Celtic Edge St. Johnstone but O'Neill Unmoved

Celtic took the points. They didn’t take the chance to convince their manager.

A 1–0 win over St. Johnstone on Wednesday in the sixth round of the Scottish Premiership kept the Hoops on track in the table, but the performance left Martin O’Neill distinctly underwhelmed.

His team controlled the ball, owned the territory and racked up the numbers: 60% possession, an expected goals tally of 2.22 against St. Johnstone’s 0.77, 15 shots, 9 on target. On paper, that usually spells a comfortable night.

It wasn’t.

Celtic laboured in front of goal, turning dominance into frustration as chance after chance went begging. The pressure finally told with the single strike that separated the sides, yet the narrow margin only sharpened O’Neill’s view that his attack had fallen short of the standard he expects.

The Big Call: Dropping Duran

One decision stood out even before kick-off. Camilo Duran, the Colombian forward who has quickly become central to Celtic’s attacking identity, started on the bench.

It was a bold call. It was also, in O’Neill’s eyes, a failed experiment.

Speaking to Clyde 1 Superscoreboard after the game, O’Neill admitted he had hoped his side would flourish without their in-form attacker. Instead, the match underlined just how much they rely on him.

He explained that Duran, who has been “class” since arriving in Glasgow, looked tired in the previous outing against St. Mirren. The workload, O’Neill stressed, covers both sides of the game: quality on the ball and relentless pressing off it. Only Daizen Maeda, he noted, closes players down more.

So O’Neill tried to rest him. The answer, as he put it, is “probably not” when it comes to doing without the Colombian.

Duran was eventually introduced, but only for 17 minutes. It was a stark contrast to his recent schedule: 83 minutes against St. Mirren on September 5, when he provided an assist, and 75 minutes against Aberdeen on September 2, when he delivered a goal and an assist.

Those contributions are no blip. This season, across the Premiership, League Cup and Champions League qualifiers, Duran has nine goal involvements in nine games — six goals and three assists. For a summer signing still bedding into Scottish football, that is a statement return.

Celtic paid Qarabag around 5.5 million euros to bring him in. Right now, he looks worth every cent, and perhaps even more valuable than O’Neill initially wanted to admit.

Big Month, Big Questions

The narrow win over St. Johnstone closes one chapter and opens a far more demanding one.

Celtic now walk into a defining stretch of September. Two derbies against Rangers loom large: a Scottish League Cup quarterfinal on Sunday, September 13, and a Premiership showdown on September 20. Both carry weight, both will test Celtic’s nerve and depth.

They will have to navigate those fixtures without Yang Hyun-jun. The South Korean winger is set to leave for the Asian Games, depriving O’Neill of another attacking option at precisely the time he’s learning just how indispensable Duran might be.

Wedged between those Old Firm clashes sits the start of their UEFA Europa League campaign. Ferencvaros visit Celtic Park on September 17, a night that will demand intensity, precision and a sharper edge than the one on display against St. Johnstone.

The numbers say Celtic are creating enough. O’Neill’s reaction says he expects more. With Rangers and Europe on the horizon, his forwards now know exactly where the bar has been set — and who, among them, can no longer be spared.