FINAL Big day for the St Mirren fans, they beat Celtic and no one can't say they didn't deserve that. The Bhoys created more chances on the first half and could have been in front had Mulgrew converted a penalty. After his miss, St Mirren scored two straight goals, thanks to McGowan's penalty -a handball from Mulgrew- and a volley from Steven Thompson. Mulgrew's late goal left the final outcome unchanged: St Mirren are the victors and will head to the League Cup final against Hearts. Celtic's treble chances have been broken, and will now have to concentrate themselves on the three competitions left. That's all from me today, hope you have enjoyed the game with Vavel. See you soon!
90+3' MULGREEW SCOOORESS!!! And it's little consolation for the Scot, as Collum whistles the end of the game immediately.
90+3' Gonçalves is replaced by Lewis Guy.
90+2' Another attacking move dies on St Mirren's no nonsense defensive line.
90' 3 minutes of added time.
89' Lee Mair replaces Paul McGowan. He's been one of the star performers on Danny Lennon's side.
88' Ledley's header goes over the bar. Great run from Commons before the crossed with his right-foot.
87' Barron is booked for a clear foul on a Celtic player. No major worries for St Mirren as they head to their second cup final in four years.
86' Celtic get a corner. Commons' delivery is cleared.
84' Commons' attempt from outside the area goes wide left. It's becoming more and more frustrating for the Celtic fans at Hampden Park.
81' Ledley is booked for a late tackle on McGowan.
80' St Mirren almost score after a shot from long range, Zaluska parries it and Steven Thompson fails to connect with the ball. Had he done that, it would have been the game's killing goal.
78' Celtic get a costless kick from 30 yards, Mulgrew's shot hits the wall. Commons' cross is very deep and it's a goal kick for St Mirren. The game has went downhill for the Bhoys since Mulgrew missed that penalty.
76' John McGinn is replaced by David Barron. St Mirren's task will be more defensive minded now, as Danny Lennon replacement shows.
73' Samaras is substituted by Anthony Stokes while Wanyama makes way for Mikael Lustig. Adam Matthews is going to be pushed forward.
70' Mulgrew assists Izaguirre, the Honduran's cross is headed by the Scot, but the ball goes wide. Decent effort. Celtic will need more movement if they want to keep some options of victory at Hampden Park.
66' THOMPSOOOOOON!!!!! ST MIRREEEEEEEN SCOOOOOOREEE!! Great build up from the Buddies, good cross from the right and Steven Thompson's volley goes past the diving Lukas Zaluska. 3-1
64' Lassad is replaced by Kris Commons. Though he assisted Brown in the road to Celtic's goal, he's been below par today.
63' PAULL MCGOWAAAAAAN!!!! ST MIRREN GRAB THEIR CHANCE WITH BOTH HAAAAAANDS!!! He chooses the right side of the goal while Zaluska goes to the left. 2-1 St Mirren.
62' Corner for St Mirren. After some nervous moments inside the area, Mulgrew handles the ball. Penalty for St Mirren. He is on the book now too.
61' THe Bhoys clear the ball well and start an attacking move... aborted by a good tackle on Hooper.
60' St Mirren get a costless-kick near the left edge of the box. It could lead to a good goalscoring opportunity...
57' Celtic are trying to press St Mirren up, but they are failing to create many chances and look a bit hyperactive -sometimes- after the penalty miss.
53' Ledley is really close to give Celtic the lead. His left footed shot from the edge of the area hits the outside part of the net. Samson was already beaten.
49' SAMSON SAVES IT! Mulgrew's low shot down the left is parried away by Samson. Some momentum for St Mirren now after they've avoided another goal that would have trashed them mentally.
48' PENALTY TO CELTIC! Goodwin handled the ball and is booked for that.
47' Brown is the first man to hit it. His low shot goes wife.
46' The second half gets underway!
15:27. DATA: Gary Hooper has scored today his 23d goal for Celtic this season. By doing that, he has already surpassed the tally he scored during his first season with the club.
SUMMARY St Mirren started the game at full pace and attacked Celtic since the opening whistle. Their positive approach was quickly rewarded with Gonçalves' well fought goal. After some minutes of turbulences, Celtic started to play a bit and created some straight chances. Just as the game seemed to end with a first half lead fofr Danny Lennon's men, Gary Hooper's tap in levelled the scoreline. A sore blow for St Mirren, but at least they've broken their goal hoodoo against the Bhoys. Time to relax and prepare ourselves for the second half.
45' The half time whistle marks the end of a contested first 45 minuts.
44' HOOOOOOPEEEEEERRR!!!!! CELTIC EQUALISE!!! Good build up, started by the Englishman, Brown's low cross finds the unmarked striker, who, with an easy tap in, makes it 1-1.
41' Celtic's corner brings no trouble to Samson. St Mirren look for the half time whistle that could leave them in front ot the champions of Scotland, an impressive feat considering they were huge underdogs. 4 minutes left.
40' The Buddies give away possession in front of their are and Celtic nearly punish them with some quick passes. Lassad's final assist to Wanyama, inside of the area, was cutted off by a St Mirren defender.
37' St Mirren get a corner. Teale serves it and Zaluska punches the ball away. Celtic counterattack ends with Samaras cross ... that ends in his opponents feet. Mulgrew commits a foul to stop Gonçalves and the whole move.
34' Celtic get a corner kick after Matthews cross is blocked by Graham Carey. After some tense movements inside the area, St Mirren clear the ball.
31' St Mirren get a corner after Matthews' tackle disposesses Gonçalves, who was ready to unleash a cross to Steven Thompson. They get another corner after St Mirren claimed a handball from Ledley. No danger for Celtic on the outswinging corner, but the positive sensations are back with St Mirren, more defensive minded for a few minutes.
29' Gary Teale's run down the right ends in a cross that goes past all their team-mates. Goal kick.
28' Samaras is at the end of a cross from the right hand side. Off target. Another chance for Celtic.
27' Celtic get a corner, Adam Matthews serves it... and the set piece ends in a an attacking-throw in for the Hoops.
25' Wanyama skips past Newton and his right-footed shot goes out right, off target.
22' WOODWORK! Hooper receives a great cross from the halfway line, Brown's assist is controlled by the English hitman, whose shot hits the woodwork. Best chance of the game for Celtic. The Bhoys have experienced a massive improvement during the last 5 minuts.
19' Neil Lennon's team are settling now into the game. They've created their first chance after a great display that involved almost all their players. Brown's shot is deflected to corner. No trouble for St Mirren as Samson captures a cross coming from the right hand side of the pitch.
15' Celtic are having trouble to find themselves there. Neil Lennon's men fail to put some straight passes together as St Mirren use short passes as the best way to get forward.
12' St Mirren excude confidence. Another quick move ends with a shot, saved by Zaluska. Celtic are leaving lots of space behind their midfield. Danny Lennon's attacking approach has reaped its benefits at the moment.
10' Newton is booked after a tackle on Joe Ledley.
9' Let's see how Celtic react to that early blow. Their defense didn't look up for it in the goal build up and Gonçalves was the quickest to react inside the area.
7' GOOOOOOOAAALLLLLLL!!!!! GONÇALVEEEES SCOOOOORES FOR ST MIRREN!!!!! He receives a great ball from outside the area and he puts his foot before Mulgrew's to beat Zaluska and give St Mirren an early lead.
6' St Mirren try to hold on the ball a bit, but their game plan tends to fade if they concede a goal. They look quick on the counter-attack today.
4' Izaguirre's cross from the left isn't headed by Lassad, who was inches away from connecting it from a close range.
2' St Mirren got another corner, but have failed to trouble Zaluska in their two spot kicks. McGowan wants to be de driving force of his team during these opening minutes.
1' Celtic get the game underway, but after a quick recovery, St Mirren get the first corner of the match.
14:28. The teams are about to come out of the tunnel. Celtic are on their all black away top. St Mirren wear their usual first kit.
14:25. Aberdeen and Hibernian finish their league game. 0-0 after Nial McGinn's squandered a penalty that could have given Craig Brown's team the 3 points.
14:20. 24. The number of points between Celtic and St Mirren in the SPL.
14:14. The weather could well have an effect on the outcome of the game. Windy afternoon in Glasgow... Meanwhile, Aberdeen and Hibernian, are drawing 0-0 at Pittodrie. That point wouldn't be enough for both teams to keep the chase of second placed ICT.
14:09. St Mirren have spent more than 20 years without a single cup trophy. Their last golden grasp of glory was a Scottish Cup triumph back in 1987.
14:04. Billy Stark, a former St Mirren player, has warned Danny Lennon that, despite having several examples to look at (Ross County, Kilmarnock, Hearts):"Those results will still be fresh in the mind and Neil will be hammering that home", A difficult task is ahead of Danny Lennon, and no one gives his side many chances to survive past the semifinals, will the Buddies be able to get to the final? We'll start to get the answer in less than half an hour.
14:00. 22. These have been the number of goals St Mirren has conceded against Celtic since Danny Lennon took charge. Despite being known as one of the best ball-playing teams in Scotland, the Buddies haven’t set the light on fire against Celtic. Will they record their first goal in 3 years against Celtic today?
6 goals (3 defeats) 2010-2011
9 goals (3 defeats) 2011-2012
7 goals (3 defeats) 2011-2013
13:58. St Mirren XI: Samson, Carey, Van Zanten, McAusland, McGinn, Goodwin, Newton, Goncalves, Thompson, McGowan, Teale. Subs: Barron, Guy, Imrie, Adam, Mair.
13:56. However, one of Celtic's sweetest days in their long history came against St Mirren. Danny McGrain, now in the team's staff, was there.
13:53. It looks like it happened three centuries ago, but one of the most painful nights in Celtic’s history came against St Mirren. A week after losing the League Cup final against nine-man Rangers, Gus MacPherson’s side trashed Celtic (4-0) in a game that put an end to Tony Mowbray’s tenure at Parkhead.
Luckily enough for the Bhoys, Lennon seems to have readdressed the boat a bit...
13:49. Celtic XI: Zaluska; Matthews, Wilson, Mulgrew, Izaguirre; Brown, Wanyama, Ledley, Samaras; Hooper, Lassad. Subs: Fasan, Kayal, Stokes, Commons, Lustig. We are still waiting for the St Mirren's starting lineup.
13:46. Alison Robbie (@AlisonRobbie) has just posted this. The stadium is prepared to host a good football contest in less than an hour.
13:43. Both teams have played each other twice this season, Celtic were the victors against a team whose failure to score against Neil Lennon’s men seriously restricts them from getting anything positive against the Bhoys. A 0-5 defeat at home and a 2-0 one at Celtic Park are the previous results, something Danny Lennon will try to change this time… On the other hand, the Celts will look for similar highlights.
13:38. Celtic’s road started a round later, they comprehensively beat Raith Rovers (4-1) and St Johnstone (5-0) to be, once again, playing at Hampden Park for a place in the League Cup final. They are the runners-up of the competition after a shock loss against Kilmarnock last season, Dieter Van Tornhout’s goal made the difference between the two teams in February 2012.
13:33. On their road to Hampden, St Mirren have beaten Ayr United (5-1), Hamilton (1-0), and Aberdeen (2-2, 2-4 on penalties). Two of these matches have been played at the New Love Street, while their pass through the quarter finals had to be fought at Pittodrie, where the home team was left stunned after being defeated on penalties.
13:32. Celtic beat Dundee United comfortably in their last SPL outing (4-0), meanwhile, St Mirren were brushed off by Ross County (1-4).
13:30. Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, Bhoys and girls. Let’s get ready for the Scottish League Cup semifinal between Celtic and St Mirren. The Hoops will try to make another step towards the Treble while the Buddies want to reach their second League Cup final in four years (they lost 1-0 to Rangers after having a two man advantadge in 2010). A good contest isa head of us, join the action in Vavel and read what happens in Hampden Park!