Celtic 1-0 St Mirren: Champions secure the points but win few plaudits

CELTIC's pursuit of a fourth consecutive SPL title began on a winning note yesterday, if not an impressive one, as they had to rely on another contentious decision from referee Eddie Smith to see off a robust St Mirren side.

For the second time in six months, Gus MacPherson and his players were left reeling by a dubious call from Smith. At Love Street in February, he awarded Celtic a soft free-kick four minutes from time which Shunsuke Nakamura converted to earn Gordon Strachan's men a priceless 1-0 win in the championship run-in.

At a sun-drenched Parkhead yesterday, it was Smith's award of a penalty to Celtic which incensed the Paisley men, who had defender Will Haining sent off after the tussle with Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink which preceded Barry Robson scoring the only goal of an insipid match.

St Mirren's sense of grievance was not without justification, and on the evidence of this display they can be confident of surviving another season in the top flight. Celtic will simply be grateful for the three points and the knowledge they can surely only improve on a performance which did not please their manager.

If the emotionally-charged unfurling of the championship flag by Tommy Burns' widow Rosemary before kick-off provided the afternoon with a powerful sense of occasion, it was soon in danger of becoming something of a non-event as Celtic toiled to find any rhythm or purpose against the well-drilled visitors.

St Mirren were understandably set out in damage limitation mode by MacPherson with Hugh Murray deployed just in front of the back four and Billy Mehmet operating as the lone striker.

With no headline new arrivals so far, Celtic's line-up was a familiar one, with the injured Nakamura the only notable absentee. Stephen McManus, who had assisted in the flag ceremony, passed up an opportunity to get the new campaign off to a flier for the champions, the captain's header comfortably gathered by Saints goalkeeper Mark Howard.

The lack of fluidity and penetration from Celtic was the source of considerable agitation in the technical area, where first-team coach Neil Lennon was not slow to relay how unimpressed he was by their sluggish start. After one rare cohesive move, Scott McDonald ambitiously and wastefully drove a shot wide of the target when a pass to one of several team-mates in supporting positions would have been more likely to bring a breakthrough.

It was typical of the stuttering nature of Celtic's performance. St Mirren were more comfortable in defence than they could have imagined, and while they were rarely seen as an attacking force, they were not completely devoid of threat.

Franco Miranda, eager to venture forward from his left-back beat whenever possible, put the Celtic defence on the back foot with a terrific cross, but neither Mehmet or Stephen McGinn were able to react quickly enough to convert it.

Aiden McGeady, singled out for praise by chairman Dr John Reid in his pre-match address to the crowd, was being well policed by St Mirren and found it difficult to get involved. His frustration saw him cut infield in search of possession and he sparked a neat move which culminated in McDonald heading Andreas Hinkel's cross over.

Proceedings were finally livened up at the start of the second half, but not in the way the majority of those present were hoping for as Celtic required a moment of brilliance from Artur Boruc to prevent St Mirren taking the lead.

Stephen O'Donnell touched Miranda's cross into the path of Mehmet who had space and time to guide a shot from the edge of the penalty area towards the left hand corner of Boruc's goal. Mehmet was in the process of starting to celebrate when Boruc touched the ball onto the post. O'Donnell's follow-up shot was blocked and it would prove a key moment.

Celtic responded to the alarm call and before their controversial breakthrough, both Gary Caldwell and McDonald directed free headers straight at Howard as they tried to inject some pace and urgency into their play.

St Mirren still looked more than capable of prising a precious point from the match but were undone by referee Smith's highly debatable penalty award. Vennegoor of Hesselink initially looked offside as he tried to get on the end of a through ball from Lee Naylor, but assistant Chris Young's flag stayed down.

John Potter's poor attempt to head the ball clear allowed the Dutch striker to try and muscle his way past Haining. He did so, but in the act of getting in a shot which went wide of Howard's right hand post, fell under Haining's challenge.

If anything, Vennegoor of Hesselink appeared to have been tugging back Haining, but Smith pointed to the spot and produced the red card for the incredulous St Mirren player. Haining took some time to leave the field, angrily accusing Vennegoor of Hesselink of diving and trading harsh words with Paul Hartley and McDonald.

Robson remained unflustered by the delay, although there was a measure of relief for the midfielder when his powerfully struck spot kick crossed the line only after Howard had managed to get a hand on the ball.

Vennegoor of Hesselink should have made the points safe for Celtic when he sent a free header wide from close range and even against ten men, the closing stages were anxious for the champions with St Mirren coming closest to an equaliser when Antonio Tonet crossed for fellow substitute Marc McAusland to nod an effort narrowly over Boruc's crossbar.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Hugh Murray (St Mirren)

The experienced midfielder displayed great discipline and game intelligence in the holding role for his side, providing extra insurance for the back four and hard working support for those in front of him.