Celtic did not just win this Scottish Cup tie against St Mirren, they took control of it when it mattered despite a second-half collapse that saw a two-goal lead meekly surrendered.
That final 45 minutes tells only part of the story, because when Celtic let the 2-0 lead slip, it looked like St Mirren could have gone on and won the tie after finishing the 90 minutes as the stronger side.
However, Celtic rallied in extra time and after a six-minute spell that saw four goals rain into the St Mirren goal, the Paisley club boss Craig McLeish summed it all up in his painful post-match interview.
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Celtic lose control as St Mirren punish second-half collapse
Craig McLeish summed up the balance of the game clearly when he said: “First of all, just so proud of the group and how they reacted to the kind of setbacks we had early on in the game, to then perform how they did in the second half to get themselves back into the game and put ourselves in a good opportunity.
“We took some risks with our changes, with the subs we made, and the changes in shape that we made to try and get back into the game.
“If we don’t make those changes, we maybe don’t take it to extra time, but at the same time, it maybe leaves us a wee bit vulnerable going into extra time.
“We thought we were in a good place heading there. We finished the 90 minutes strongly. It gave Celtic probably a chance to regroup, and then the quality they bring on the pitch then kind of takes its toll on the game.
“It’s a sore one. It’s sore right now because I don’t think we deserved that score line with the young goalkeeper coming on. Grant was fantastic.
“Grant didn’t deserve that as a young player making his debut for us. So it’s sore right now, I’ve just said to boys and that we have to deal with that today. We have to put it to bed.
“We’ve got massive games coming up. We have to retain our status in the league. So we have to use positives from it, but we also have to learn from it.
“We can’t lose goals in the manner that we did, and lose multiple goals in a short space of time. So there’s frustrations and there’s positives. It’s sore at the moment, because again, I think the boys were great throughout the day.”
This was not a controlled performance across 90 minutes, it was one where Celtic lost their grip after building a two-goal lead. The second half invited pressure and allowed belief to grow.
It’s a pattern that Celtic fans have witnessed a number of times this season but the extra-time rally will please supporters.
Celtic quality still decides it when it matters
Once the game reached extra time, the difference in quality became clear again as Celtic reset and took control. The shift was immediate and decisive after a difficult spell.
The match that had become unstable quickly turned one-sided as Celtic ran away with it in extra time, scoring in quick succession and booking their place in the May final.
Celtic still delivered the result that was required, but the path to it showed both sides of a struggling team that is incredibly on the verge on a league and Scottish Cup double.
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