Glasgow | Celtic start season with narrow win

Celtic 1 - 0 St Mirren

Celtic opened their Scottish Premiership campaign with a narrow win

Author | Sean M

Stadium | Celtic Park 

Players applaud fans after the match

This was far from a statement performance as they laboured to break down a stubborn St Mirren side at Celtic Park.

It took a heavily deflected effort from substitute Luke McCowan in the 87th minute to finally separate the teams in a contest that often lacked urgency and attacking fluency from the hosts. St Mirren’s disciplined defending and Celtic’s blunt edge in the final third combined to produce a match of few clear-cut chances.

The best of those fell to new signing Benjamin Nygren, who met a low cross from Daizen Maeda inside the box. His close-range effort was tipped onto the post by Shamal George, who reacted quickly again to deny the follow-up.

A closer look at what happened

There was a poignant atmosphere before kick-off as fans paid tribute to Lisbon Lions John Clark and John Fallon, who both died over the summer. The emotion gave way to celebration as former captain Paul McStay returned to unfurl the championship flag.

But the occasion failed to spark Celtic into life early on. Brendan Rodgers’ side were slow out of the blocks, and though they improved after the break, they struggled to turn dominance into meaningful threat.

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Callum McGregor did find the net in the second half, only for VAR to chalk it off after spotting a handball in the build-up.

St Mirren, to their credit, put in a tireless shift at the back and looked on course to take a point until McCowan's strike from the edge of the area took a wicked deflection off Mark O’Hara and left George with no chance.

Which players stood out?

Cameron Carter-Vickers

Unflappable at the back. Composed throughout and barely put a foot wrong, though in truth he was rarely tested by a Saints side short on ideas.

Kieran Tierney

Back in green and white for his second Celtic debut. Looked sharp in the early stages, full of intent on the overlap, but understandably faded as the hour mark approached. Substituted shortly after, with recent game time clearly limited.

Callum McGregor

Did the dirty work neatly in midfield, shielding the defence and keeping play ticking over. Pushed forward when possible, and thought he’d scored only for his determined effort to be chalked off.