In the semi-final of the Scottish FA Cup, Celtic Glasgow first gambled away a 2-0 lead – and then reached the final in spectacular fashion.
At home in Hampden Park against tenth-placed St. Mirren, who they had beaten 1-0 in the league a week earlier. What could possibly go wrong for Celtic Glasgow? A lot, as the cup semi-final would prove, but initially everything went according to plan for manager Martin O’Neill, who had brought on Arthur, Engels and Tounekti for Scales, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Cvancara compared to the league game.
St. Mirren’s stand-in keeper Mullen, who coach Craig McLeish had brought on in place of the injured George (after a collision with Cvancara in the league) as the only new member of the starting eleven, made a mistake in the very first minute and allowed the ball to be stolen by Maeda. The Japanese player thus gave the favorites the early lead. A little later, Mullen was forced off injured, meaning that the 17-year-old Tamosevicius made his debut. And he also had to swallow the 0:2 in stoppage time of the first half through Ralston (45.+3).
Overtime that St. Mirren would probably have preferred not to play
In the second half, however, the visitors made a great comeback: Mandron scored the equalizer in the 53rd minute and even forced the not undeserved extra time with his brace in the first minute of stoppage time. Anyone hoping for a surprise in extra time was disappointed, however, as the champions suddenly turned on the heat and de facto shot St. Mirren down: Within six minutes, Iheanacho (96th, 100th), McCowan (98th) and Nygren (102nd) had given the Bhoys a 6-2 lead.
A blow from which the visitors from Paisley were unable to recover. Celtic thus progressed to the final, where they will face second division side Dunfermline Athletic, who beat Falkirk 4-2 on penalties. Falkirk, meanwhile, are Glasgow’s next opponents when they host the promoted side on Saturday (6.30pm) in the Scottish promotion play-off. Before that, St. Mirren face Livingston FC in the relegation round (4pm).
