Celtic produced a dominant second-half performance to secure a 5-2 victory over St. Mirren at the SMISA Stadium, extending their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership to 16 points. With Rangers suffering a 2-1 defeat at Ibrox to Motherwell earlier in the afternoon, the Hoops capitalised in style with a five-star showing in Paisley.
Fast Start in a Fierce Contest
The match started at a frantic pace, with St. Mirren pressing high and forcing Celtic onto the back foot in the early stages. However, it was the Hoops who struck first through Jeffrey Schlupp in the 28th minute. The Ghanaian rifled a left-footed strike into the bottom corner after being teed up by Nicolas Kühn, marking his first goal for the club in stunning fashion.
St. Mirren responded well and levelled the game in the 33rd minute when Declan John’s superb free-kick crashed off the bar and into the net, leaving Kasper Schmeichel with no chance. But Celtic regained their lead just before the break through Arne Engels, who calmly converted from the penalty spot after Daizen Maeda was fouled in the box.
Second-Half Surge from Celtic
St. Mirren came out fighting in the second half and found an equaliser through Killian Phillips, who smashed home from close range in the 48th minute. The home side looked to build momentum, but Celtic soon regained control.
Reo Hatate’s pinpoint cross in the 68th minute found Yang Hyun-Jun at the back post, and the Korean winger powered a header past Zach Hemming to restore Celtic’s advantage. That goal shifted the balance firmly in the Hoops’ favour, and they made sure of the points with a clinical finish from Maeda in the 88th minute after a brilliant solo run.
Yang then rounded off the scoring deep into stoppage time, meeting Jeffrey Schlupp’s cross with another fine header to complete a superb cameo off the bench and seal a comprehensive win.
Title Race All but Over?
With the win, Celtic have opened up an enormous 16-point lead over Rangers, leaving Barry Ferguson’s side with a mountain to climb in the title race. Brendan Rodgers’ men are showing no signs of slowing down, and with performances like this, another league title looks increasingly likely.
