CELTIC 1 ST MIRREN 0
ALEX OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN was the hero after scoring his second Premiership winner since his recent arrival at Celtic.
The former England international midfielder was the man who got the crucial goal in a tension-laden encounter against St Mirren at Parkhead this afternoon.
There were echoes of his stoppage-time points-clincher against Livingston on February 11, two days after his recruitment on a short-term contract.
The left-foot strike in the 15th minute kept the Hoops three points adrift of Hearts who needed two late goals to overcome Motherwell 3-1 at Tynecastle.
Remarkably, this was Celtic’s third 1-0 success over the Saints in the Premiership this season with Oxlade-Chamberlain joining Luke McCowan and Callum McGregor as the matchwinners.
In only two minutes, there was a flash of skill from Tomas Cvancara as he lured Shamal George from his line as he chased the ball into the box on the left-hand channel.
The giant frontman touched the ball inside for Benjamin Nygren, but his first-time drive was blocked by a desperate defender.
However, it came to a halt when the standside linesman flagged for offside. It was extremely tight.
ON THE BAWL…Martin O’Neill delivers a message from the touchline.
And the same official was flagging again four minutes later to wipe out a ‘goal’ from Oxlade-Chamberlain.
The former Arsenal and Liverpool star made no mistake from a rebound after a Callum McGregor drive had dropped to his feet, but he had strayed into an offside position in the build-up.
In the 14th minute, Miguel Freckleton had the game’s first shot on target with a low 25-yard drive, but Viljami Sinisalo dived to his right to make a confident save.
A minute later, the champions claimed the crucial breakthrough goal to soothe early anxiety among the fans.
Kieran Tierney set up McGregor with a shooting chance from 25 yards. Once again, the skipper let fly and the effort was blocked by a frantic Alex Gogic.
This time, the ball was diverted to quick-thinking Oxlade-Chamberlain and he took a touch to set himself up before drilling the ball wide of the sprawling George to his left.
It was a well-struck shot and was well received by team-mates and supporters.
In the 27th minute, Tierney released Daizen Maeda on the left and the Japanese speedster whipped a low cross into box.
Bravely, George dived full-length to snatch the ball off the toe of Cvancara as he slid in. The game was held up for a spell as the keeper had onfield treatment following an accidental collision.
Ryan Mullen, a former Celtic prospect, came on as goalkeeper substitute for the dazed George after a four-minute delay.
HAND’S UP IF YOU’RE HAPPY…a beaming Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain shows his joy.
Yang Hyun-jun was getting a lot of the ball on the right without doing too much with it. Nearing the end of the first-half, the South Korean had an ideal opportunity to pick out Nygren in the box, but his final pass was wayward and the chance was lost.
Anthony Ralston, making a rare first-team start, was easing himself into the action while showing a perplexing reluctance to get down the wing to add his weight to the attack.
There was a worrying lack of composure from the hosts in the early stages of the second-half with the Saints enjoying far too much possession for anyone of a Celtic persuasion to be comfortable.
The Hoops were way off the pace as the visitors began to take control of the game. It was developing into an extremely uncomfortable watch for the home support.
The Paisley club were racking up the corner-kicks – four in ten minutes after the turnaround – as Celtic were being pushed back.
O’Neill made the expected first changes in the 63rd minute when he sent on Arne Engels and Kelechi Iheanacho for Nygren and Cvancara.
Inside two minutes, Iheanacho blew a great chance to double the Hoops’ advantage.
The Nigerian international cut inside Gogic as a long ball dropped into the box. Suddenly, he had the chance to have a strike at goal or play in Maeda.
As he hesitated, the ball was taken off his toe and a glorious opportunity was missed.
In 72 minutes, Iheanacho whipped a shot wide after he got on the end of a Maeda cross. Once again, he should have done so much better.
A minute later, a tiring McGregor and Oxlade-Chamberlain were withdrawn to make way for Luke McCowan and Reo Hatate as O’Neill desperately looked for fresh legs in the engine room.
The Saints continued to battle in an attempt to knock the hosts out of their stride as the clock ticked down.
It wasn’t easy on the eye as the champions held on.
It’s all about results at this stage of the campaign and we’ll take it.
Now all eyes are on Hampden a week tomorrow for the second of the double-header when the teams meet again in the Scottish Cup semi-final.
Those of a nervous disposition might want to stay away!
TEAM: Sinisalo; Ralston, Trusty, Scales, Tierney; Nygren (sub: Engels 63), McGregor (sub: McCowan 73), Oxlade-Chamberlain (sub: Hatate 73); Yang, Cvancara (sub: Iheanacho 63), Maeda.
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