Celtic Thrash St Mirren in Extra Time to Secure Scottish Cup Final Spot

Celtic will face off against their former captain Neil Lennon's Dunfermline Athletic in the Scottish Cup final after a thrilling 6-2 victory over St Mirren in the semi-finals. The Hoops took an early 2-0 lead through goals from Daizen Maeda and Anthony Ralston, but St Mirren staged a remarkable comeback, with Mikael Mandron scoring twice, including a dramatic equalizer in the 91st minute to send the match into extra time. However, Celtic regained their composure in extra time, with substitute Kelechi Iheanacho scoring a brace, while Luke McCowan and Benjamin Nygren also found the net to seal a convincing win. The victory sets up an emotional final between Celtic manager Martin O'Neill and his former captain Lennon, with the two set to meet at Hampden Park on May 23. The match got off to a disastrous start for St Mirren, with backup goalkeeper Ryan Mullen gifting Celtic the opening goal inside the first minute. Mullen's error was compounded when he was forced off with an injury, making way for 17-year-old Grant Tamosevicius to make his senior debut. At the other end, Celtic's Viljami Sinisalo produced an excellent stop to deny Liam Donnelly's powerful header, before Tamosevicius made a smart save to deny Maeda. However, Ralston eventually beat the young goalkeeper on the stroke of half-time to give Celtic a 2-0 lead. St Mirren reduced the deficit eight minutes after the restart, with Mandron heading in Declan John's chipped cross. Celtic temporarily regained control, but St Mirren launched a barrage of attacks in the final 15 minutes, with Sinisalo pulling off an excellent double save in the 87th minute. However, Mandron's second goal in stoppage-time sent the tie to extra-time. Parity was short-lived, as substitute Iheanacho headed in James Forrest's cross six minutes into extra-time, before Luke McCowan calmly rolled in another two minutes later. Iheanacho then found the top corner in the 100th minute for his second, and Benjamin Nygren completed the scoring shortly after. The victory sets up a repeat of the 2007 Scottish Cup final, which was Lennon's last match as a Celtic player. Lennon, who played under O'Neill at both Leicester and Celtic, described the prospect of facing his former manager as an 'honour and a privilege'. O'Neill praised Lennon's achievements, saying he had done 'remarkably well' as a manager and was looking forward to the reunion.