Celtic secured a convincing 3-0 victory over St Mirren at the SMiSA Stadium, delivering a dominant performance that could have seen them win by an even larger margin.
Celtic’s captain, Callum McGregor, set the tone early with a stunning goal just 2 minutes and 32 seconds into the match.
๐ฒ An ๐๐๐ง๐ก๐ฎ goal for Celtic!
Callum McGregor gives his side the lead from range โคต๏ธ pic.twitter.com/hBcTRkIfkE
โ Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) August 25, 2024
Celtic continued to press and doubled their lead in the 33rd minute. Alistair Johnston’s ball into the box found Daizen Maeda.
Although Maeda mishit his shot, the ball fell to Japanese midfielder Reo Hatate, who struck it off the far post and into the net, leaving Balcombe helpless.
๐ช “๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ค๐ข๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ก๐๐ฎ”
Celtic lead St Mirren 2-0 going into the break. Watch half-time analysis ๐๐๐ฉ๐ @SkyFootball ๐บ pic.twitter.com/9tmCTiH6fz
โ Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) August 25, 2024
Throughout the match, there were several contentious moments involving penalty claims.
In the first half, Daizen Maeda was involved in two notable incidents.
The first saw St Mirrenโs Gogoic’s leg tangle with Maedaโs.
In the second incident, Maeda went down again after a tackle from Shaun Rooeny.
Adding to the penalty claims, Callum McGregor was involved in a contentious moment in the box.
Attempting a quick one-two with Paulo Bernardo, McGregor was blocked off by substitute Roland Idowu.
Celtic continued their dominance into the second half, and in the 71st minute, Alistair Johnston added a third goal.
Substitute Nicolas Kรผhn cut inside from the right and delivered a precise pass to Johnston in the box.
Johnston rifled the ball past Balcombe, marking a rare goal for the defender.
๐ฅ “A ๐ฅ๐จ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฆ๐ฆ finish!”
Alistair Johnston makes it 3-0 โคต๏ธ pic.twitter.com/2ezyYYuYHA
โ Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) August 25, 2024
The match ended with Celtic comfortably ahead, having shown their quality and control throughout the game.
Despite the penalty controversies, the Hoopsโ performance was impressive, and they fully deserved their victory.
Francis Turley also made his competitive first-team debut, coming on in the 89th minute to replace Reo Hatate.
Next up for Celtic is Rangers next Sunday at Celtic Park.
