Celtic Held to Frustrating Stalemate by St Mirren in Season Opener
Celtic kicked off their Scottish Premiership campaign at Celtic Park with a surprisingly cagey 0-0 draw against St Mirren—a result that wasn’t exactly what the home fans had expected. On what was supposed to be a celebratory Flag Day, the reigning champions were held scoreless by a disciplined and defensively solid St Mirren side who refused to be rattled on a big stage.
The game started off with Celtic dominating possession—as much as 76% throughout the match—and pressing hard in the final third. But despite all that control, the final ball just wasn’t there. Brendan Rodgers’ men struggled to carve out clear-cut chances, and when they did, they found St Mirren’s keeper Shamal George in fine form.
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One of the clearest chances came when Reo Hatate’s deflected shot looped awkwardly and bounced off the post, only to ricochet off the goalkeeper and roll wide. It was the kind of moment that felt like it should have gone in—but just didn’t. Celtic hit the woodwork twice in the match, adding to the sense of frustration in the stands.
James Forrest, brought on in the second half, tried to inject some spark, especially after replacing Yang Hyun-Jun. But St Mirren, to their credit, kept their shape brilliantly. Former Hibernian midfielder Scott Allan described their defensive organization as “fantastic,” and you could see why. Every Celtic attack seemed to be met with a wall of black and white shirts ready to clear the danger.
There was also some controversy around the 61st minute when a handball appeal was waved away after the ball ricocheted off Alex Gogic. VAR didn’t intervene, and the game carried on with tensions rising.
Both sides made changes—Celtic looked to Forrest and later Trusty, while St Mirren brought on Ayunga at half-time—but the deadlock was never broken. Even with over 500 completed passes and 23 touches in the St Mirren box, Celtic just couldn’t find a breakthrough.
By full-time, the visitors had earned a well-deserved point. It’s worth noting this was the second season in a row where St Mirren have managed to hold Celtic at Parkhead. Meanwhile, for Celtic, it was a rare opening day stumble—only their second time in 18 years failing to win the first league match at home.
So, while it's only the first game, the message from this one is clear: Brendan Rodgers' side might still be shaking off the preseason dust, and St Mirren have come into the new campaign already looking battle-ready.
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