Kearney kicks off his reign at St Mirren by frustrating 10-man Celts
ST MIRREN: Samson, McGinn, Ferdinand (MacPherson 73), Baird, Hodson, McGinn, Flynn, Magennis, Smith (Coulson 78), Edwards, Mullen (Willock 87).
Subs not used: Kirkpatrick, Jones, Erhahon, Muir.
CELTIC: Gordon, Ajer, Benkovic (Griffiths 60), Boyata, Forrest, Brown, Ntcham, Tierney, McGregor, Rogic, Edouard (Christie 87).
Subs not used:
Bain, Johnston.
Referee: Andrew Dallas
Sinclair, Lustig, Mulumbu, FORMER Coleraine boss Oran Kearney began his tenure as St Mirren manager with an encouraging 0-0 draw against 10-man Celtic at the Simple Digital Arena.
Kearney was given a warm welcome to the Scottish Premiership by his compatriot, Hoops chief Brendan Rodgers, who had to settle for a point after a spirited display from the hosts.
Celtic midfielder Olivier Ntcham was sent off in the 36th minute for picking up the second of two yellow cards.
Rodgers reorganised his side and they looked a bit more like themselves in the second half but the home side battled for the clean sheet.
It was a welcome point for the Paisley side, who had lost their previous three league games — a run which, in part, had led to the departure of Alan Stubbs.
However, Rodgers would have been looking for much more from his side — especially before Ntcham’s dismissal.
Both sides had new faces on display following their return from the international break.
Filip Benkovic, the 21-yearold defender who signed a season-long loan from Leicester, was handed his Hoops debut while fellow new signing Youssouf Mulumbu was named among the substitutes, along with striker Leigh Griffiths — who signed a new contract until 2022 earlier in the day.
Former West Ham and Sunderland defender Anton Ferdinand (33) landed his St Mirren debut hours after signing until the end of the season, while Ryan Edwards made his first appearance for the Paisley side after joining on loan from Hearts.
After Kearney had come on to the pitch pre-match to applaud the fine reception given by the home fans, his side took the game to the visitors.
In the third minute, following an Ntcham handball, Cammy Smith fired in a free-kick but Parkhead goalkeeper Craig Gordon moved smartly to his right.
Saints, aggressive and tenacious, came close in the 13th minute when Ryan Flynn headed a cross from Lee Hodson over the bar, before Gordon blocked a close-range effort from Smith.
However, following a Celtic corner on the half-hour mark, Flynn was handily placed to clear a Dedryck Boyata header off the line. A strangely insipid Hoops side deservedly found themselves a man down when Ntcham, booked earlier for a foul on Edwards, was shown a second yellow after wiping out St Mirren skipper Stephen McGinn.
At the start of the second half Rodgers replaced Benkovic with Griffiths and the Parkhead men immediately looked more potent while Saints had lost some of their impetus.
But Celtic couldn’t find the breakthrough, although Griffiths put the ball in the net right at the end with the offside flag up.