Celtic Breakthrough Against St Johnstone as Rangers Struggle
In Perth, Celtic’s pressure finally cracked St Johnstone’s resistance, and it was Mika Baur who stepped into the spotlight.
For long spells, Callum Davidson – watching on in his role with BBC Sportsound, but once the man in the home dugout – could see what was coming. Celtic had started to turn the screw, wave after wave of attacks pushing St Johnstone deeper.
“I was just about to say St Johnstone need to just hold on in this little period because Celtic were building a bit of pressure there,” Davidson admitted. “Unfortunately they didn't. Much better from Celtic.”
The warning came too late.
Celtic loaded the box, bodies swarming around the six-yard area. Haissem Hassan darted into space and drilled a low ball across goal. Kasper Hogh threw himself at it, desperate for the final touch, but it was Baur who arrived with the composure and contact that mattered, guiding in his first Celtic goal from close range.
Pat Bonner, watching for BBC Sportsound, cut straight to the essence. “They had bodies in the box, that's the difference. There Baur was and all he had to do was get a good contact. Good play from Hassan.”
The goal felt like the release Celtic had been hunting. Before that, even their captain had been snatching at half-chances. Callum McGregor, so often the man for the big moment, found space on the edge of the box and let fly, only for his effort to lack conviction and loop tamely into the arms of Toby Steward.
Once Baur struck, though, the pattern of the game finally matched the pressure Celtic had been building. St Johnstone had held out, then blinked. Celtic, ruthless when it counted, made sure the breakthrough belonged to them.
Rangers Rocked by St Mirren’s Golden Chance
Across the country, the mood in Govan told a very different story.
Rangers and St Mirren were locked at 0-0, but the scoreline barely captured the tension inside the stadium. The home support tried to rouse their team, noise rising as Rangers pushed forward. One loose pass later, the atmosphere snapped. The ball was coughed up in their own third and the anxiety came flooding back.
This felt fragile. It could go either way.
St Mirren sensed it and went for the throat. The move that followed was as sharp as it was simple. One pass sliced through the entire Rangers back line, taking out the lot of them in a single stroke. None of the home defenders reacted. Fraser Taylor did.
The midfielder surged through on goal, clean, unchallenged, the kind of chance players dream about. Time to think. Maybe too much of it.
“What a move,” said former Rangers and St Mirren striker Rory Loy on BBC Sportsound. “The pass takes out the whole Rangers defence and none of the home players react. Fraser Taylor is straight through. He has to put his team 1-0 up. Maybe he has too much time to think about, but it's a glorious opportunity spurned.”
It was the moment. St Mirren might not see a better one all night.
Taylor bore down on goal again, a classic third-man run ripping through the heart of Rangers’ shape. Ivor Pandur refused to flinch, holding his ground, staying high rather than committing early. Taylor had the space to pick his spot. Pandur read it, stood tall, and made the save.
“Oh my goodness,” came the reaction. The sense was clear: St Mirren may not get another opening like that.
The escape did little to settle the Rangers support. The visitors grew more assured, knocking the ball around with a calm that contrasted sharply with the rumblings from the stands.
“St Mirren have looked far more comfortable in this second half and the rumblings are coming from the Rangers fans,” Loy noted. With changes made and Kim and Curtis introduced, Rangers dropped back into a 4-2-3-1, searching for structure, searching for control.
They still hadn’t found the goal.
On a night when Celtic’s persistence was rewarded by numbers in the box and a cool finish from Baur, Rangers were left living dangerously, spared only by a squandered St Mirren chance and a goalkeeper who refused to blink. How long can they keep walking that tightrope?
