Celtic Maintain Winning Streak Despite Scrappy Performance

Mika Baur’s first Celtic goal was hardly a classic, but it kept a flawless title defence rolling and stretched a winning run that is starting to look ominous for the rest of the Scottish Premiership.

At a tense McDiarmid Park, Celtic were far from slick, often wasteful, occasionally ragged. They still walked away with a sixth league win from six, a 13th straight victory in all competitions, and a five-point cushion over Rangers.

On a day when the champions made life “almost impossible” for themselves in front of goal, as Martin O’Neill later put it, a simple tap-in from a 19-year-old winger proved enough.

Baur breaks through as Celtic grind it out

With a Europa League tie looming and an Old Firm double-header in cup and league on the horizon, O’Neill shuffled his pack. Five changes. Kasper Hogh back from injury. Sam Johnstone in for his first league start in goal.

The early pattern was familiar: Celtic with the ball, St Johnstone with the better chances.

Haissem Hassan forced the first serious save after just five minutes, his low effort beaten away by the home goalkeeper as Celtic tried to stamp their authority. Instead, the game cracked open at the other end.

Joel Cotterill, on his first start for St Johnstone, almost marked it in style. He met Alic’s low cross sweetly from close range on 19 minutes and looked certain to score. Johnstone’s reaction was outstanding, a strong right hand tipping the ball over and underlining exactly why O’Neill had turned to him.

Celtic’s control never quite translated into comfort. Callum McGregor saw a shot deflected wide by Campbell, and from the resulting corner the Saints keeper Steward punched clear under pressure. The hosts then came within inches of a lead that would have changed the tone of the afternoon.

On 40 minutes, Diabate’s effort was hooked off the line by Donovan, a desperate intervention that kept Celtic level. Four minutes later, another warning: Tounekti whipped in a brilliant cross, Diabate rose and glanced his header just past the post. McDiarmid Park sensed vulnerability.

Even straight after the break, the champions wobbled. McAlear skipped past McGregor and slipped in Steven, but his low strike was straight at Johnstone. A better finish and Celtic would have been chasing.

Instead, the pressure finally told at the other end.

Five minutes into the second half, Hassan found space on the right and drilled a low cross into the six-yard box. Baur arrived at the back post, unmarked, and could not miss. A simple tap-in, his first Celtic goal, and a roar of relief from the away end rather than celebration. The champions had the lead. They had not yet earned any sense of control.

Controversy on the byline and a Saints response

The game never settled. St Johnstone, unbeaten at home this season before kick-off, refused to fold.

On 66 minutes, Celtic thought they had killed it. Hogh headed the ball back across goal, Hassan lashed it in, and the visitors wheeled away. The assistant’s flag cut the moment short. The ball had gone out of play before Hogh’s header, the official decided.

Replays were inconclusive. The angles were poor. The debate was instant.

James McFadden summed up the reality on Sky Sports: there was simply no definitive proof to overturn the on-field call. The assistant, right in line, said it was out. Without a clear view to contradict him, the goal could not stand.

Denied his first Celtic strike, Hassan went hunting again. Hogh teed him up on 71 minutes, the winger curling a fine effort towards the far corner, only for Steward to push it wide. Moments later, James Forrest danced on the edge of the box, twisting away from two defenders before forcing another sharp save.

Celtic had their chances to breathe. They never took them.

St Johnstone, sensing that fragility, pushed back. Alic dragged a shot inches past the post on 80 minutes, a reminder that the champions were one mistake from dropping points. Nygren then slipped in Hogh, whose effort was turned behind by Steward, before Nygren himself met a Forrest cross and headed tamely into the keeper’s arms.

O’Neill watched it all with growing frustration. The scoreline stayed narrow. The anxiety stayed high.

Managers’ verdicts: relief and regret

When it was over, O’Neill did not pretend he had enjoyed much of what he’d seen.

“I’m not even sure what to make of the game,” he admitted. “I think we made goalscoring, which is very difficult, almost impossible. We could have scored a number of goals, we didn’t do. It was just kind of crazy, really.

“I thought that somebody would just take responsibility, put it in the net and pass, pass, pass. Anyway, we’ve won the game, which I’m delighted with. It was the most important thing.

“We could have scored a number of goals. I thought St Johnstone were never out of the game. Even if we got the second goal, I never felt St Johnstone were out of it.

“I have to remember that Sam Johnstone’s made a really great save in the first half. Otherwise, they would have taken the lead.”

On the opposite touchline, Simo Valakari’s frustration was rooted in missed opportunities rather than officiating.

“We definitely had our moments,” the St Johnstone manager said. “We knew they maybe have a little bit more possession. They have this final-third threat there and then it was just a moment.

“The question, can we survive these moments? And when we get our own chance, can we take it? And we did not take it today.

“We know ourselves we can play. We can hurt teams. But then at the same time, you need to take these chances that we created because against this quality team, you don’t get that many.

“But we created enough to score a goal and that’s the kind of disappointment of this evening.”

Celtic leave Perth with the table exactly how they wanted it: top, unbeaten, five points clear of Rangers, who they face next in the league a week on Sunday. The performance was scruffy, the margin thin, the questions about ruthlessness still loud.

The momentum, though, is theirs. With a Europa League tie and an Old Firm double on the way, how long can they keep walking this tightrope without falling?