Match Pictures | Matches: 2024 – 2025
Trivia
- KO: 15:00, Sunday; Celtic PPV TV
- Hectic schedule ahead, with nine games this month.
- Celtic remain on top but stretch lead to 13pts/+27GD ahead of Sevco who dropped pts to Hibs in a 3-3 draw despite having been 2-0 ahead at one pt.
- General opinion online: The 3 biggest underperforming players in the side the other day v Sevco dropped (Kyogo, Hatate, Scales).
- Trusty scores his debut goal for Celtic, header from a corner.
- For a few seconds Celtic Park is plunged into almost complete darkness as the floodlights cut out! A few gasps from the crowd followed by an ironic cheer as the lights come back to life a few seconds later. All was due electrics issues in the area, and impacted those who paid up for this for PPV due to feeds cutting out.
- Celtic TV pictures haywire for many for the second-half like watching a ZX spectrum game! Broadcast for the second half was on off!
- Rodgers a bit critical of the support in the post-match interview on fans not being patient and getting on the back of players with missed passes. Don’t panic etc, he picks up on the fans moaning about slow backwards passing football when our goals came from fast moving passing football. He also criticises those who were singing Kieran Tierney’s name, saying it was disrespectful to Greg Taylor and praised Taylor for all the years he’s been at the club. Really stands by Taylor. However, it was only a minority singing for Tierney, and in fairness he’s a favoured son and it was NOT at any dig at Taylor. If anything Valle has more to be concerned about for gametime.
- Celtic recall Dane Murray from loan deal as Stephen Welsh implications (away on loan) become clear.
- Johnny Kenny, the second top scorer in this season’s Europa Conference League, returned to Celtic after his loan to Shamrock Rovers, but they want him back.
- Motherwell’s Lennon Miller broke his ankle in midweek match. Out for 6 to 8 weeks. Target for Celtic & various clubs down south.
- Reports: Talks for Tierney to return to Celtic said to be underway. Serie A side Genoa are joined by Olympiacos, Orlando City & Atlanta Utd in their interest for Palma. Rejected an offer from Internacional to sign Bernabei, with bid below the £3.75m paid for him in 2022. Amidst reports that Taylor was sought by Dinamo Zagreb, latest reports claim he wants to stay at Celtic despite return of Tierney expected.
- Ex-Celt Ben Doak reported £15m bid by Crystal Palace. Reported to have rejected 16m bid by Ipswich. Liverpool wish to retain him or pushing for higher fee.
- Darts: Luke Littler becomes youngest world darts champion at 17!
- Politics: A Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist has resigned from the Washington Post after the newspaper refused to publish a cartoon satirical of its billionaire owner Jeff Bezos. Ann Telnaes, a long-time Washington Post cartoonist, created a cartoon of Bezos and other tycoons kneeling before a statue of US President-elect Donald Trump. She said the paper’s refusal to run the cartoon was a “game changer” and described it as “dangerous for a free press”.
Summary
Joebloggscity of @TheCelticWiki: Fine bounce back today backed up by that Sevco dropped two pts in a 3-3 draw v Hibs away despite being two up at one point. Kuhn once again was the star many with two goals, whilst the returning Trusty scored with a header from a corner which will have been a filip for him. Taking in that St Mirren recently defeated Sevco, there was no room for error here, and despite taking time to get the first game Celtic were mostly on top and in control. Not the finest performance this season demonstrating that the players in general still looked jadded and still below par, but getting the points was crucial to help get all back onside after the shambles of the defeat by Sevco in midweek.
El Salto of KDS: Took a while to assert ourselves, but once first went in it was never in doubt.
We had gears to go up if needed
Like everyone else, didn’t see much of the second half, so won’t dwell on it too much
On to Wednesday, could be a tough game v Anti Football Dundee Utd if their tactics from Tannadice were anything to go by.
E-Tims @ETimsNet · 1h FT #Celtic 3 Paisley Saints 0 Thoroughly convincing win the Celts who go 13 points clear at the top of the league
Inside The SPFL @AgentScotland · 1h FT: Celtic 3-0 St Mirren Routine victory for the Champions as they stretch their lead at the top of the table to 13 points, Kühn with a deadly double either side of Austin Trusty’a first goal for the club, the type of match not many will remember, but the type that wins titles.
Everything Celtic @aboutceltic · Celtic have extended their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership to 13pts following our 3-0 victory vs St Mirren. A famous night at Ibrox saw Rangers claw it back to 11pts on Thursday but Celtic have bounced back.
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Teams
Celtic:
Manager: Brendan Rodgers
01 K. Schmeichel
03 G. Taylor
06 A. Trusty
20 C. Carter-Vickers
02 A. Johnston
27 A. Engels
42 C. McGregor (c), Captain
14 L. McCowan, subbed for R. Hatate at 70mins
38 D. Maeda, subbed for L. Palma at 83mins
09 A. Idah, subbed for K. Furuhashi at 83mins
10 N. Kühn, subbed for Yang Hyun-Jun at 71mins
Subs:
08 K. Furuhashi
28 Paulo Bernardo
41 R. Hatate
07 L. Palma
56 A. Ralston
05 L. Scales
12 V. Sinisalo
11 Álex Valle
13 Yang Hyun-Jun
Goals:
N. Kühn (33′, 68′)
A. Trusty (43′)
Assists:
D. Maeda (33′),
A. Engels (43′)
St. Mirren
Manager: Stephen Robinson
Formation: 3 – 5 – 1 – 1
77 Z. Hemming
05 R. Taylor
13 A. Gogić
22 M. Fraser 75′, Yellow Card at 75mins
03 S. Tanser, subbed for D. John at 84mins
06 M. O’Hara (c), Captain, subbed for O. Smyth at 62mins
15 C. Boyd-Munce, subbed for R. Idowu at 83mins
88 K. Phillips
42 E. Bwomono
11 G. Kiltie, subbed for O. Oseni at 62mins
20 T. Olusanya, subbed for J. Ayunga at 62mins
Subs:
07 J. Ayunga
04 A. Iacovitti
12 R. Idowu
24 D. John
09 M. Mandron
33 E. Mooney
19 O. Oseni
08 O. Smyth
27 P. Urminský
Referee Grant Irvine
Video Assistant Referee Andrew Dallas
Assistant Referee 1 Jonathan Bell
Assistant Referee 2 Graham McNeillie
Fourth Official Graham Grainger
Assistant VAR Official Gary Hilland
Att:
Articles
- Match Report (see below)
Pictures
Match Links
Stats
Overall possession
Celtic 75.3% St. Mirren 24.7%
Shots
Celtic 11 St. Mirren 6
Shots on target
Celtic 6 St. Mirren 1
Total touches inside the box
Celtic 31 St. Mirren 16
Goalkeeper saves
Celtic 1 St. Mirren 3
Fouls
Celtic 6 St. Mirren 8
Corners
Celtic 8 St. Mirren 3
Shots
Celtic 11 St. Mirren 6
Shots on target
Celtic 6 St. Mirren 1
Shots off target
Celtic 4 St. Mirren 1
Blocked shots
Celtic 1 St. Mirren 4
Attempts out of box
Celtic 2 St. Mirren 2
One-on-one attempts
Celtic 0 St. Mirren 1
Total offside
Celtic 3 St. Mirren 3
Total tackles
Celtic 13 St. Mirren 12
Won tackles
Celtic 9 St. Mirren 5
Fouls
Celtic 6 St. Mirren 8
Total yellow cards
Celtic 0 St. Mirren 1
Total clearances
Celtic 32 St. Mirren 24
Headed clearances
Celtic 19 St. Mirren 8
Duels won
Celtic 56 St. Mirren 38
Errors leading to shots
Celtic 1 St. Mirren 0
Total passes
Celtic 671 St. Mirren 214
Accurate passes
Celtic 595 St. Mirren 135
Backward passes
Celtic 117 St. Mirren 43
Forward passes
Celtic 194 St. Mirren 118
Total long balls
Celtic 42 St. Mirren 62
Successful final third passes
Celtic 126 St. Mirren 42
Total crosses
Celtic 24 St. Mirren 14
Touches
Celtic 859 St. Mirren 364
Touches in the box
Celtic 31 St. Mirren 16
Dispossessed
Celtic 7 St. Mirren 5
Goalkeeper saves
Celtic 1 St. Mirren 3
Saved shots from inside the box
Celtic 1 St. Mirren 2
Saved shots from outside the box
Celtic 0 St. Mirren 1
Keeper throws
Celtic 7 St. Mirren 2
Goal kicks
Celtic 4 St. Mirren 8
Punches
Celtic 1 St. Mirren 0
Articles
Celts get back to winning ways with 3-0 victory at Paradise
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2025/january/05/celts-get-back-to-winning-ways-with-3-0-victory/
First Team
By Matthew Campbell
Share
05 Jan 2025, 5:25 pm
Scottish Premiership
Sunday, January 5, 2025
Celtic Park, Glasgow
CELTIC…3
(Kuhn 33 & 68, Trusty 43)
ST MIRREN…0
The lights may have temporarily gone out in the East End of Glasgow this afternoon but the Celts lit up Paradise as they got back to winning ways with a 3-0 victory over St Mirren thanks to goals from Auston Trusty and a double from Nicolas Kuhn.
The champions started the match at a fierce pace, piling pressure on the visitors from the start and with less than two minutes played, Adam Idah almost opened the scoring when Arne Engels sent a good cross in to the box, but Idah’s header crept just wide of the post.
Celtic continued to hunt for the opener, winning a number of corners and sending some tempting balls in to the penalty area. The combination of Nicolas Kuhn and Alistair Johnston on the right wing caused all sorts of problems for the St Mirren defence, with the visitors unable to cope with the passing, pace and movement of the pair.
Dangerous crosses from Arne Engels were a theme throughout the first 45 minutes, and would, eventually, pay dividends for the Celts. And the Belgian was unlucky not to score direct from a corner just after the 20-minute mark, with Zac Hemming forced to tip Engels’ cross over the bar.
The Hoops were rewarded for their impressive start with just over half-an-hour played when Luke McCowan sent a perfect ball out to the left wing and in to the path of Daizen Maeda.
The Japanese winger had a look up, spotted Nicolas Kuhn in the box and fired the ball in towards the German’s feet. He made no mistake as he tucked the ball underneath Hemming and in to the back of the net to give the champions a deserved lead.
And 10 minutes later, the Celts’ advantage was doubled. This time, the crossing ability of Arne Engels shone through as he whipped a ball in from the corner which was met by Auston Trusty.
The American rose highest in the penalty area and thundered a header in to the back of the net, his first Celtic goal and a goal which gave the Hoops a firm grip on the match.
75%
Possession
25%
11
Shots
6
6
Shots On Target
1
8
Corners
3
6
Fouls
8
0
0
Cards
1
0
Within minutes of the second half starting, the power cut which affected the East End of Glasgow played its part in the match at Celtic Park, with Paradise being plunged in to darkness for a few seconds.
Thankfully, the lights came back on and the game was able to get back underway and played to a finish, albeit initially without the use of VAR, which had gone down as a result of the power outage.
The Hoops continued to press St Mirren, putting them under pressure as they hunted for a third goal. And when the third eventually came in the 68th minute, it was no surprise that it came from Nicolas Kuhn who put in an excellent performance this afternoon.
Engels looked like he might have a chance to finish from close range, but he opted to back-heel the ball towards the back post where Kuhn was waiting to poke the ball beyond Hemming, securing the three points for the champions.
Adam Idah thought that he had added a fourth goal a few minutes later when he turned in a rebound from his own shot which had rattled the crossbar, but the linesman flagged for offside, denying Idah what would have been a tidy finish.
Despite having very little to do all afternoon, Kasper Schmeichel produced a great save at the end of the game after Jonah Ayunga shot from close range.
The resounding victory gives the Celts a huge 13-point lead at the top of the table as Brendan Rodgers and his men prepare for the visit of Dundee United to Celtic Park on Wednesday night.
Celtic: Schmeichel, Alistair Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Trusty, Taylor, McCowan (Hatate 70′), McGregor, Engels, Kühn (Hyunjun Yang 71′), Idah (Kyogo 83′), Maeda (Palma 83′)
Subs: Scales, Palma, Kyogo, Valle, Sinisalo, Hyunjun Yang, Paulo Bernardo, Hatate, Ralston
St. Mirren: Hemming, Fraser, Gogic, Taylor, Bwomono, Phillips, Boyd-Munce (Idowu 83′), O’Hara (Smyth 62′), Tanser (John 84′), Kiltie (Oseni 62′), Olusanya (Ayunga 62′)
Subs: Iacovitti, Ayunga, Smyth, Mandron, Idowu, Oseni, John, Urminsky, Mooney
Why Celtic TV lost it’s signal vs St Mirren and its impact on VAR
Sun 5 January 2025 16:31
Patrick Sinat
Celtic had the opportunity to go 13 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership this afternoon after Ranger dropped points at Hibs.
Rangers’ bottle crashed after beating Celtic at the seventh attempt of asking as they went to Easter Road this afternoon and played out a 3-3 draw after going 2-0 up early doors.
That handed an advantage to Brendan Rodgers whose Celtic starting XI against the Buddies carried a number of changes as the Hoops manager sent a message to his players by making four changes to the team that lost the New Year derby.
The game was being televised live on Celtic TV and in the 50th minute, the screens on the club TV channel turned green as fans suffered at TV blackout.
Celtic Park power outage causes TV blackout and VAR problems
A power outage caused problems not only for Celtic TV but also on BBC Radio Scotland as the broadcasters lost the ability to provide coverage of the game.
BBC pitchside reporter Andy Burke said, “For a few seconds Celtic Park is plunged into almost complete darkness as the floodlights cut out!
“A few gasps from the crowd followed by an ironic cheer as the lights come back to life a few seconds later.
“Somebody tripping over the master plug, perhaps?”
Celtic TV fluttered back on and off and whilst the picture returned ten minutes later, it was pixelated with no match commentary.
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The picture went off again on the 60th minute and returned late on in the game.
Celtic Park blackout vs St Mirren and its impact on VAR
As the fans were left confused, the men in the VAR van got the rest of the afternoon off as the video referee was left out of action due to the power cut.
Auston Trusty of Celtic celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the William Hill Premiership match between Celtic FC and St. Mirren FC at …
Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
Although the electricity returned to Celtic Park, the VAR remained offline as both teams agreed to play on before the video referee resumed duties just before Adam Idah’s goal that was ruled offside.
Hopefully, the issue will be ironed out before the Dundee United game on Wednesday as Celtic look to solidify their position at the top of the table with another three Scottish Premiership points.
Celtic returned to winning ways on Sunday after the Ibrox horror show from midweek.
Brendan Rodgers made several changes to his XI, as Celtic beat St Mirren 3-0 and moved 13 points clear at the top of the Premiership table.
After Philippe Clement’s side were like a kid given too much fizzy drink on Thursday evening, Rangers were brought back down to earth after drawing 3-3 at Hibernian just hours earlier.
That opened the door for the Bhoys to resume service, winning again, alongside keeping a clean sheet and edging ever closer to confirming another title.
Nicolas Kuhn opened the scoring, before Auston Trusty, who returned to the XI, added to the scoresheet just before half-time.
Just after the hour mark, Kuhn continued his outstanding start to the campaign by adding his second and helping seal the points for Celtic.
Pat Bonner praises Nicolas Kuhn’s performance as Celtic beat St Mirren
What a season Kuhn is having. From being questioned last season to now probably being the first name on the teamsheet.
It’s great to see the German having such a great time and Pat Bonner is loving what he is seeing from the all-action winger.
BBC
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/c05pyq2e3m3t#Report
Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland at Celtic Park
Nicolas Kuhn added two goals to his impressive tally this season to help Celtic to victory over St Mirren as Brendan Rodgers’ side moved 13 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
Kuhn scored either side of the break to take his season’s total to 16, with an Auston Trusty headed goal sandwiched in between.
The champions bounced back from their first league defeat of the season against Rangers on Thursday to take advantage of their rivals latest slip up at Easter Road and increase their advantage at the top of the table.
St Mirren made life difficult for a spell, pressing Celtic and not giving up much by way of clear-cut chances.
That resistance was broken by a fabulous opening goal for the hosts.
Have your say on Celtic’s performance
Everything you need to know about St Mirren
Luke McCowan set Daizen Maeda free down the left flank with an excellent pass and the Japan international fed Kuhn to supply a typically clinical finish.
That seemed to dispirit the visitors and Celtic added a second before the break when Trusty headed home from an Arne Engels corner.
Kuhn almost scored one of the goals of the season after a scintillating counter attack launched by Kasper Schmeichel, but the German was denied by Zach Hemming in the St Mirren goal after great play from McCowan to tee him up.
Hemming, making his first start after returning on loan to the Paisley side, gifted the third goal moments later, getting in a muddle with his defenders and dropping the ball at the feet of Kuhn who made no mistake.
Adam Idah had a fourth goal ruled out for offside while Schmeichel preserved his clean sheet with a late save from Jonah Ayunga as the champions eased to victory.
Celtic bounce back from derby defeat
Rodgers asked for some perspective after the non-performance from his side at Ibrox, pointing out it was their first league defeat of the season after a 34-game unbeaten domestic run.
While it would be a stretch to say Celtic were back to their very best here, they did show enough quality to get the job done in relative comfort.
The first goal was well constructed and, once the champions made the breakthrough, they took firm control.
McCowan buzzed around the midfield, eager to get on the ball wherever possible and showed some real moments of class.
Alistair Johnston was a constant threat down the right, combining well with Kuhn and putting numerous dangerous balls into the St Mirren box.
Kuhn once again was the game-breaker and if he continues the type of form he has demonstrated in the first half of the campaign, the winger will be hard to ignore when the player of the year awards are being handed out.
St Mirren let early promise slip
For 32 minutes, Stephen Robinson would have been very pleased with how his side were implementing the tactical plan.
They were pressing Celtic and largely nullifying the hosts attacking threats, that was until Kuhn’s opener.
After that the confidence seemed to drain from the visitors and Robinson will be annoyed at the fashion in which his side conceded the second and third goals.
They never gave up the fight and that will be a crumb of comfort to the manager, but what he would give for a few more clean sheets.
They have managed only two in the league all season and will need to start finding more to maintain their spot in the top six.
What they said
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers: “It was a very good afternoon for us. We knew we were going to have to work really hard.
“The effort and the movement of the players, the quality that they showed was a really, really good level.
“The effort of the players, the movement of the players, the quality they showed was at a really good level. Overall I’m so pleased with the response.”
St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson: “I never felt like we were under any threat. I’ve been to Celtic and it’s like you’re defending constantly, they’re creating chances, your goalkeeper has to make 10-15 saves but none of that really happened today.
“The second goal, comes from a set play, and the third goal was a bit of a mix up.
“Zach Hemming didn’t have loads to do but ultimately Celtic wear you down and if you make those mistakes you don’t win here.”
Brendan Rodgers slams Celtic fans for ‘disrespectful’ Kieran Tierney chant and ‘getting onto the team’
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/latest-celtic-news/brendan-rodgers-slams-celtic-fans-for-disrespectful-kieran-tierney-chant-and-getting-onto-the-team-4930839
Matthew Elder
By Matthew Elder
Deputy Sports Editor
Comments
Published 5th Jan 2025, 18:51 GMT
Updated 5th Jan 2025, 19:00 GMT
Celtic manager angered by home support
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has hit out at his own supporters for getting on the team’s back and chanting Kieran Tierney’s name during the 3-0 home win over St Mirren.
A double from Nicolas Kuhn either side of a goal from Auston Trusty ensured Celtic got quickly back to winning ways after their 3-0 defeat by Rangers on Thursday as they extended their lead over their Old Firm rivals at the top of the William Hill Premiership to 13 points.
It was a routine win for the defending champions, however, Rodgers was clearly angered by grumblings among the Celtic Park crowd while the match remained goalles prior to Kuhn’s 33rd minute opener. He was also annoyed by the Tierney chant claiming it showed disrespect towards current Celtic left-back Greg Taylor, who disappeared straight up the tunnel at full-time.
Greg Taylor (left) celebrates with Auston Trusty after Celtic’s second goal in the 3-0 win over St Mirren.
Greg Taylor (left) celebrates with Auston Trusty after Celtic’s second goal in the 3-0 win over St Mirren. | SNS Group
Tierney is expected to complete a move back to Celtic from Arsenal in the January window while Taylor has entered the last six months of his contract after so far failing to agree a new deal.
Rodgers said: “A total lack of respect. Of course it is. Greg Taylor, he’s been absolutely amazing at this club. How does he feel?
“He nearly breaks his nose (today), bleeding for the club, for the cause. I’m more worried about the players that are here. It’s not very respectful to sing for another player, no matter what Kieran’s history is. I don’t like that.
“I have a young player who’s given so much to this club over a number of years, consistently. His robustness, ability, what he’s done for the club. So, that needs to be respected. He might decide to go elsewhere.
“But at this moment in time, he’s here, he’s very much a Celtic player and we want to support that. Hopefully we can get to some agreement to let him stay.
“I hear the stuff around, oh, maybe Champions League. But I’ve had hundreds of Celtic players that haven’t been good enough in the Champions League.
“What I know is this is a man who gives everything for this club. Hopefully we can keep him here because we’re trying to build a strong squad. I put myself in his shoes playing left-back in the game and we are singing the name of someone else.”
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers during the 3-0 win over St Mirren at Celtic Park. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers during the 3-0 win over St Mirren at Celtic Park. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group) | SNS Group
Rodgers did not hold back in his criticism of the crowd for their reaction to his players passing the ball backwards: “He said: “I have a big respect for this group of players, especially on a day like today, because when it was 0-0 for the first 20 minutes, we’d make a backward pass and the crowd would be on to the team.
“That cannot happen. One, if you know about football, and two, if you can understand that when teams come here, they’re going to make it really difficult. You can’t turn up every single week and be 3-0, 4-0 up in 20 minutes. Teams are well-organised, teams are well set-up, you have to work the game.
“So sometimes you have to play a backward pass to change the point of attack. We make a backward pass, and then they get on to the players, and that’s why I was proud of the players. I don’t need the cheers when it’s 3-0, and the support when it’s 3-0 or 4-0, or 5-0.
“You only need to look at the facts and how this team plays to know they’re an attacking team, a creative team that creates goals and scores goals. So when we decide to go back to change the point of attack, clap the players, don’t panic.
“And that was my annoyance today. We need the support when it’s 0-0. We want to attack. Look at our numbers, look at our stats. Trust the team. Trust the management.”