Celtic managed to turn the tables after falling behind, securing a vital win that kept their unbeaten start to the Scottish Premiership campaign intact, while St Mirren suffered their first loss of the season. The encounter in Paisley featured the only two sides still unbeaten in the top flight, and the hosts were eager to extend their blistering start and climb to the summit of the table. They began brightly, but Celtic’s resilience ultimately proved decisive. The match opened with an early controversy when Liam Scales, attempting to block a shot from Chris Mochrie, handled the ball in a clear handball.
The referee pointed to the spot and Nikolas Agrafiotis stepped up, calmly slotting the penalty past Jacob Chapman to give St Mirren an early lead. Celtic thought they had equalised moments later when Camilo Duran flicked a cross from Hyun Jun Yang into the net, but a VAR check ruled the goal out for off‑side, leaving the visitors still trailing. Both teams created chances in quick succession. Callum McGregor, Hussain Hassan and Yang each missed opportunities, while Scales, who had been at the centre of the handball incident, sought redemption.
He rose to meet a corner from Mika Baur and headed the ball home, restoring parity and silencing any lingering criticism of his earlier mistake. The momentum shifted again when Duran supplied a precise pass to Yang, who calmly finished beyond Chapman, putting Celtic ahead for the first time.
St Mirren fought back, generating several threats, but a late off‑side call erased what appeared to be Shim Mhueka’s first senior goal in stoppage time. The decision left the visitors frustrated but unable to overturn the result. Celtic’s victory marked their fifth consecutive win, extending their lead at the top of the table to five points over St Mirren. The match featured a series of notable moments that highlighted the intensity of the contest: - 18 minutes: Taylor unleashed a long‑range effort that was comfortably saved by Sinisalo.
- 19 minutes: The referee awarded a penalty to St Mirren after Mochrie’s strike struck Scales’ arm. - 22 minutes: Agrafiotis struck the bottom corner with a powerful shot, but the ball went wide of the post.
- 29 minutes: Duran responded for Celtic, finding the net to level the score. - 31 minutes: VAR intervened, disallowing Celtic’s equaliser for off‑side. - 40 minutes: McGregor attempted to connect with Baur’s corner, but his effort fell short and Chapman collected the ball. - 42 minutes: Hassan’s cross found Duran at the edge of the box, only for the Buddies’ keeper to make a fine save.
- 48 minutes: Hassan delivered a brilliant ball for Yang, who inexplicably sent it over the bar. - 51 minutes: Scales headed in from Baur’s corner, redeeming himself after the earlier handball. - 55 minutes: Scales again rose to meet a corner, this time heading wide.
- 64 minutes: Nygren’s pass to Yang was intercepted by Ramsay, who cleared it off target. - 68 minutes: Duran won possession, Yang broke away on a one‑on‑one with Chapman and scored to put Celtic back in front. - 74 minutes: Sinisalo saved a close‑range attempt from Thomas as St Mirren pressed for an equaliser.
- 86 minutes: Thomas missed a six‑yard chance, his effort sailing over the bar. - 90+3 minutes: Mhueka appeared to score, but the referee consulted the monitor and ruled the goal out.
Post‑match analysis from Sky Sports’ former Celtic forward James McFadden praised the visitors’ performance: “Celtic were worthy winners, they deserved to win. They had the pressure, they had the possession, they had the chances and took them when they came. St Mirren stuck true to what the manager asked from the first whistle through to the last.
They were open, they want to take risks and build. They’re not building just for the sake of building, they’re trying to draw the press.
If the press is already on they’ll go direct. They kept themselves in there and it is brave because if you’re that open against a team like Celtic then you can look silly but they didn’t tonight.
A very brave performance. You can see exactly what he [Craig McLeish] wants to do with his team.” Former Celtic captain Jackie McNamara echoed a similar sentiment, noting the fairness of the result and the resilience of the visitors: “A fair result.
Credit to St Mirren though, they never gave up and they were always in the game right up until the very end. I think when Celtic changed things and the wingers went off they lost a little bit of impetus near the end, but overall they deserved the three points.” St Mirren manager Craig McLeish reflected on his side’s progress, saying, “It shows how far we’ve come as a group and what we’re doing. The boys are disappointed we didn’t take a point, but we know Celtic are a threat and they gave us problems at times. We still created a threat ourselves – 19 shots on target is a good sign that we’re dangerous throughout the game.
The goals we conceded are disappointing, but Celtic also had chances. We have to dust ourselves off and go again. The good thing about football is there’s always another game around the corner.” Celtic boss Martin O’Neill admitted the night was challenging: “It was a tough evening for us. We created chances, but I didn’t feel any phenomenal fluency.
We really dug it out at the end, coming from behind against a team in brilliant form. They played splendidly for periods, but we saw it through at the end, which was great.” He also warned of the impact of losing Hyun Jun Yang to international duty with South Korea: “He’ll be a major blow. He puts in so much work defensively, and we’ll miss him badly.
This is his final game for us; he leaves now in sparkling form after a great start to the season.” Overall, the match demonstrated why Celtic remain the benchmark in Scottish football, while St Mirren showed they can compete with the best, even if the result did not go their way. The win keeps Celtic on course for a title challenge, and the narrow margin of victory suggests that St Mirren will remain a dangerous opponent as the season unfolds.