Celtic have kept their title hopes alive with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over St Mirren, moving them into second place in the Scottish Premiership and within three points of leaders Hearts. The only goal of the game came in the 15th minute when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain fired home after a blocked shot from Callum McGregor. Despite dominating the early stages, Celtic struggled to extend their lead, with substitute Kelechi Iheanacho missing a golden opportunity to seal the win in the second half.
St Mirren, who had stunned Celtic with a 3-1 win in the Premier Sports Cup in December, were limited to just one shot on target and never looked likely to repeat that feat. The visitors' best chance fell to Jonah Ayunga, who fired wide after a mazy run into the box. Celtic manager Martin O'Neill admitted his side lacked energy, particularly in the second half, but was relieved to have secured the win.
'We won the game, which was the most important thing, but we lacked energy,' he said. 'Sometimes it happens, especially when you're chasing the title and playing catch-up all the time.' St Mirren boss Craig McLeish was disappointed his side couldn't take anything from the game, but took heart from their performance, especially in the second half. 'We're missing that little bit of creativity in the final third to create more chances from open play,' he said.