Celtic Break Through in Perth as Rangers Struggle in Stalemate
Celtic finally found a way through at McDiarmid Park while Rangers toiled under growing tension at Ibrox on a nervy night in the Premiership.
Baur Delivers as Celtic Turn the Screw
For long spells in Perth, Celtic prodded and probed without reward. St Johnstone dug in, rode the pressure and looked like they might just see out a dangerous spell.
Then the dam broke.
Mika Baur, on hand and unmarked, tapped home his first Celtic goal after a sharp, low ball across from Haissem Hassan. Celtic had flooded the box, white shirts swarming the six-yard area. Kasper Hogh stretched to make contact but it was Baur who arrived with the decisive touch.
“Much better from Celtic,” observed former St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson on BBC Sportsound, admitting he had just been about to say his old side needed to hang on as the pressure mounted. They couldn’t. Celtic’s numbers in the area told in the end.
Earlier, captain Callum McGregor had tried to prise St Johnstone open from the edge of the box, lining up one of those familiar, measured strikes. This time he couldn’t get hold of it, the effort looping harmlessly into the gloves of Toby Steward. It felt like one of those nights where half-chances might be all Celtic would get.
Baur changed that in an instant. One clean connection, and the balance of the evening swung Celtic’s way.
Rangers Rocked by Missed Chance and Restless Crowd
Across the country at Ibrox, the story carried a very different edge.
Rangers and St Mirren were locked at 0-0, the home support straining to drag their team forward. Every attack raised the noise. Every misplaced pass dragged it back down again.
When Rangers gave the ball away in their own third, the mood turned sharp. The sense that this “could go either way” no longer felt like a cliché; it felt like a warning.
St Mirren then carved out the chance of the night.
A clever third-man run from Fraser Taylor sliced through the Rangers back line. One pass took out the entire defence, and none of the home players reacted. Taylor was clean through, time and space at his feet, the whole goal to pick from.
He had to score. He didn’t.
“Maybe he has too much time to think about it, but it’s a glorious opportunity spurned,” said former Rangers and St Mirren striker Rory Loy on BBC Sportsound. Ivor Pandur stayed big on his line and made the stop, but St Mirren will not expect a better chance than that. Not tonight.
The miss didn’t settle Rangers. It unsettled them.
St Mirren grew into the second half, looking increasingly comfortable as the minutes ticked by. The rumblings from the stands grew louder, frustration spilling out as attacks broke down and possession slipped away.
With changes made and Kim and Curtis introduced, Rangers reverted to a 4-2-3-1 shape, searching for control, for fluency, for anything to shift the rhythm. It didn’t immediately come. St Mirren’s composure only highlighted the home side’s anxiety.
On one side of the country, Celtic’s extra bodies in the box made the difference. On the other, Rangers’ failure to react to one decisive run very nearly cost them everything.
The margins are thin. And nights like these have a habit of lingering long after the whistle.
