Celtic Break St Johnstone Stalemate as Rangers Struggle

On a tense night in Scotland, one half of Glasgow finally found a way through. The other waited, groaned, and watched the clock.

Baur Breaks St Johnstone Resistance

At McDiarmid Park, Celtic had been prodding and probing without reward, the game stuck in that awkward phase where pressure builds but the scoreboard refuses to move.

Callum McGregor tried to change that. The Celtic captain, so often the man for a decisive strike, wound up on the edge of the St Johnstone box and let fly. It never truly came off his boot, the shot deflecting tamely up into the grateful arms of goalkeeper Toby Steward. A half-chance, nothing more, but a sign that Celtic were tightening the screw.

Former St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson could feel it coming.

“I was just about to say St Johnstone need to just hold on in this little period because Celtic were building a bit of pressure there,” he admitted on BBC Sportsound. “Unfortunately they didn't. Much better from Celtic.”

The warning didn’t last long. The pressure finally told.

Haissem Hassan drove at the home defence and fizzed a low ball across the face of goal. Celtic had flooded the box this time, white shirts swarming the six-yard area. Kasper Hogh stretched to make contact, but it was Mika Baur who arrived at the right moment, steering in from close range for his first Celtic goal.

Pat Bonner, watching it unfold, cut straight to the heart of it.

“They had bodies in the box, that's the difference,” the former Celtic goalkeeper said. “There Baur was and all he had to do was get a good contact. Good play from Hassan.”

A simple finish, born from numbers, intent and a rare moment of clarity in a tight game. St Johnstone had resisted for long spells, but one sweeping move and one decisive run shattered the stalemate.

Rangers Rocked by St Mirren Scare

Across the country, the mood at Ibrox was very different.

Rangers and St Mirren were locked at 0-0, and the home crowd were trying to drag their team forward. The noise rose, the backing was there. Then Rangers gave the ball away in their own third and the atmosphere snapped from supportive to edgy in an instant.

This wasn’t control. This was a knife-edge.

St Mirren sensed it. They grew into the second half, started to look the more assured side in possession, and the unease in the stands turned into audible rumblings.

“St Mirren have looked far more comfortable in this second half and the rumblings are coming from the Rangers fans,” said former Rangers and St Mirren striker Rory Loy on BBC Sportsound. “With Kim and Curtis on, Rangers are back to that 4-2-3-1.”

The tactical tweak didn’t bring immediate calm. Instead, it almost blew up in Rangers’ faces.

What followed was the chance of the night.

A clever third-man run from Fraser Taylor ripped straight through the Rangers back line. One pass took out the entire defence. None of the home players reacted. Suddenly Taylor was in, clean through, the whole goal to aim at.

“What a move,” Loy said. “The pass takes out the whole Rangers defence and none of the home players react. Fraser Taylor is straight through. He has to put his team 1-0 up. Maybe he has too much time to think about, but it's a glorious opportunity spurned.”

“Oh my goodness,” came the reaction as the move unfolded. St Mirren, it was said, would not get a better chance all night. Surely not.

Taylor had time, space, and the game at his feet. But Ivor Pandur held his ground, stayed high on his line, and made the save. Rangers survived, just.

The miss summed up the contest. One team pushing, one team nervy, and a visiting side sharp enough to carve out the clearest opening of the match but not ruthless enough to finish it.

At Ibrox, it still felt like it could go either way. At McDiarmid Park, Celtic had already shown what happens when pressure finally finds a finishing touch.