Celtic began their 2025/26 Scottish Premiership season with an impressive opening-day win over St Mirren. This victory represents a remarkable 17 wins in their past 18 opening season contests. The semi-final, played at Celtic Park, saw Luke McCowan score the winning goal with two minutes remaining. This victory started Brendan Rodgers’ side’s title defense on a positive high.
The meeting opened under extraordinary auspices. Celtic had thrashed St Mirren in the previous three meetings – 11 goals scored, none conceded. Despite St Mirren holding them to a 1-1 draw on the last day of play last season, hope abounded amongst the faithful. They were clamoring for more of a home run this go round. Before kick-off, Celtic captain Callum McGregor paraded the Scottish Premiership trophy onto the pitch. At the other end of the pitch, club legend Paul McStay had unfurled the title winners’ flag which proclaimed 2015/16 Scottish Champions, raising hopes of a positive omen.
Missed Opportunities and Near Misses
From the very beginning, Celtic’s attacking force was on full display. Daizen Maeda had a huge chance only 18 minutes into the game. Sadly for the U.S., he missed his chance wide when it looked like he had to score. Just a few minutes later it was almost 1-0 – Reo Hatate came within inches of giving Celtic the lead. As his shot hit the post and bounced off goalkeeper Shamal George hitting the post a second time.
Despite their efforts, Celtic found themselves frustrated. An apparent goal by McGregor was ruled out after a VAR review determined he had handled the ball in the buildup. The squad played their hearts out to generate opportunities but just were unable to finish on goal. They needed to trust their back line to hold things level, sometimes doing so with the aid of good fortune.
Late Heroics Seal the Win
The longer the match went on, the more Celtic’s determination proved decisive. Substitute Luke McCowan only took seven minutes of his entrance before making a name for himself. Incredible, seemingly impossible, sheer luck – he scored their winning goal in the 88th minute! His last strike was a fitting testament to the squad’s depth of terrific talent. It was a significant step that clinched all three points for the Bhoys.
Brendan Rodgers was understandably full of praise for his players for their never-say-die attitude in winning the match.
“I have to congratulate the players, because the persistence that they showed throughout the game to keep driving forward, and the impact of the guys coming into the game, was excellent. It was a really, really important win.” – Brendan Rodgers
After the examination, Rodgers praised this win as an early momentum builder for the long season to come. He stressed the adversity the team had to overcome throughout the game. It was their laser-focused drive to win that really led to their triumph.
“It’s the story of this club, we keep going right to the very end. We never settle for a draw, we always want to win, and the players got the reward for showing that hunger to do that.” – Brendan Rodgers
Reflections on Performance
Note that even as she celebrated the victory, Rodgers recognized that even in success, there is a need to do better about the quality of performance. He noted, despite their championship pedigree, Celtic has a tremulous track record of bouncing back. Nonetheless they’ll surely have to be more clinical in order to take advantage of those opportunities in their upcoming games.
St Mirren’s manager, Stephen Robinson, expressed disappointment despite his team’s commendable performance. He praised his side for matching Celtic’s intensity and being in the game for the full 90 minutes.
“It’s tough to take because our level of performance was good. We knew that Celtic would change and throw subs on and more energy as well, but we tried to match that at half-time.” – Stephen Robinson
What mattered most still, Robinson insisted, was the fact that his squad held its ground against a powerful foe. He thought they could have achieved much more from the engagement, too.
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