Celtic’s win over St Mirren was far from their most enjoyable afternoon of the season.
After Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain fired the team in front, many Hoops fans will have spent most of the rest of the game biting their nails.
Despite enjoying more of the ball than usual against Celtic, the Saints struggled to threaten Viljami Sinisalo’s goal.
But at the other end, the Hoops continued their run of only scoring once against the Paisley side.
Thoughts on the 1-0 win?
Is it really all just about the result?
Celtic score just once against St Mirren for the fifth straight match
Though they may have tried to play some more football on this occasion, St Mirren were known as a safety-first, defensive team under recently departed boss Stephen Robinson.
They have proven a tough nut to crack for Celtic in their last five games, with the Hoops scoring once in each of them.
READ MORE: Every Green Brigade banner from their Celtic Park return vs St Mirren
On three of those occasions, this has been enough. Those occasions have been each of the sides’ three Scottish Premiership meetings this season.
Luke McCowan’s late winner was enough when the Buddies came to Glasgow on the opening day of this season, whilst Callum McGregor’s stunning last-gasp winner decided their last meeting in Paisley.
There is, of course, also this season’s Premier Sports Cup final, in which Wilfried Nancy’s disastrous start reached a new low in a 3-1 defeat for the Celts.
Celtic also scored just a solitary goal when they faced the Saints on the final day of last season: James Forrest’s historic late winner, which secured a 16th straight scoring season for the winger.
The stat doesn’t bode well for Celtic’s next game… a meeting with St Mirren at Hampden in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup.
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The psychological scars of the final in December will not quite have healed yet, and despite losing, Craig McLeish will have taken confidence from their performance on Saturday.
They have defeated Livingston, Airdrieonians and Partick Thistle on their way to the final, and they haven’t reached this stage since 2021.
Forget just St Mirren, too – Celtic’s goalscoring record has taken a nosedive in general this season, and the Hoops top the Scottish Premiership for big chances missed.
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