Celtic managed to grind out a tough 2-1 win over Stephen Robinson’s St Mirren side last night in what was far from a vintage performance from Brendan Rodgers’ men.
Whilst the performance may not have set the world alight, however, games like this are natural over the course of a season and Oh Hyeon-gyu’s late winner may be a goal we look back on at the end of the season as a pivotal moment.
Even during Rodgers’ run to securing an invincible treble, there were games where the team wasn’t at their brilliant best but they did secure what was most important, that being the three points.
Here are A Celtic State of Mind’s player ratings from the 2-1 win over St Mirren:
Joe Hart – 6
It was another quiet game for the English stopper, with the 36-year-old having relatively no chance of getting a hand to Conor McMenamin’s headed goal early on.
Alistair Johnston – 6
As we have seen over the last few weeks, Johnston has been getting more and more involved in the Celtic attack, always offering an overlapping run for the Celtic wide-men. Strong defensively, it was business as usual for Johnston against the Buddies.
Nat Phillips – 6
The Liverpool loanee shocked a few with his inclusion in the starting XI and he put in a steady display, with the standout quality of his game being how quickly he passes out from the back, something that is key in restarting attacks against rigid and organised defences.
Liam Scales – 7
It was a composed and assured display from the Irishman as he continues to surpass expectations this season under Brendan Rodgers.
Greg Taylor – 6
Taylor was always offering an option down that left-hand side, but his defending was suspect for the visitors’ opening goal as McMenamin had a free header in the Celtic box. He grew into the game following that early error and put in a steady display.
Matt O’Riley – 6
Unusually, the Dane didn’t set the world alight on Wednesday evening. He failed to make much of an impact on the night and was subbed off on 68 minutes.
Callum McGregor – 7
The captain controlled and dictated the game against what was a tricky opponent. Very often in these domestic games where the going gets tough, McGregor is the player who stands up and grabs the game by the scruff of the neck and he did the same last night.
David Turnbull – 7
Turnbull came into the team in place of Paulo Bernardo and scored a cracking goal to put Celtic level in the game. He repaid the faith bestowed upon him by the manager with that goal, something we all know that he is capable of, but the team’s penalty woes continued when the 24-year-old struck the post with his spot-kick.
James Forrest – 6
Forrest came into the team for Daizen Maeda and had a quiet night. His best moment of the game was an effort early in the second half, only denied by a superb stop from Zach Hemming in the St Mirren goal.
Kyogo Furuhashi – 6
It was another quiet game for Kyogo, but he almost provided a moment of magic late on as he sat down Alex Gogic before trying to round off his solo move with a lob which was saved by Hemming.
Luis Palma – 7
The Honduran went close in the first half as his effort deflected just wide of the mark. He tested the keeper on a couple of occasions following that opportunity which meant it was a surprise when he was hooked before the hour mark.
Daizen Maeda – 5
The forward was brought on early on in the second-half, and offered a threat any time he had the ball.
Yang Hyun-jun – 7
The Korean caused lots of problems for the St Mirren backline and staked his claim to be in amongst the squad once again, constantly driving at the opposition.
Odin Thiago Holm – 6
The Norwegian looked lively on his return from injury, laying off the assist for Oh Hyeon-gyu’s game-winning goal.
Oh Hyeon-gyu – 7
It was a massive weight off Oh’s shoulders last night as he finally grabbed his first goal of the season. It seemed like a hurdle he was struggling to get over this season, with plentiful chances failing to hit the back of the net, but hopefully this goal opens the floodgates for the Korean.
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