The Scottish Premiership saw Celtic clinch a convincing 3-0 win against St Mirren with the third goal credited to Irish international, Adam Idah. Reo Hatate, despite a string of injuries over the past year, managed to score his first goal after a quiet six months. The goal re-established Celtic’s dominance in the game as the team grew more confident after a rather dull first half.
Hatate has been combatting calf issues for some time now, but his performance in the match diffused any worries among the Celtic Park fans. Alongside Hatate, Kyogo Furuhashi and Idah’s goals helped Celtic to extend their lead to four points over Rangers, who have two pending games before the season split.
Celtic felt the absence of Daizen Maeda who was out with a strained hamstring. His dynamic play was missed in the sluggish first-half showing. In his stead, Yang Hyun-jun was given a start, despite his defensive shortcomings in the previous game against Rangers. Celtic players are also dealing with other injury concerns. Callum McGregor was benched due to an Achilles issue, and Maik Nawrocki filled in for the injured Liam Scales.
In Nawrocki’s first match after a seven-week hiatus, he had a lucky escape from a possible booking for a late challenge on Toyosi Olusanya. As the match progressed, the referee Steven McLean appeared to upset the visitors by awarding a free-kick as they were about to break on the counter.
Ryan Strain was subbed in for St Mirren to replace Elvis Bwomono, soon earning a booking for a foul on Yang. The South Korean winger had a tough game, with Celtic only managing a single shot at goal in the first half, a blocked effort from Matt O’Riley.
St Mirren’s Caolan Boyd-Munce displayed resilience and control in midfield, and Alex Gogic made impressive defensive breaks to initiate counterattacks. Despite a strong opening half from the visitors, with chances from Greg Kiltie, Strain and Olusanya, they were unable to capitalise.
Brendan Rodgers’ halftime talk seemed to invigorate the Celtic side as they came back noticeably stronger in the second half.
Furuhashi narrowly missed scoring with a header, even though it appeared as if his teammate, Cameron Carter-Vickers, would likely find the back of the net. However, Celtic didn’t have to wait long for their goal, which came in the 52nd minute.
A clever pass from Alistair Johnston found Hatate, the Japanese midfielder. After controlling the ball with a single touch, Hatate effortlessly sent it soaring into the upper corner of the net, from a distance of 16 yards, with the side of his boot.
Yang had a promising opportunity shortly afterwards, but he mistimed his kick. Nevertheless, Furuhashi extended Celtic’s lead at the 60-minute mark when he met Johnston’s cross with a header, netting the ball from six yards out.
Despite spirited attempts from Greg Taylor, Hatate, and off-the-bench player Luis Palma, St Mirren’s goalie, Zach Hemming, remained solid at the post. Celtic continued their relentless attack, meanwhile, St Mirren was battling their own demons with injuries forcing off Kiltie and Scott Tanser early on in the second half, causing the away team to falter.
Celtic capitalized on this moment, introducing substitutions in the 71st minute. McGregor was among the four new faces. Owing to Bwomono’s concussion, James Forrest was brought in as a sixth substitute.
Forrest nearly scored, and he also played a key role in an offensive manoeuvre which culminated in Idah successfully heading in a goal from point-blank range, at the 86-minute mark. Celtic’s superior numbers left the travelling side’s defence in knots.