St Mirren without top goalscorer for daunting Celtic Park trip tonight

By David Walton

March 2, 2022

St Mirren will be without their joint top goalscorer tonight with Irish attacking midfielder Connor Ronan sitting out through suspension.

Ronan was sent off against Hearts in Sunday’s 2-0 loss for the Buddies against Robbie Neilson’s Hearts. The result marked a first defeat for new manager Stephen Robinson in his first game in charge of the Paisley side.

Ronan, signed by former boss Jim Goodwin on loan from Wolves, is in terrific form for Saints. The attacker has managed 6 goals in all competitions, and combined his 4 assists it makes him the most productive player at St Mirren in terms of direct goal contributions.

Striker Eamonn Brophy equals Ronan’s goal return with 6 to his own name. But the Irishman has been by far the Buddies’ most profitable summer acquisition.

Tonight, Robinson will be without the player’s services. His suspension sees him forced to sit out the Celtic Park fixture, and it’s unclear how his manager will mix things up tonight because of it.

St Mirren have already taken points off Celtic this season, securing a 0-0 draw in Paisley back in December.

Celtic won’t allow St Mirren absences to affect pre-match prep

You can’t help but think back to that game in December. Not just because it was the last meeting between the two sides, but because of the build-up heading into it.

Celtic came up against a St Mirren squad ravaged by Covid absences. An outbreak of the virus led to just 10 outfield players being available for selection for the Buddies [Scottish Sun]. Yet, come full-time, it was Celtic who were feeling the pain after dropping 2 points in a dismal 0-0 draw.

That goes to show that injuries and suspensions aren’t the end of the world. On any given day, anything can happen in football. That’s what we found out back in December when we somehow couldn’t break down an inexperienced St Mirren side defending for their lives.

They’ll try to come to Parkhead and likely do the same thing again. However, it’s down to us to ensure that we use the space that Celtic Park will afford us to exploit the gaps in behind them. Something that felt almost impossible in Paisley.

Robinson being without Barron should stem their creative juices. But that’s not to say the Buddies boss doesn’t have options. He could utilise the likes of Ryan Flynn or Ethan Erhahon and change into a more defensive shape, the latter being something he likely would’ve done in any case.

But this is definitely a blow for the visitors tonight. Hopefully, Celtic take full advantage and boss the 90 minutes.

In other news, Tonight is ideal stage for Celtic signing Daizen Maeda to step it up