Ten men of Saints can’t hold off a siege from Celts Anothershock lookedoncards butfirst-halfred forblundering Dunneishuge blowtoBuddies
Charles Dunne’s dreadful red card cost St Mirren a glorious chance to pull off a second successive win against Celtic in Paisley.
The Buddies gave themselves a great chance to repeat their September feat after Mark O’Hara tucked home an early opener from the penalty spot after Greg Taylor handled in the box.
The Saints were holding their own until Dunne rashly pulled down Kyogo just before half-time, leading to an early bath for the centre back.
That left Stephen Robinson’s side an uphill battle in the second half, with Jota netting Celtic’s equaliser before the floodgates eventually opened.
Alistair Johnston’s header gave the Hoops the lead before substitute Liel Abada made it three with a neat finish.
Abada set up Matt O’Riley to drill home the fourth, with Hyeon-Gyu Oh rubbing salt in the wounds from the penalty spot.
Despite the heavy defeat the Buddies are still in the top-six, with a crucial trip to Tannadice to face former boss Jim Goodwin’s Dundee United up next after a welcome weekend off.
St Mirren welcomed back Keanu Baccus and Alex Greive from injury, with the pair coming straight into the starting line-up.
Ange Postecoglou decided against rotating his side after their League Cup success last weekend, most likely with September’s defeat in Paisley still fresh in his mind.
The Saints were gifted the perfect chance to replicate that win when Greive tried to take it past Taylor in the box, with the defender handling to stop the Kiwi getting a shot away.
A VAR check led to referee David Dickinson pointing to the spot, with Mark O’Hara blasting home his third goal of the season against Celtic to put the hosts in front.
St Mirren were comfortable in the opening stages, with Dunne producing a vital clearance from a low Jota cross as the Hoops struggled to break through the home defence.
The Paisley side, on the other hand, were still pressing forward. Thierry Small raced up the left wing before whipping in a tempting cross, with Cameron Carter-Vickers just getting back in the nick of time to flick the ball off Curtis Main’s boot.
It took 25 minutes for Celtic to produce their first shot of the afternoon. Dunne’s headed clearance found Hatate in space on the edge of the box, with his fierce volley only just clearing the bar.
Carson had been quiet but produced a brilliant save from a Jota drive after a neat flick sent the winger racing through into the box.
The Portuguese had a close-range effort deflected wide by Dunne as Celtic began to crank up the pressure heading towards the break. Ryan Strain picked up a needless yellow card for kicking the ball away after he’d broken up the pitch before being pulled up for a foul.
With the Saints still in excellent shape, Dunne suffered an unfortunate rush of blood to the head. The centre-half undercooked his pass back to Carson before deciding to haul Kyogo down as he raced towards the box.
A lengthy VAR review eventually deemed the foul to have taken place just inches outside the box, with the resulting free-kick comfortably cleared to safety.
Unfortunately for Dunne and his Buddies, the defender’s afternoon was over, with his red card still standing. Greive was sacrificed to make way for Richard Taylor as the hosts prepared for a long shift trying to hold on to their lead in the second half with just 10 men.
Celtic introduced winger Abada for the ineffective Daizen Maeda as the Hoops looked to unlock St Mirren’s defence after the break.
It was always going to be a tough ask for the Buddies in the second half, with the Paisley side bravely defending the opening 11 minutes.
Their resilience was eventually broken when Aaron Mooy found Jota in space at the back post after a period of sustained pressure. His effort found the bottom corner, with Strain unable to hack clear off the line.
And Celtic quickly made it two. Mooy’s dangerous free-kick found Johnston, who squeezed the ball past Carson after getting the better of O’Hara at the back post to put the visitors in front.
Richard Taylor produced a brilliant block on the line to prevent a third. He slid in to deny Abada’s goalbound effort, with Carson thwarting Kyogo just before as the Hoops threatened to add to their lead.
The third did eventually follow, with Abada finding far too much space in the box. He danced past two static defenders before slamming past Carson.
St Mirren’s resilience was broken and Celtic weren’t in the mood to take their foot off the gas. Abada turned provider as he teed up substitute O’Riley, who tucked past Carson to spark more celebrations in the away end.
A fifth came with ten minutes left on the clock. Substitute Oh squeezed a penalty just under
Carson after a VAR check deemed Alex Gogic had pulled the striker’s shirt in the box.
The Saints managed to deny Celtic any more in the closing stages, although that was scant consolation on an afternoon to forget for Robinson’s men.
HOW THEY LINED UP...
ST MIRREN
(3-5-2)
Carson, Fraser, Gogic, Dunne, Strain (Watt 61), Small (Shaughnessy 61), Kiltie (F Taylor 73), Baccus, O’Hara, Main (Tanser 73), Greive (R Taylor 44).
Subs (not used): Urminsky, Flynn, Offord, Jamieson. CELTIC
(4-3-3)
Hart, Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Starfelt, Taylor, McGregor, Hatate (O’Riley 66), Mooy (Iwata 74), Jota (Haksabanovic 71), Maeda (Abada 45), Kyogo (Oh 66). Subs (not used): Bain, Turnbull, Kobayashi, Ralston.
BOOKINGS
No too much else to fill the referee’s book other than the red card dished out to Dunne in the first half, with Strain the only booking of the match.
FOR THE RECORD
A disappointing feeling of ‘what might have been’for the Buddies from this game.
Another promising performance against Celtic undone by a red card, with Charles Dunne likely to be on trial again by his team-mates after his terrible foul on Kyogo left them a mountain to climb in the second half.
The Saints can still take heart from their first -half performance.
STAR SAINT