jeremie Frimpong (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

85′

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Foul by Kyle McAllister (St. Mirren).

85′

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Attempt blocked. Sam Foley (St. Mirren) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.

84′

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Foul by Ryan Christie (Celtic).

84′

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Jamie McGrath (St. Mirren) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

83′

Post update

Attempt saved. Olivier Ntcham (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Ryan Christie.

82′

Booking

Ethan Erhahon (St. Mirren) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

82′

Post update

Ryan Christie (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

82′

Post update

Foul by Ethan Erhahon (St. Mirren).

81′

Post update

Attempt saved. Jonathan Obika (St. Mirren) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Lee Erwin.

80′

Substitution

Substitution, Celtic. Jeremie Frimpong replaces James Forrest.

80′

Substitution

Substitution, Celtic. Olivier Ntcham replaces Odsonne Edouard.

79′

Substitution

Substitution, St. Mirren. Jonathan Obika replaces Junior Morias.

75′

Post update

Penalty saved! Odsonne Edouard (Celtic) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity, right footed shot saved in the centre of the goal.

74′

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Penalty Celtic. Ryan Christie draws a foul in the penalty area.

74′

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Penalty conceded by Jamie McGrath (St. Mirren) after a foul in the penalty area.

70′

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Scott Brown (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

70′

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Foul by Lee Erwin (St. Mirren).

66′

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Attempt missed. Jamie McGrath (St. Mirren) right footed shot from the right side of the box is too high. Assisted by Junior Morias with a headed pass.

66′

Substitution

Substitution, Celtic. Albian Ajeti replaces Patryk Klimala.

65′

Post update

Corner, St. Mirren. Conceded by Callum McGregor.

64′

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Corner, St. Mirren. Conceded by Greg Taylor.

64′

Substitution

Substitution, St. Mirren. Kyle McAllister replaces Dylan Connolly.

62′

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Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Joe Shaughnessy.

59′

Post update

Attempt missed. Lee Erwin (St. Mirren) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Jamie McGrath.

59′

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Attempt missed. Scott Brown (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Callum McGregor.

56′

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Ryan Christie (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

56′

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Foul by Richard Tait (St. Mirren).

55′

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Foul by Hatem Elhamed (Celtic).

55′

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Dylan Connolly (St. Mirren) wins a free kick on the left wing.

53′

Post update

Attempt saved. Ryan Christie (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Hatem Elhamed.

52′

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Foul by Scott Brown (Celtic).

52′

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Jamie McGrath (St. Mirren) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

49′

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Attempt missed. Patryk Klimala (Celtic) header from the left side of the box is too high. Assisted by Ryan Christie with a cross following a corner.

49′

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Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Zdenek Zlamal.

49′

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Attempt saved. Odsonne Edouard (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.

49′

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Odsonne Edouard (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

49′

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Foul by Jamie McGrath (St. Mirren).

47′

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Foul by Shane Duffy (Celtic).

47′

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Lee Erwin (St. Mirren) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

46′

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Attempt missed. Callum McGregor (Celtic) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Greg Taylor with a cross.

Second Half

Second Half begins St. Mirren 1, Celtic 2.

45’+1′

Half Time

First Half ends, St. Mirren 1, Celtic 2.

45′

Booking

Scott Brown (Celtic) is shown the yellow card.

45′

Post update

Foul by Scott Brown (Celtic).

45′

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Junior Morias (St. Mirren) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

44′

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Attempt missed. Patryk Klimala (Celtic) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Ryan Christie with a cross.

40′

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Foul by Hatem Elhamed (Celtic).

40′

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Dylan Connolly (St. Mirren) wins a free kick on the left wing.

40′

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Attempt missed. Conor McCarthy (St. Mirren) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Jamie McGrath with a cross following a corner.

40′

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Corner, St. Mirren. Conceded by Callum McGregor.

39′

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Kristoffer Ajer (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

39′

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Foul by Junior Morias (St. Mirren).

38′

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Foul by Scott Brown (Celtic).

38′

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Lee Erwin (St. Mirren) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

37′

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Foul by Odsonne Edouard (Celtic).

37′

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Ethan Erhahon (St. Mirren) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

36′

Goal!

Goal! St. Mirren 1, Celtic 2. James Forrest (Celtic) header from the centre of the box to the top left corner. Assisted by Ryan Christie with a cross.

35′

Post update

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Zdenek Zlamal.

35′

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Attempt saved. Odsonne Edouard (Celtic) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Ryan Christie.

34′

Booking

Marcus Fraser (St. Mirren) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

34′

Post update

Scott Brown (Celtic) wins a free kick on the left wing.

34′

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Foul by Marcus Fraser (St. Mirren).

32′

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Attempt missed. Shane Duffy (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Hatem Elhamed.

31′

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Kristoffer Ajer (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

31′

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Foul by Lee Erwin (St. Mirren).

27′

Post update

Attempt saved. Callum McGregor (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Scott Brown.

21′

Goal!

Goal! St. Mirren 1, Celtic 1. Shane Duffy (Celtic) header from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Ryan Christie with a cross following a set piece situation.

21′

Post update

Callum McGregor (Celtic) wins a free kick on the right wing.

21′

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Foul by Sam Foley (St. Mirren).

19′

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Attempt missed. Odsonne Edouard (Celtic) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by James Forrest with a cross.

15′

Post update

Attempt missed. Patryk Klimala (Celtic) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Callum McGregor with a cross.

7′

Post update

Foul by Ryan Christie (Celtic).

7′

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Sam Foley (St. Mirren) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

4′

Post update

Offside, St. Mirren. Sam Foley tries a through ball, but Dylan Connolly is caught offside.

3′

Goal!

Goal! St. Mirren 1, Celtic 0. Lee Erwin (St. Mirren) right footed shot from very close range to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Joe Shaughnessy following a corner.

3′

Post update

Attempt missed. Joe Shaughnessy (St. Mirren) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Jamie McGrath with a cross following a corner.

2′

Post update

Corner, St. Mirren. Conceded by Greg Taylor.

2′

Post update

Attempt missed. Kristoffer Ajer (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right.

Kick Off

First Half begins.

Posted at 22:20 16 Sep22:20 16 Sep

Post update

Lineups are announced and players are warming up.