Celtic Edge Out St Mirren to Stay in Title Hunt

Celtic maintained the pressure on Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over St Mirren. The decisive goal came in the 15th minute courtesy of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, allowing Martin O'Neill's team to leapfrog Rangers into second place, just three points adrift of Hearts. Despite an initial burst of energy, Celtic's performance was somewhat lackluster, with Oxlade-Chamberlain's early strike, which came after an initial effort was ruled out for offside, proving to be the difference. St Mirren, meanwhile, managed only one shot on target, and Celtic's substitute Kelechi Iheanacho spurned a golden opportunity to seal the win when he poked wide from close range in the second half. The hosts ultimately ground out a narrow victory, marking the first meeting between these sides since St Mirren's surprise 3-1 win in the Premier Sports Cup final back in December. The win was also notable for the return of the Green Brigade to Celtic Park for the first time since November, who were in fine voice ahead of next week's Scottish Cup semi-final. After a frenetic opening period that saw Oxlade-Chamberlain have a goal disallowed for offside, Celtic eventually took the lead when Benjamin Nygren found Callum McGregor, whose shot was blocked by Alex Gogic, before Kieran Tierney picked out Oxlade-Chamberlain to fire home. St Mirren did threaten, with Jonah Ayunga firing wide and Miguel Freckleton having a shot saved by Viljami Sinisalo, but Celtic's advantage was nearly doubled when Tomas Cvancara slid in for Daizen Maeda's cut-back, only to collide with goalkeeper Shamal George. The second half was a more subdued affair, with Iheanacho missing the best chance to extend Celtic's lead at the near post from a low cross. As the match drew to a close, St Mirren's Jacob Devaney and Roland Idowu tried their luck from distance, but neither effort caused undue concern for Sinisalo. In the aftermath, Celtic manager Martin O'Neill expressed his relief at the win, but admitted his team lacked energy, particularly in the second half, while St Mirren boss Craig McLeish was left to ponder what might have been, citing a lack of creativity in the final third as the key factor in his side's defeat.