Celtic Breakthrough Against St Johnstone; Rangers Struggle with St Mirren
For a long spell in Perth, it felt like Celtic might be made to sweat right to the whistle. St Johnstone dug in, bodies behind the ball, every clearance greeted with a roar of relief from the home support.
Callum McGregor tried to seize it himself. The Celtic captain, so often the man for the big moment, worked space on the edge of the box and let fly, but his strike lacked conviction and looped tamely into the gloves of Toby Steward. It summed up Celtic’s frustration to that point – plenty of possession, not enough incision.
The pressure kept building. Former St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson could sense it coming as he watched on for BBC Sportsound. He spoke of his old side needing to ride out a “little period” as Celtic began to turn the screw. They couldn’t.
The dam finally burst.
Celtic flooded the St Johnstone area, green and white shirts swarming the box. Haissem Hassan drove to the byline and drilled a low ball across goal. Kasper Hogh flung himself at it, desperate to make contact, but it was Mika Baur who arrived at exactly the right moment, guiding the ball home for his first Celtic goal.
As Pat Bonner noted on commentary, the difference was simple: numbers in the box. Baur just had to meet it cleanly, and he did. One sharp move, one decisive finish, and the resistance was broken.
Rangers Rocked by St Mirren Threat
Across the country, a very different story was unfolding. Ibrox started loud, the Rangers support trying to haul their team forward against a stubborn St Mirren side. The noise was there. The control wasn’t.
Every misplaced pass in the Rangers defensive third seemed to suck the air out of the place. The atmosphere flipped from backing to bristling in an instant, tension crackling around the stands as the home side flirted with trouble.
St Mirren nearly punished them in brutal fashion.
A superb move sliced Rangers open, one pass wiping out the entire back line. Fraser Taylor timed his third-man run perfectly and suddenly he was in, clean through, the whole goal to aim at. Former Rangers and St Mirren striker Rory Loy could hardly believe what he was seeing on BBC Sportsound – Taylor had to score, he insisted. Maybe, Loy suggested, the midfielder had too much time to think. Either way, it was a golden chance squandered.
The warning wasn’t heeded. Again Taylor burst clear, again the opening yawned in front of him. This time Ivor Pandur stood his ground, holding his line as Taylor advanced and making the crucial save. St Mirren will feel they won’t see a better opportunity all night. They might be right.
As the visitors grew in belief, the mood inside Ibrox darkened. Loy noted how much more comfortable St Mirren looked after the break, while the “rumblings” from the home support grew louder. With Kim and Curtis introduced, Rangers shuffled back into a 4-2-3-1 shape, searching for control and a spark that refused to come.
One end of the country watched a champion find a way through. The other watched a contender teeter, one misplaced pass away from disaster. How long can that tension hold before it breaks?
