2 years ago
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Kyogo Furuhashi slammed Celtic ahead with a fine strike just inside the boxHolders Celtic safely negotiated a tricky tie against St Mirren to progress to the Scottish Cup quarter-finals.
On his return to the starting line-up, Kyogo Furuhashi fired Celtic into a first-half lead with a classy goal, despite the hosts starting the stronger in Paisley.
Alex Gogic twice came breathtakingly close to hauling St Mirren level, but their profligacy was punished as Daizen Maeda stabbed in a second to ensure Celtic's spot in the draw later on Sunday.
Brendan Rodgers' flawless record in the Scottish Cup continues, while St Mirren's long wait for a fourth success in this competition will go on another season.
Stephen Robinson stressed the importance of a quick start, given his side were caught cold in the league meeting at the beginning of January.
The hosts dominated early doors, but there was a lingering concern that they had nothing to show for it. Then, in a flash, Kyogo dealt the suspected sucker punch, firing the ball through Charles Dunne's legs and past unsighted goalkeeper Zach Hemming.
While the Japan international is the main goal threat for Celtic, Gogic is less perceived as the St Mirren one. But it was the Cyprus midfielder who came closest to clawing his side back into the contest.
First, Gogic smashed a shot onto the crossbar after a sensational spin, then he tried an audacious overhead kick. He was inches away from spectacularly drawing his side level, but Joe Hart's save matched the excellence.
For all the energy, enthusiasm and intensity St Mirren displayed in the first half, they appeared sapped of it all in a tired start to the second. Maeda was the executor with his strong strike finally finding the net after the on-rushing Matt O'Riley left the woodwork shaking with his shot.
If their Scottish Cup journey was to be prolonged, Robinson's side needed a response, and Greg Kiltie should have delivered it. A teasing ball was flashed right in front of him, but the winger failed to throw himself at it and the glorious chance went begging.
Player of the match - Stephen Welsh (Celtic)
Stephen Welsh was solid in defence. He threw himself into everything - quite literally, as he crashed against the post, commanded from the back and enjoyed strides forward as Celtic overcame a potentially troublesome opponentMore to follow.
Line-ups
St Mirren
Formation 3-4-3
- 1Hemming
- 22Fraser
- 13Gogic
- 18Dunne
- 42BwomonoSubstituted forBrownat 57'minutes
- 17Baccus
- 15Boyd-Munce
- 3Tanser
- 24JamiesonSubstituted forScottat 57'minutes
- 9MandronSubstituted forAyungaat 78'minutes
- 11KiltieSubstituted forOlusanyaat 78'minutes
Substitutes
- 5Taylor
- 7Ayunga
- 8Flynn
- 14Scott
- 20Olusanya
- 21Brown
- 27Urminsky
- 33Mooney
- 37Penman
Celtic
Formation 4-4-1-1
- 1Hart
- 56Ralston
- 57Welsh
- 5Scales
- 25BernabéiBooked at 67mins
- 38MaedaSubstituted forKühnat 75'minutes
- 33O'Riley
- 42McGregor
- 7PalmaBooked at 44minsSubstituted forYangat 62'minutes
- 8FuruhashiSubstituted forOhat 75'minutes
- 9IdahSubstituted forGonçalves Bernardoat 62'minutes
Substitutes
- 10Kühn
- 13Yang
- 17Nawrocki
- 19Oh
- 24Iwata
- 28Gonçalves Bernardo
- 29Bain
- 39Vata
- 48Kelly
Live Text
Match ends, St. Mirren 0, Celtic 2.
Second Half ends, St. Mirren 0, Celtic 2.
Attempt saved. Paulo Bernardo (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Attempt blocked. Matt O'Riley (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Nicolas Kühn.
Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Charles Dunne.
Attempt blocked. Oh Hyeon-Gyu (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Paulo Bernardo.
Attempt missed. Matt O'Riley (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Nicolas Kühn.
Attempt blocked. Nicolas Kühn (Celtic) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Alexandro Bernabéi with a cross.
Attempt blocked. Nicolas Kühn (Celtic) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Matt O'Riley.
Attempt missed. Yang Hyun-Jun (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Nicolas Kühn.
Attempt blocked. Matt O'Riley (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Paulo Bernardo.
Attempt blocked. Jaden Brown (St. Mirren) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Caolan Boyd-Munce.
Attempt blocked. Alex Gogic (St. Mirren) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Marcus Fraser.
Attempt blocked. Alex Gogic (St. Mirren) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Caolan Boyd-Munce with a cross.
Corner, St. Mirren. Conceded by Joe Hart.
Substitution, St. Mirren. Toyosi Olusanya replaces Greg Kiltie.
Substitution, St. Mirren. Jonah Ayunga replaces Mikael Mandron.
Substitution, Celtic. Nicolas Kühn replaces Daizen Maeda.
Substitution, Celtic. Oh Hyeon-Gyu replaces Kyogo Furuhashi.
Attempt saved. Mikael Mandron (St. Mirren) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
How to play
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St Mirren
Squad number1Player nameHemming
Squad number22Player nameFraser
Squad number13Player nameGogic
Squad number18Player nameDunne
Squad number42Player nameBwomono
Squad number17Player nameBaccus
Squad number15Player nameBoyd-Munce
Squad number3Player nameTanser
Squad number24Player nameJamieson
Squad number9Player nameMandron
Squad number11Player nameKiltie
Squad number7Player nameAyunga
Squad number14Player nameScott
Squad number20Player nameOlusanya
Squad number21Player nameBrown
Celtic
Squad number1Player nameHart
Squad number56Player nameRalston
Squad number57Player nameWelsh
Squad number5Player nameScales
Squad number25Player nameBernabéi
Squad number38Player nameMaeda
Squad number33Player nameO'Riley
Squad number42Player nameMcGregor
Squad number7Player namePalma
Squad number8Player nameFuruhashi
Squad number9Player nameIdah
Squad number10Player nameKühn
Squad number13Player nameYang Hyun-Jun
Squad number19Player nameOh Hyeon-Gyu
Squad number28Player namePaulo Bernardo
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