Celtic Edge Past St Mirren to Maintain Pressure on Leaders Hearts

Celtic have kept their title hopes alive with a narrow 1-0 victory over St Mirren, moving them above Rangers into second place and within three points of Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts. The decisive moment came in the 15th minute when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored the only goal of the game, following an earlier effort that was ruled out for offside. Despite a strong start, Celtic failed to impress and were unable to extend their lead, with substitute Kelechi Iheanacho missing a golden opportunity to wrap up the win. 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 Green Brigade, back in Celtic Park for the first time since November, were in fine voice as their team prepared for next week's Scottish Cup semi-final. After a period of relentless pressure, Celtic thought they had taken the lead when Callum McGregor's shot was parried and Oxlade-Chamberlain buried the rebound, only for the offside flag to deny them. St Mirren's best chance fell to Jonah Ayunga, who fired wide after a mazy run into the box, while Miguel Freckleton had a shot saved by Viljami Sinisalo. Celtic took the lead when Benjamin Nygren found McGregor, whose shot was blocked by Alex Gogic, and Kieran Tierney picked out Oxlade-Chamberlain to score. Tomas Cvancara nearly doubled the lead but collided with goalkeeper Shamal George, who was replaced by Ryan Mullen after receiving treatment. The second half was a midfield battle with few chances created, although Iheanacho missed a good opportunity at the near post. St Mirren's Jacob Devaney tried his luck from distance, but it was not a problem for Sinisalo, who also saved a low effort from Roland Idowu. Celtic manager Martin O'Neill expressed concerns over his team's energy levels, saying: "We won the game which was the most important thing but we lacked energy. Second half, we surrendered possession quite easily and we allowed St Mirren strong phases of the game. They played very well." St Mirren boss Craig McLeish was disappointed with the result, saying: "We're missing that little bit in the final third, a little bit of creativity, a spark, to create some more chances from open play. I have to remember where we're at and who we were playing because it's such a difficult place to come and pick up points."