It was nervy and ugly, but Celtic got the job done against St Mirren in the Premiership on Saturday afternoon.
Everyone expected Anthony Ralston to come into the fold, given that Julian Araujo, Colby Donovan and Alistair Johnston are injured, and that’s exactly what happened.
But Martin O’Neill opted to keep Kelechi Iheanacho on the bench, despite his winning goal for Celtic against Dundee last time out.
That meant Tomas Cvancara kept his place in the XI, as 67 Hail Hail looked at the stats of the two players during the time they were on the pitch.
Thoughts on the 1-0 win?
Is it really all just about the result?
Kelechi Iheanacho vs Tomas Cvancara stats vs St Mirren
On the eye test, Iheanacho looked far more lively than Cvancara and, once again, he showcased a great ability to hold the ball up.
Not only that, St Mirren’s main man at the back is Alex Gogic, and he looked all over the place as soon as Iheanacho came on, compared to Cvancara, including getting booked, which should have happened a lot earlier.
In terms of involvement, Iheanacho did as much as Cvancara in half the time. That’s even after Celtic were the better team in the first 45 minutes, and St Mirren the better in the second 45.
| Player | Minutes played | Total shots | Big chances missed | Passes in the opposition half | Touches | Successful dribbles | Carries | Sofascore rating |
| Cvancara | 62 | 1 | 1 | 4/8(50%) | 18 | 0 | 5 | 6.6 |
| Iheanacho | 28 | 1 | 1 | 2/4 (50%) | 12 | 1 | 5 | 6.4 |
Who starts at Hampden for Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final?
Celtic and St Mirren will meet again at Hampden, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if fans are calling for Iheanacho to start.
The issue with Iheanacho has been his fitness. It’s not acceptable that he is in such a situation.
But what’s interesting about when he came on is that he seemed to have the bit between his teeth. There was anger in his game.
Perhaps Iheanacho can finally turn up and transform this abject season for the Hoops into a trophy-winning one, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he does start the semi-final next week.
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