CELTIC 6 ST MIRREN 2 (AET)
KELECHI IHEANACHO claimed a double as Celtic overcame St Mirren in a mesmerising extra-time whirlwind at Hampden this afternoon.
Martin O’Neill will now lock horns with protege Neil Lennon’s Dunfermline in the Scottish Cup showpiece at the same venue on Saturday May 23 as the final curtain comes down on an extraordinary season.
An equalising goal from Mikael Mandron dragged this encounter into extra-time with the game tied at 2-2 after the regulation 90 minutes.
Goals from Daizen Maeda and Anthony Ralston, with his first strike of the campaign, had given the Hoops a 2-0 advantage at the interval.
Alarmingly, Martin O’Neill’s side allowed their Premier Sports League Cup conquerors back into the game eight minutes after the interval when Mandron nodded in the first of his double.
And the frontman repeated the feat in the first minute of stoppage-time when Benjamin Arthur switched off to allow the striker a clear look at goal and he made no mistake with a low shot past Viljami Sinisalo at his right-hand side.
It was a real shocker, but the Hoops responded in remarkable fashion in the additional half-hour with two strikes from Iheanacho and singles from Luke McCowan and Benjamin Nygren.
HEAVEN’S ABOVE…Kelechi Iheanacho celebrates his second goal against St Mirren.
It was a breathtaking finale to a game that Celtic, for the umpteenth time this crazy season, have made difficult for themselves.
Evergreen James Forrest, who came on just after the hour mark and claimed the captain’s armband when Callum McGregor departed in the 73rd minute, deserves special credit for having a stupendous impact on proceedings when he made his appearance.
The veteran winger sparked the revival by setting up the third for Iheanacho and played a part in the fourth from McCowan.
O’Neill’s men enjoyed success right at the start and the climax of an incredible first-half in which they scored twice and also hit the woodwork twice with efforts from Arne Engels and Yang Hyun-jun.
There were only 55 seconds on the clock when the Japanese speedster claimed only his second goal in 2026 – and his ninth of the season.
Maeda chased down a passback to Ryan Mullen, making his second start in place of the injured Shamal George, and the keeper was penalised after a heavy first touch.
As Mullen tried to rectify his error, the pacy Celt raced in, blocked the attempted clearance and the ball ricocheted towards the net.
HAMPDEN HURRAH…Daizen Maeda shows his joy after his early opener against St Mirren.
The Paisley netminder scrambled back in a frantic effort to claw the ball clear, but there was no way back and the Hoops celebrated an early advantage.
All credit to Maeda for challenging for the ball in the first place and on this occasion last season’s 33-goal man got his reward.
The half came to a conclusion with O’Neill’s men celebrating another goal – and this time it was superbly constructed and wonderfully executed.
Three minutes into stoppage-time, Sinisalo launched the ball down the middle which was headed away by Miguel Frecklton.
His clearance was seized upon by Engels who slid a pass to the eager Sebastian Tounekti on the left.
The twinkle-toed Tunisian jinked inside before picking out Yang in the box. The South Korean shimmied to open up space before sending a cute backheel into the path of Ralston.
The Scotland international right-back raced in with impeccable timing and thundered an unstoppable drive into the net via the underside of the crossbar.
Engels was out of luck in the ninth minute when he saw a sweeping low drive from 25 yards smack off the left-hand post and rebound to safety.
In the 16th minute, a limping Mullen was replaced by 17-year-old debutant Grant Tamosevicius and one of the first things the youngster did was hold a shot from Benjamin Nygren.
A few minutes later, he displayed excellent reflexes to push away an angled drive from Maeda who had been set up by Nygren.
PICK IT OUT…Luke McCowan slots in Celtic’s fourth goal in a remarkable spell.
Sinisalo, too, was called upon to display his expertise on the half-hour mark when he catapulted to his right to touch a Liam Donnelly header over the bar after a left-wing corner-kick from Mark O’Hara.
The Hoops were again denied by the woodwork in the 37th minute when Kieran Tierney swung in an inviting cross from the left and Yang flicked in a teasing header.
His attempt flummoxed the keeper, but, unfortunately, smacked off the face of the bar and was booted clear.
Eight minutes after the turnaround, Celtic were stunned when the Saints pulled one back with a simple goal,
Declan John slung in a cross from the left and Auston Trusty and Tierney allowed Mandron to get in a header and his effort whipped wide of the diving Sinisalo to his right.
In the 61st minute, O’Neill made his first change when he put on James Forrest for Tounekti and switched Yang to the left.
Skipper McGregor and Engels were replaced by McCowan and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the 73rd minute in an attempt to inject some energy into the midfield.
Ten minutes later, Marcelo Saracchi and Iheanacho entered the action as they took over from Tierney and Yang.
As the clocked ticked down, Sinisalo made a superb double save at his left-hand post to deny the Paisley club, but the Finnish international No.1 was helpless when Mandron equalised in the first minute of stoppage-time.
On-loan Arthur was slow to react as a lobbed pass dropped at the feet of the Saints striker who was allowed time and space before rattling low shot past Sinisalo to take the game into extra-time.
Arthur was immediately replaced by Dane Murray at the start of the extra period.
And then the roof fell in on gallant Saints who had battled furiously from the first minute.
Four goals in a truly amazing six-minute spell saw Celtic hurtle to victory.
In the 97th minute, Iheanacho timed his leap impeccably to get his head to a right-wing cross from Forrest and No.3 swept into the Saints’ net.
CUP FINAL HERE WE COME…Luke McCowan, James Forrest and Benjamin Nygren celebrate as Celtic make certain during an extra-time extravaganza.
Twenty-four SECONDS later, a ball from Forrest was diverted to McCowan who drilled a first-time left-foot drive into the bottom right-hand corner.
The Celtic fans were still celebrating when just two minutes later, Iheanacho accepted a McCowan pass and sidefooted an inch-perfect 16-yard drive past the valiant keeper at his right hand.
And the curtain came down on a memorable spell at the national stadium when Man of the Match Maeda set up Nygren who finished off with an accomplished low drive.
Game over.
Now O’Neill and his players can focus on the forthcoming five crucial league games before preparing for Hampden on May 23 and a meeting with Lenny’s Fifers.
Bring it on!
TEAM: Sinisalo; Ralston, Arthur (sub: Murray 91), Trusty, Tierney (sub: Saracchi 83); Nygren, McGregor (sub: McCowan 73), Engels (sub: Oxlade-Chamberlain 73); Yang (sub: Iheanacho 83), Maeda, Tounekti (sub: Forrest 61).
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