Scottish Premier League - Match Review: St. Mirren versus Glasgow Celtic
St Mirren’s line up: Samson, McAusland, Potter, McGregor, van Zanten, Lynch, Cregg, McLean, Travner, Higdon, Wardlaw. Subs: Mathers, Thomson, Barron, McCluskey, Mooy, Lamont, McKernon.
Celtic’s line up: Forster, Wilson, Majstorovic, Rogne, Izaguirre, Cha, Ki, Juarez, Maloney, Stokes, Hooper. Subs: Zaluska, McGinn, Hooiveld, McCourt, Murphy, Towell, Crosas.
Saint Mirren and Celtic played out a dramatic match in the Scottish Premier League at the Greenhill Road stadium as both the teams approached the match in offensive fashion. Celtic were on the lookout for a win after failing to win their
last match against Hearts. However it was the home side, St Mirren who began the first half of the match in fantastic fashion as in the 4th minute of the match, Higdon tried his luck on the Celtic goal from a long way out. The looped
shot propelled Fraser Forster, the Celtic goalkeeper to rush back to his goal line but eventually the Scot breathed a sigh of relief as the ball went out of play for a goal kick as the shot lacked accuracy.
In the 13th minute of the match, Hooper had a brilliant chance of giving Celtic the lead as the striker was played in by his team mate, Ki Sung-Yong. It was a finely timed through ball which found Hooper. However
the centre forward’s heavy touch totally destroyed the opportunity that fell his way as Saint Mirren’s goalkeeper came out and collected the ball eventually to deny Celtic a goal scoring chance.
In the 30th minute of the match, Celtic rushed forward yet again and this time they threatened through a set piece as Maloney took the corner kick which was floated into the St. Mirren penalty area. Stokes was on
hand to make contact with the ball but his header went over the bar. It was a crucial miss again by Celtic’s striker who was in acres of space inside the box. The first half of the match came to an end with the score line at nil all. It turned out to be a
frustrating first half for Celtic who were hoping to take the lead but missed some glorious chances to do so.
St. Mirren came out like a team possessed in the second half as in the 52nd minute of the match, Higdon unleashed a brilliantly timed volley from 25 yards out. The shot blitzed towards the Celtic goal but then struck
the cross bar much to the relief of all the Hoops inside Greenhill road. It was a fantastic effort by the Mirren striker who looked lively throughout the match. In the 63rd minute of the match, Maloney had a chance to put his team in
the lead but the Celtic midfielder failed to connect accurately with a cross from a close range as he missed a sitter on the far post of the St Mirren goal. It was an astonishing miss by the Scottish national.
However, Celtic were on course for late heroics as in the 92ndminute of the match, Hooper came up tops for Celtic as he pounced on a ball which was played in by McCourt inside the Saint Mirren penalty area. Hooper finished off
the chance perfectly as Celtic gained the lead right at the death. The match ended in a Celtic win by a goal to nil as Hooper’s strike was the difference between the two teams at the end.
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