St Mirren v Celtic

:00:26. > :00:34.In recent years for both St Mirren and Celtic, the League Cup has

:00:34. > :00:40.brought real heartbreak. Since were agonisingly close to glory in 2010.

:00:40. > :00:46.I have an unbelievable goal. I and Celtic have been losers in the last

:00:46. > :00:51.two finals. Kilmarnock have stunned Celtic and might well have ended

:00:51. > :00:57.their treble hopes. They are both back at hand and today, one step

:00:57. > :01:04.away from the final and another shot at the All trophy. Kris

:01:04. > :01:08.Commons scores again. Celtic are in the semi-final now. It has Kenny

:01:08. > :01:15.McLean, a great save by Craig Samson. A wonderful night for St

:01:15. > :01:19.Mirren. A Scottish Communities League Cup semi-final took a bit of

:01:19. > :01:22.sorting out. Well this one at hand and be a little more

:01:22. > :01:27.straightforward? The bookmakers tell you that it will be a Celtic

:01:27. > :01:36.to play Hearts and the final. Underdogs St Mirren don't see it

:01:36. > :01:41.that way. Were Celtic take another step towards the domestic treble?

:01:41. > :01:46.Will St Mirren upset the odds? We will find out shortly. That is live

:01:46. > :01:54.on the BBC. And at half-time we will have highlights of that first

:01:54. > :01:59.semi-final and SPL highways as well. The Aberdeen hits game is still

:01:59. > :02:09.under way, and we will have news from Dens Park of Dundee against

:02:09. > :02:09.

:02:09. > :02:14.Kilmarnock. Joining me a Pat Nevin and Owen Coyle. Look ing at the

:02:14. > :02:18.statistics, it straight victories for Celtic again St Mirren, is it

:02:18. > :02:22.inevitable a repeat of that? It is a tall order to overcome that. When

:02:22. > :02:27.you get to the semi-final of the cup competition, it is a one off

:02:27. > :02:31.and you have a real chance, but I cannot see that St Mirren will be

:02:31. > :02:35.filled with confidence coming into the game knowing they have got such

:02:35. > :02:39.a poor record against what is a very good Celtic side. It will be

:02:39. > :02:45.difficult for them but the nature of cup competition, anything can

:02:45. > :02:49.happen. Particularly coming to the business end, the semi-finals and

:02:49. > :02:57.finals. It is an intriguing game but St Mirren are going to have to

:02:57. > :03:02.be at their maximum. You look at the likes of what MK Dons did and

:03:02. > :03:06.Luton Town did yesterday in England., Mark, of course, was the

:03:06. > :03:11.other one. Celtic have to have a very bad day and St Mirren have to

:03:11. > :03:17.have a very good one. There is no pressure and expectation on St

:03:17. > :03:20.Mirren, and that might help them a little. Without further ado, let's

:03:20. > :03:26.get the team news from Craig Paterson and Liam Macleod at

:03:26. > :03:29.Hampden. That is going to take some doing to beat the drama of the

:03:29. > :03:36.first semi-final yesterday, with Hearts beating Inverness on

:03:36. > :03:39.penalties. And the St Mirren fans, the managers and players, could be

:03:39. > :03:45.forgiven for rolling their eyes when the draw gave them Celtic in

:03:45. > :03:48.the semi-final. It is all Chamakh games since Danny Lennon took over

:03:48. > :03:54.at they have not managed a single goal, let alone a victory, against

:03:54. > :04:02.Celtic. In the recent SPL game between the teams, Celtic weight

:04:02. > :04:10.the floor with them, performance was. And they Avenue signing in the

:04:10. > :04:13.shape of Goncalves from Portugal. think of St Mirren are going to do

:04:13. > :04:20.anything this afternoon, it is the spine of the team that has got to

:04:20. > :04:24.perform. Samson and goals, the centre half's, Paul McGowan off the

:04:24. > :04:27.front, and Steven Thompson spearheading it. If these

:04:27. > :04:34.experienced guys play well St Mirren have got a chance of making

:04:34. > :04:39.the final. Celtic and missing goalkeeper Fraser Forster, still

:04:39. > :04:43.out with that neck injury. He is a big miss for them. He has been

:04:43. > :04:49.especially good in the Champions League, and Lucasz Zaluska coming

:04:49. > :04:53.in for Rhyl. An able deputy, but Celtic a major goal threat. Big

:04:53. > :04:57.defenders coming forward for set pieces, Charlie Mulgrew with the

:04:57. > :05:02.free kick, Victor Wanyama, who has scored in both games again St

:05:02. > :05:06.Mirren this season, and up front, Gary Hooper with five goals in

:05:06. > :05:12.three games, that is a side that is designed to attack and go for goals.

:05:12. > :05:15.A huge test for St Mirren against Celtic, who are lost the last two

:05:15. > :05:22.League Cup finals and the St Mirren can grasp anything it will be that

:05:22. > :05:24.Celtic have lost in their last two visits to Hampden Park. Even

:05:24. > :05:30.without first-choice goalkeeper Fraser us Forster, that looks like

:05:30. > :05:35.a very solid Celtic team. There is a team that is playing full of

:05:35. > :05:39.confidence. It is a team, and I said at the Champions League have

:05:39. > :05:45.left them for a few months, and they would open a gap of

:05:45. > :05:48.domestically, and they have did that. They are full of confidence,

:05:48. > :05:56.and then the Champions League, with players giving big performances, to

:05:56. > :06:01.get into the team to play Juventus. And the set plea delivery from

:06:01. > :06:05.Celtic, they looked as if they could score with a free set play,

:06:05. > :06:11.because of the delivery and because they have got a naturally very tall

:06:11. > :06:14.team. That set plays St Mirren a going to have to be so focused and

:06:14. > :06:22.concentrated and people are going to have to take responsibility in

:06:22. > :06:27.their own box. Goncalves has not played yet, Newton has only played

:06:27. > :06:36.once. It is stunning to see that. Particularly at Hampden Park, as

:06:36. > :06:44.well. They could be lifted, while they could freeze. Literally, as

:06:44. > :06:51.well, because it is freezing cold dirt there! You expect more of Gary

:06:51. > :06:57.Teale. He has not done so much this season. And David van Zanten,

:06:57. > :07:02.players who have been there for a while and to know the game. If you

:07:02. > :07:08.were to base your thinking on League placings, you would imagine

:07:08. > :07:12.it was a no contest - 24 points between them, top and second-bottom

:07:12. > :07:18.in the SPL, but the words from Neil Lennon in the build-up have been

:07:18. > :07:24.pretty wary. Maybe he is thinking back to this particular match

:07:24. > :07:28.against St Mirren, which signalled the end of Tony Mowbray minus four-

:07:28. > :07:35.04 St Mirren, of course. This was the opportunity opening up for Neil

:07:35. > :07:40.Lennon. It is strange how football works. I think that was the last

:07:40. > :07:44.time St Mirren scored any goals again Celtic. The fact that the

:07:44. > :07:50.young ones playing for St Mirren, that might be their best hope,

:07:50. > :07:54.because they should be playing without any fear. The seasoned

:07:54. > :07:59.professionals, when you have taken a hiding from the same team, it is

:07:59. > :08:02.difficult to think, how can we get the better of them? But with the

:08:02. > :08:07.young ones playing, that might help the senior players to have a real

:08:07. > :08:15.go, and fighter when the semi-final and get to the final. We have

:08:15. > :08:20.talked about minuses for St Mirren, but Steven Thompson is a big plus,

:08:20. > :08:25.a player that you sign for Burnley. I know him very well. Probably the

:08:25. > :08:30.best signing I ever made, and they got him for nothing from Cardiff

:08:30. > :08:34.City who wanted half a million at the time, eventually, we got him

:08:34. > :08:41.for nothing and what he brought to Burnley, he leads the line so well,

:08:41. > :08:45.he brought goals, but he is a real team player, and I know that he is

:08:45. > :08:50.loving as they St Mirren. To score 12 goals is a great return at this

:08:50. > :08:53.stage. He will be anxious to do well, recognising this stage he is

:08:53. > :08:59.that of his career and knowing that at Cup finals do not come around

:08:59. > :09:07.very often. Leading the line for Celtic, he isn't bad, either, just

:09:07. > :09:12.22 goals so far are for the much wanted Gary Hooper. How much is a

:09:12. > :09:16.Celtic forward do you like those? He is always looking to get between

:09:16. > :09:22.the centre backs and the goalkeeper. Look at him pointing what he wants

:09:23. > :09:28.the ball. His touch was fantastic. Anyone who has seen a Olivier

:09:28. > :09:32.Giroud for Arsenal, he shows the exact same qualities. He is not

:09:32. > :09:36.necessarily the quickest player you have ever seen, but he is a classic

:09:36. > :09:41.centre-forward, moving between the centre-backs and the goalkeeper,

:09:41. > :09:48.pointing to where he once ate a lot of the time, a player who not only

:09:49. > :09:53.once the ball, but those of us who did not used to be able to do that

:09:53. > :10:00.within, how on earth do you do that? Guys like him can do it with

:10:00. > :10:06.their eyes shut. He's as good as anybody I have seen recently, doing

:10:06. > :10:14.that, and he just looks that little bit sharper. You expect him, if

:10:14. > :10:20.there are chances, that he will score. It is Lennon verses Lennon,

:10:20. > :10:27.with us hear from two managers' pre-match, with Chris McLoughlin.

:10:27. > :10:32.Is all the pressure on Celtic this afternoon? It is certainly a big

:10:33. > :10:37.deal, at Glasgow Celtic, you are meant to go out and win every game.

:10:37. > :10:41.The players are well schooled in who they want to be played and

:10:42. > :10:47.hopefully we can put that to the test against a very good side.

:10:47. > :10:51.you say to the players, just go and enjoy it? They have certainly not

:10:51. > :10:57.here just to enjoy the occasion. We want to make it an occasion. Some

:10:57. > :11:03.players never get to play at the National Stadium in a national

:11:03. > :11:09.semi-final. What we want the players to do is relax, have belief

:11:09. > :11:14.and enjoy it. You do not have a great record against Celtic. What

:11:14. > :11:20.makes you think that today might be different? History has a habit of

:11:20. > :11:27.repeating itself. If you look back at 1859, we had a great semi-final

:11:27. > :11:35.victory against an, we have beaten them 3-0 at Celtic Park in 1989, so

:11:35. > :11:40.hopefully, it is our turn today. You know more than most that been

:11:40. > :11:49.at the semi-final does not guarantee success. Well, it doesn't.

:11:49. > :11:52.Not just here. Anything can happen on any given day. We're walking a

:11:52. > :11:57.bit of a tightrope when it comes to these games and we have to give it

:11:57. > :12:04.a go. Does it give you something of a no-win situation? We are expected

:12:04. > :12:09.to win. If we do not we get highly criticised. We are expected to win.

:12:09. > :12:14.The players are aware of that and that there is the mentality we have.

:12:14. > :12:19.Because of the way that that things are in the leak, does the treble

:12:19. > :12:23.have extra significance? There is no extra significance to the treble.

:12:23. > :12:29.If you can achieve it, then it is a great thing, and that is what we

:12:29. > :12:34.are aiming to do. I do not think he enjoyed the mention of the treble,

:12:34. > :12:40.Neil Lennon, but there is pressure and expectation this season, with

:12:40. > :12:45.the expectation that they will sweep the boards. In any other

:12:45. > :12:50.season Celtic have a 50% chance of winning the trophies, in

:12:50. > :12:54.competition with Rangers. As it is, now the expectation is 100%,

:12:54. > :13:04.because Rangers are down the divisions. There is pressure, in

:13:04. > :13:07.that sense. That is why he will probably get a little bit irked by

:13:07. > :13:12.the pressure. He does not want it to be taken for granted that Celtic

:13:12. > :13:16.have won to win all these jockeys. How much will the history of the

:13:16. > :13:21.fixture way in the mind of Danny Lennon? He will be trying not to

:13:21. > :13:29.think about it as much as possible. He has been looking on the computer

:13:29. > :13:32.at history trying to find some sort of succour! Picture forget

:13:32. > :13:37.everything that has gone then that, it certainly will not help not

:13:37. > :13:42.winning in the recent past. I listened to our colleagues on

:13:42. > :13:47.rigger Scotland talking about the trouble and they talk about it as

:13:47. > :13:51.something they want to do. Most managers backed it away, but I was

:13:51. > :13:55.taken by the fact that Neil Lennon is up for wanting to do this, and

:13:55. > :14:00.it shows you the confidence he has caught and the pressure, good

:14:00. > :14:05.pressure, that he wants to put on his players, that is something you

:14:05. > :14:09.should have Pat Celtic football club. The big glamour game against

:14:09. > :14:14.Juventus, not far over the horizon now, and that might take the focus

:14:14. > :14:18.off again like today for Celtic. will be stressing to his players

:14:18. > :14:22.that if anybody takes the eye of the ball they will not be in the

:14:22. > :14:26.team. From a playing perspective, players have to give a big

:14:26. > :14:33.performance, so that when the Juventus game comes about, I do not

:14:33. > :14:37.miss out on the opportunity. And when that last 16 Thai comes about,

:14:37. > :14:39.who's to say that Celtic cannot progress? You want to be on the top

:14:39. > :14:43.of your form individually and collectively to give yourself the

:14:43. > :14:53.chance to do that. You want to make sure you are in the final to win

:14:53. > :14:58.

:14:58. > :15:04.this trophy and to do that you have A penalty was saved by Aberdeen.

:15:04. > :15:10.Niall McGinn had his penalty saved, so it finished goalless. Back to

:15:10. > :15:18.the League Cup semi-final, who will play Hearts in the final. How

:15:18. > :15:23.crucial to the game might be Celtic old boy Paul McGowan? I would talk

:15:23. > :15:28.about McGowan, every one of them has to be 100%. It is not an

:15:28. > :15:31.individual one. But he can make things happen for them? Exactly,

:15:31. > :15:35.but he will be pushed a little bit back into midfield. He wants to

:15:35. > :15:43.attack from the midfield area. He wants to get forward, he has got a

:15:43. > :15:46.bit of quality. You've got John Begin, McGowan, going forward, they

:15:46. > :15:51.had a bit of quality. But when they are playing against the power that

:15:51. > :15:58.they are playing against, I would look at the physique of Brown,

:15:58. > :16:02.Wanyama, Medley, even Samaras. They are a big, big physical side. I

:16:02. > :16:07.don't know if there is enough physique to hold up against Celtic.

:16:07. > :16:15.I'm willing to be proved wrong, but on such a big pitch, up until

:16:15. > :16:20.recently, Celtic, and Rangers until recently, rarely lost at Hampden.

:16:20. > :16:24.Wide areas, good players make good use of space but also the physical

:16:24. > :16:31.access that they have got. There are a couple of players missing

:16:31. > :16:34.from St Mirren. It is hard for them. St Mirren have to be very

:16:34. > :16:38.respectful of Celtic, they know their quality, but they cannot be

:16:38. > :16:41.fearful of them. They have to believe they can come out and play

:16:41. > :16:44.their game. Magellan, at the top end of the pitch, he can be a

:16:44. > :16:49.match-winner. Those players are going to have to be at their best.

:16:49. > :16:54.If they do get possession in Celtic's final third, Celtic can be

:16:54. > :17:01.as fragile as anybody else in the final third. McGowan can produce,

:17:01. > :17:04.Thomson can produce, Gary Teale will be wanting to show that he is

:17:04. > :17:08.still a top player. This is a chance that they have, if they

:17:08. > :17:13.believe in themselves. Trust in themselves and give it a real go.

:17:13. > :17:17.If they set up defensively and let Celtic come on to them, Celtic will

:17:17. > :17:26.score. It might take a few attacks, but I would rather St Mirren have a

:17:26. > :17:30.real go and try to win an old- fashioned cup-tie. Joe Ledley,

:17:30. > :17:37.Victor Wanyama, he is a big specimen. We talk a lot about

:17:37. > :17:41.Hooper. But down south I think they are all talking about Wanyama.

:17:41. > :17:45.Talking about them looking for space, that is the man that will

:17:45. > :17:54.deny them space. How is Victor Wanyama or regarded down south?

:17:54. > :17:58.Very highly. Gary Hooper is a fantastic strike a. -- striker.

:17:58. > :18:03.There will be clubs of those statures interested in him. But I

:18:03. > :18:07.think Wanyama is capable of playing for any of the top clubs in the

:18:07. > :18:12.Premier League, Arsenal, Manchester United, he has the pace, power, the

:18:12. > :18:18.ability and he is still a young man. Celtic, they deserve enormous

:18:18. > :18:21.credit, �900,000. He comes from a footballing background, his father

:18:21. > :18:26.was an international player. He is well-schooled, knows how to play.

:18:26. > :18:29.He started to develop, game by game. You have seen the Champions League

:18:30. > :18:33.games, he stands tall and he looks a top player in the Champions

:18:33. > :18:43.League environment, never mind anywhere else. I think Celtic have

:18:43. > :18:43.

:18:43. > :18:49.a very good player. Jim Goodwin, big player? Oh, yes. The centre

:18:49. > :18:57.half's will have a lot of work to do. We did talk about Hooper, his

:18:57. > :19:03.movement is as good as anybody else in that final third. Samaras,

:19:03. > :19:07.coming through the left, every player has to be concentrating all

:19:07. > :19:11.the time of St Mirren art have any chance at all. Let's find out who

:19:11. > :19:16.will play Hearts. It went all the way yesterday, how will it be

:19:16. > :19:26.sorted out today? St Mirren again Celtic, you have seen them already,

:19:26. > :19:28.

:19:28. > :19:32.let's hear from Leah Macleod. -- that if you are well organised, the

:19:32. > :19:36.underdog can have their day. Those were the words of Danny Lennon, on

:19:36. > :19:42.the day of the semi-final draw. It handed them a date they would not

:19:42. > :19:45.have wanted before it was made. It could have been Hearts or Inverness

:19:45. > :19:50.they faced, teams they have taken points from in the league this

:19:50. > :19:53.season. Instead, they take on the favourites, not just for this

:19:53. > :19:57.competition but the other two in Scotland as well. A Celtic side,

:19:57. > :20:06.they have lost each of their last eight games against, without

:20:06. > :20:10.scoring a single-goal. But as The Buddies boss also said, once you

:20:10. > :20:20.get to this stage, you've got to beat the best if you are going to

:20:20. > :20:22.

:20:22. > :20:29.turning over Celtic this afternoon. A hardy bunch of supporters have

:20:29. > :20:35.come through from Paisley. They believe that they do have a chance.

:20:35. > :20:41.Danny Lennon will try to guide St Mirren to their first ever league

:20:41. > :20:48.cup. They have lost both league finals they have been in. He has

:20:48. > :20:58.handed a start to Esmael Goncalves. The onus for goals, as usual, is on

:20:58. > :21:02.

:21:02. > :21:07.finals of this competition. Fraser forestay is still out with a neck

:21:07. > :21:12.injury. Lukasz Zaluska continues in goal. Top scorer Gary Hooper

:21:12. > :21:22.remains a Celtic player, despite two bids. He is a friend with

:21:22. > :21:47.

:21:47. > :21:57.actually on loan in France worth Nice. Gary Hooper, 22 goals this

:21:57. > :21:58.

:21:58. > :22:02.season. 73 in 160 appearances. That is why he is a wanted man. William

:22:02. > :22:09.Collum is the referee. He was in charge of the League Cup final last

:22:09. > :22:19.year, won by Kilmarnock. Big shock that day, will we see another one

:22:19. > :22:36.

:22:36. > :22:46.Bodies. For exactly what they were wanting. -- The Buddies. Show that

:22:46. > :22:46.

:22:46. > :23:33.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:23:33. > :23:43.tripped by Scott Brown. But not many complaints from the new

:23:43. > :23:43.

:23:43. > :25:05.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:25:05. > :25:10.in a Europa League tie against that beat Dundee United 3-0. They

:25:11. > :25:14.were sluggish in the opening stages at home, Celtic. They have found

:25:14. > :25:24.their shooting boots and they are well in command at the top of the

:25:24. > :25:37.

:25:37. > :25:47.from Izaguirre. He does well, I think it is Lassad coming in at the

:25:47. > :25:47.

:25:47. > :26:46.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:26:46. > :26:56.Ledley back in their team, he missed a month and a half because

:26:56. > :27:19.

:27:19. > :27:22.first names on Neil Lennon's team sheet, if it's a big match? When

:27:22. > :27:29.they get the ball, it's natural to look forward. Rarely defined left-

:27:29. > :27:36.footed players down that side, but Celtic have three quality ones.

:27:36. > :27:46.Tried to release Teale down the left side. It started with David

:27:46. > :28:02.

:28:02. > :28:06.himself and a good area. That's been given for hand ball? It looked

:28:06. > :28:10.like it. The ball just dropped. They were taking control in a

:28:10. > :28:20.dangerous area, but the referee had a good view of it. Any chance for

:28:20. > :28:53.

:28:53. > :28:58.lot of these Celtic players will not have tasted defeat against St

:28:58. > :29:08.Mirren and they will have to continue that this afternoon. --

:29:08. > :29:45.

:29:45. > :29:53.debut boy! He puts St Mirren into a sensational lead at the National

:29:53. > :29:57.Stadium! What a start for the young Portuguese lad. He is involved in a

:29:57. > :30:01.move earlier. He does what every good striker should do, he gets

:30:01. > :30:06.himself in the danger area. Half a chance coming. When the ball

:30:06. > :30:10.eventually comes in, he looks at it here, he finds the space and does

:30:10. > :30:20.really well to the fact that on target. Just the start that Danny

:30:20. > :30:22.

:30:22. > :30:30.Lennon was looking for. Terrific finish by Goncalves. It's the two

:30:30. > :30:40.new boys, Conor Newton on loan from Newcastle and Esmael Goncalves.

:30:40. > :30:54.

:30:54. > :30:58.They make the same start as Hearts Mirren were needing. You felt he if

:30:58. > :31:05.they were to have a chance in this game they had to get the first goal,

:31:05. > :31:08.and they it. Yes, the players have got to work so hard. The next five

:31:09. > :31:18.or 10 minutes are vital. If you score, make sure you do not give

:31:19. > :31:42.

:31:42. > :31:46.Newton on Joe Ledley. That is a yellow card. It is difficult to

:31:46. > :31:51.show -- throw yourself into any challenge at all because if you do

:31:51. > :31:56.not make decent contact with the ball and clipped a player, you are

:31:56. > :32:01.going to be yellow carded. For a young player in the engine room, he

:32:01. > :32:06.is going to have to be walking a tightrope. He clips Joe Ledley,

:32:06. > :32:16.studs showing, and referees will book you, now, for that kind of

:32:16. > :32:32.

:32:32. > :32:37.well. Got the goal when on top, and when you take on Celtic that is

:32:37. > :32:40.something you have to do, take your chance when it comes. You know you

:32:40. > :32:45.are the underdogs but you have got to show you are ready to play, and

:32:45. > :32:49.when you get the ball, keep it, keep possession, and as the game

:32:49. > :32:57.wears on, one or two players growing confidence and then you

:32:57. > :33:01.start the fancy your chances. Mirren have respect for Celtic, and

:33:01. > :33:06.that respect will be borne out by the fact that they are so former

:33:06. > :33:12.head in the SPL, and the Champions League campaign they have had so

:33:12. > :33:19.far has been superb. But they have problems right now, with St Mirren

:33:19. > :33:26.looking for a second. Great ball from Gary Teale. Kelvin Wilson

:33:26. > :33:32.guess it clear. St Mirren can smell his second goal. And Lucasz Zaluska

:33:32. > :33:38.have to look lively. Absolutely nothing wrong with the confidence

:33:39. > :33:48.and ambition of the St Mirren team, because when they get the ball in

:33:49. > :34:00.

:34:00. > :34:04.wide areas, four players of the us eyebrows raised from St Mirren

:34:04. > :34:10.supporters when at Danny Lennon announced his line-up, but it has

:34:10. > :34:20.paid dividends so far. We will look at the replay in the second. Scott

:34:20. > :34:27.Brown. Ended by Jim Goodwin. St Mirren getting the benefit of the

:34:27. > :34:30.doubt. This is Steven Thompson. At the moment Celtic do not know what

:34:30. > :34:37.has hit them. St Mirren were so defensive in the league game

:34:37. > :34:46.between the sides a couple of weeks ago which finished 2-0. St Mirren

:34:46. > :34:50.went there with a very awkward defensive line-up. I thought the

:34:50. > :35:00.linesman might have other better view of that, but the flag did not

:35:00. > :35:06.

:35:06. > :35:16.go up, so the referee decided, play behind the two defenders, Jim

:35:16. > :35:30.

:35:30. > :35:39.area, as she has done ever since Goncalves scored for St Mirren. He

:35:40. > :35:43.will not be too concerned. thing about losing the early goal

:35:43. > :35:53.is there is plenty of time to get one back. The touch from Joe Ledley

:35:53. > :36:09.

:36:09. > :36:13.Collum is going to speak to Victor Wanyama. The referee saw the

:36:13. > :36:17.incident and does not deem it worthy of a booking. But Paul

:36:17. > :36:22.McGowan has gone down holding his face. I'm not sure if it was a

:36:22. > :36:26.flailing arm that caught him. Victor Wanyama leading from the

:36:26. > :36:32.front, thought, we're going to have to mix it year. I don't think that

:36:32. > :36:42.is a booking, but it is certainly a so one for Paul McGowan. He is an

:36:42. > :36:56.

:36:56. > :36:59.of the ball. He has been brilliant in recent weeks bombing forward on

:37:00. > :37:09.the right hand side of the park. He does not want to get caught out,

:37:10. > :37:41.

:37:41. > :37:51.only losing two of their last 10 and have won four of those. One of

:37:51. > :37:57.

:37:57. > :38:00.those defeats was, of course, to if St Mirren will send Jim Goodwin

:38:00. > :38:08.fault for these free kicks. But they will have a good bit of

:38:08. > :38:18.defending to do. In fact they have to say that they and wing to take

:38:18. > :38:19.

:38:19. > :38:27.it a shock and try to build the play. -- they are going to take it

:38:27. > :38:34.short and build. Are Celtic rattled? I would not say rattled,

:38:34. > :38:39.but disappointed with the way they have started. They have got leaders

:38:39. > :38:42.on the Park, ready to make things happen. Their current Wanyama and

:38:42. > :38:46.Scott Brown. But St Mirren have to be praised, they have been brave

:38:46. > :38:56.won the ball, taking the game two Celtic at have got their reward,

:38:56. > :39:14.

:39:14. > :39:24.and it is up to Celtic and Neil saw his new signing score and his

:39:24. > :39:26.

:39:26. > :39:32.team score for the first time against Celtic since he took over.

:39:32. > :39:42.Thomson just pulled over to the right hand side. Emilio Izaguirre

:39:42. > :40:01.

:40:01. > :40:08.Trying to test Matthews. What an impact he has made. We saw Michael

:40:08. > :40:13.Ngoo score for Hearts. That is the thing about it was coming from

:40:13. > :40:23.abroad, the Celtic players do not know his strengths or weaknesses,

:40:23. > :40:37.

:40:37. > :40:44.but they know now that he is a goal and last at almost got it into the

:40:44. > :40:54.path of Gary Hooper. St Mirren will have a free kick. No, it has not

:40:54. > :41:22.

:41:22. > :41:28.Brown tried to go all the way himself. He got the brick of the

:41:28. > :41:32.ball off Jim Goodwin. That was a fantastic nutmeg on Jim Goodwin.

:41:32. > :41:37.Watch this for a touch. That is a great, last ditch tackle, Different

:41:37. > :41:43.Class. Scott Brown is so clever and the ball in these areas, and

:41:43. > :41:53.unlucky not to score. Apologies to Scott Brown, that was a terrific

:41:53. > :42:03.

:42:03. > :42:07.nut Meg. I said he got a break of the goalkeeper deals with the first

:42:07. > :42:17.ball, good early shout, and comes and the -- comes and makes the

:42:17. > :42:56.

:42:56. > :43:06.between John again and win Keri. -- and St Johnstone 5-0, to reach the

:43:06. > :43:07.

:43:07. > :44:07.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:44:07. > :44:12.and more into the game. Hooper! He hit the would work. -- woodwork.

:44:12. > :44:18.probably believes he should have buried that one. He goes for power,

:44:18. > :44:23.he just does not get over the ball. Jim Goodwin, backtracking, couldn't

:44:23. > :44:33.get enough on it. When Gary Hooper get a sight of goal, you expect him

:44:33. > :44:38.

:44:39. > :44:48.to score. 22 times he has found the to him, he turned down a new deal.

:44:49. > :45:01.

:45:01. > :45:05.He does have another year after play against Juventus and see if

:45:06. > :45:09.they could carry that dream even further? Well, St Mirren playing

:45:09. > :45:19.the same colours as Juventus and they are giving Celtic's problems

:45:19. > :45:57.

:45:57. > :46:07.not got into any passing rhythm so far. They will be hoping that

:46:07. > :46:44.

:46:44. > :46:50.there. Sampson looked on and thought, here we go again. This

:46:50. > :46:54.season, so far, Wanyama has scored some duties against it St Mirren.

:46:54. > :46:57.He's more than capable of hitting the back of the net from there.

:46:57. > :47:05.Including this season in Paisley. A wonderful strike in that game.

:47:05. > :47:15.Celtic, winning 5-0 at St Mirren Park. They batted The Buddies in

:47:15. > :47:15.

:47:15. > :47:56.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:47:56. > :48:01.has not had much to do so far, that perhaps the biggest worry for Neil

:48:01. > :48:05.Lennon. His team haven't clicked yet. St Mirren are not passing the

:48:05. > :48:10.ball as well as they were in the first half of the game. They can't

:48:10. > :48:20.seem to get Scott Brown involved. St Mirren need to get him back

:48:20. > :48:44.

:48:44. > :48:48.is a corner. It's difficult to tell. I think Samaras was always looking

:48:48. > :48:53.just to knock it off the St Mirren defender, when he realised he could

:48:53. > :48:58.not get a cross in. It does look like that, I think it is a corner.

:48:58. > :49:08.Get yourself back and get defending, this is where Celtic are strong. A

:49:08. > :49:26.

:49:26. > :49:33.lot of 6 foot plus players in the soul, but he has taken a ban to the

:49:33. > :49:38.head. He did really well, a ball to the back post, Wanyama might have

:49:38. > :49:41.just beat him to it, but he did well. They miss his drive in

:49:42. > :49:50.midfield, but his organisation at the back could be worth its weight

:49:50. > :50:00.in gold. Samaras! It's the crossbar, this time. The chances are coming.

:50:00. > :50:01.

:50:01. > :50:04.Hooper had one, Scott Brown had won. I think Samaras should score.

:50:04. > :50:07.Against Van Zanten, it's a mismatch in terms of height. I think Van

:50:07. > :50:11.Zanten does just enough to get underneath him, to make it

:50:11. > :50:21.difficult for Samaras to get the ball down. Chance gone. But they

:50:21. > :51:01.

:51:01. > :51:05.are starting to make chances. Gary Teale has to do better. He has

:51:05. > :51:12.time to look in the middle. Goncalves is there. Stevie Thomson

:51:12. > :51:22.is at the back post. If he gets a good ball in, it's a two on one

:51:22. > :51:22.

:51:22. > :52:37.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:52:37. > :52:47.situation if he can get the ball to want to see his Celtic starting to

:52:47. > :53:16.

:53:16. > :53:26.A corner. He is a difficult man to run. But Goncalves is definitely

:53:26. > :53:43.

:53:43. > :53:49.asking questions. His ready to go was Joe Ledley that was on the

:53:49. > :53:54.ground. Nothing doing. Another St Mirren goalkicker. I don't think

:53:54. > :53:58.the referee can give a penalty for that. Joe Ledley has gone for the

:53:58. > :54:01.diving header, it's gone underneath him. I'm sure it hits him on the

:54:01. > :54:11.elbow, but to say that was deliberate would be pushing it.

:54:11. > :54:43.

:54:43. > :54:47.Now they are on the counter with ball to Gary Teale. I'm not sure if

:54:47. > :54:57.he shouldn't just pulled the trigger. Take it on to his strong

:54:57. > :55:14.

:55:14. > :55:24.white hand, -- right hand, and try advantage, given them by Esmael

:55:24. > :55:26.

:55:26. > :55:30.now. The link play, between the Celtic midfield and the front,

:55:30. > :55:35.isn't as good as it has been over the last couple of weeks, or

:55:35. > :55:38.against Hearts or Dundee United. You expect them to be flying today,

:55:38. > :55:48.but you have to respect St Mirren for the way they have gone about

:55:48. > :55:50.

:55:50. > :56:00.likes of Teale and Magellan, opening things up for them. --

:56:00. > :56:13.

:56:13. > :56:17.Graham Carey, again. You go out to beat a full-back or the winner in

:56:17. > :56:23.that area, you've got to get across the Cross, if you like, don't let

:56:23. > :56:32.it fly into the middle. Make sure you are not caught short at the

:56:32. > :56:42.corner in a League Cup semi-final against Aberdeen a couple of

:56:42. > :56:58.

:56:58. > :57:02.and that was crucial. There are times when you just get the ball

:57:02. > :57:12.clear, you don't want to be playing clever football around your own 18-

:57:12. > :57:12.

:57:12. > :57:55.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:57:55. > :58:00.was, this time last week. Esmael Goncalves has got the only goal so

:58:00. > :58:10.far. He is on loan from Rio Ave, they are having a decent season as

:58:10. > :58:15.

:58:15. > :58:19.well, 5th in the top flight, a his match fitness is like. Is he

:58:19. > :58:29.capable of doing 90 minutes, or 90 minutes plus as may be the case

:58:29. > :58:40.

:58:40. > :58:44.today? As we saw yesterday! That corner. Again, the free kick on the

:58:44. > :58:54.right hand side, they are determined to get the game going,

:58:54. > :59:30.

:59:30. > :59:38.play it short and work their way We know there is something of

:59:38. > :59:43.Jekyll-and-Hyde about Georgios Samaras's game. Passing is not his

:59:43. > :59:48.strong suit. It is his running with the ball, his strength. Celtic had

:59:48. > :59:53.half a chance there, which is completely gone. The ball comes off

:59:53. > :00:03.his ankle, the ball across the park, and sets St Mirren off on the

:00:03. > :00:32.

:00:32. > :00:42.Wilson is there, to be let Charlie Mulgrew. -- Thompson did win it,

:00:42. > :00:42.

:00:42. > :01:35.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:01:35. > :01:40.pull the trigger. We thought initially he might buy offside.

:01:40. > :01:47.Just too many passes for Celtic. The ball was slipped through, and

:01:47. > :01:57.he is onside, that was a great ball. Across the goalkeeper and it take a

:01:57. > :02:17.

:02:17. > :02:26.side made that or side Kohl, then signal for Celtic corner kick,

:02:26. > :02:34.which will, as usual, be taken by Charlie Mulgrew. Steven Thompson

:02:34. > :02:38.commanding the six-yard box, but not at the usual end. Celtic love

:02:38. > :02:48.that back Post corner. It has worked a treat for them, but so far,

:02:48. > :02:49.

:02:49. > :02:59.no takers. They scored against Barcelona with it through Victor

:02:59. > :02:59.

:02:59. > :04:44.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:04:44. > :04:54.Wanyama, who ghosts in at the back should've been taken further back.

:04:54. > :05:16.

:05:16. > :05:26.Good defending by van Zanten. Came back into the team today, and he's

:05:26. > :05:33.

:05:33. > :05:39.been terrific. As have most in the black and white of St Mirren. How

:05:39. > :05:49.they'd love a second goal before half time. Goncalves goes for the

:05:49. > :05:56.lob. Terrific half of for St Mirren, who have been strong, committed,

:05:56. > :06:06.and break on the ball. Goncalves goes for the top corner, there, but

:06:06. > :06:19.

:06:19. > :06:26.Mirren, but the joy for Celtic, has Gary Hooper slot home the 23rd goal

:06:26. > :06:29.of the season. He is the man of the moment. What a time to score for

:06:29. > :06:36.Celtic and a lot air-quality goal. The ball comes down to Scott Brown.

:06:36. > :06:40.He has still got plenty to do. What about this for all in? So difficult

:06:40. > :06:46.for defenders. The goalkeeper cannot come, because there is so

:06:46. > :06:49.much pace on the ball, and absolutely perfect for Gary Hooper.

:06:49. > :06:54.When a goal like that comes into the penalty area for Celtic, you

:06:54. > :06:59.can pretty much Butcher mortgage on Gary Hooper been there to finish it

:06:59. > :07:05.off, as he has been so often since arriving from Scunthorpe, and that

:07:05. > :07:09.is the last action of the first half. What a moment in this

:07:09. > :07:15.Scottish Communities Cup semi-final this is. St Mirren took the lead

:07:15. > :07:22.through Goncalves. There he is. He is as devastated as his team-mates,

:07:22. > :07:27.after that leveller from Gary Hooper, sickening for St Mirren. It

:07:27. > :07:34.will be a very different team talk for Neil Lennon, now, at half-time

:07:34. > :07:39.at Hampden Park, it is St Mirren 1, Celtic 1. A quick word with your

:07:39. > :07:49.and well be. The man of the moment Gary Hooper has just changed the

:07:49. > :07:52.

:07:52. > :07:59.half-time team talk. We have been very poor, not at the races. So, we

:07:59. > :08:05.will give them a rollicking. hasn't it clipped so far? They

:08:05. > :08:15.might have been going on at the counter attack. The passing Minster

:08:15. > :08:19.

:08:19. > :08:25.be a much more Chris. But it was a That is what you call a change in

:08:25. > :08:29.complexion. It is 1-1 at half-time. And that is a kick in a painful

:08:29. > :08:35.place for the Paisley team. Particularly the timing of the goal.

:08:35. > :08:43.Right on the stroke of half-time. That will lead to some anxious

:08:43. > :08:47.moments for Celtic. And they will be annoyed they have switched off.

:08:47. > :08:52.Celtic have had a good couple of chances and not taking them, but it

:08:52. > :08:57.has been an intriguing have, with St Mirren starting off ever so well.

:08:57. > :09:02.They have been very attack-minded and because Celtic problems. Scored

:09:02. > :09:06.a good goal. Celtic looked disjointed defensively. And St

:09:06. > :09:12.Mirren have carried a threat all day. It is set up for a terrific

:09:13. > :09:19.second half. When you're on your debut, making to look in impact,

:09:19. > :09:22.Roger Mac minutes into a cup semi- final is not bad. We did not

:09:22. > :09:27.suggest he would be the main man at the start of the game because we

:09:27. > :09:31.knew nothing about him, but he has had a great start. St Mirren have

:09:31. > :09:39.shown a willingness to go forward all the way through the game. He is

:09:39. > :09:45.not lacking in confidence, this lad. It is a lovely ball in. Nice finish.

:09:45. > :09:50.He has had a very good start. But, look at that the 18-yard line, the

:09:50. > :10:00.defence is all over the place. Nobody is talking to each other, no

:10:00. > :10:04.communication. One is long, one shot. Not as a compact back four.

:10:04. > :10:08.Charlie Mulgrew is Mears, the full backs are advancing. And to be fair

:10:09. > :10:13.to Goncalves, he started the move and he was on the end of it.

:10:13. > :10:19.this is the last kick of the first half. We talked about Gary Hooper

:10:19. > :10:23.before the game. No surprise is therefore stop he plays it some

:10:23. > :10:28.blankets in the box. We have been talking of their centre-forwards

:10:28. > :10:36.who do that, who hold it up, played simple, then get in between the

:10:36. > :10:40.sticks. I think he is onside, there. That is perfectly timed. It was

:10:40. > :10:46.borderline, but his movement is great. He goes to a goal in front

:10:46. > :10:49.of the lad, then checks back. The number of goals he scores from that

:10:49. > :10:55.movement, that is what strikers do best, and it is a gift he has

:10:55. > :10:58.caught, to be in the right place at the right time. Getting between the

:10:58. > :11:03.goalkeeper and the silk -- centre halves when the ball is in the box.

:11:03. > :11:07.I do not know of anyone better than him. He is brilliant at it. 20 to a

:11:08. > :11:13.goal of the season for Gary Hooper puts Celtic on level terms. We will

:11:13. > :11:19.talk more about that in a moment. Two SPL games being played today.

:11:19. > :11:24.One is being played already. And that is the latest score from then

:11:24. > :11:32.Park -- from Dens Park, and the against Kilmarnock, the bottom club

:11:32. > :11:35.looking to get some points from that if they can. Looking at the

:11:35. > :11:39.first of the Scottish Communities Cup semi-finals. It was a dramatic

:11:39. > :11:49.90 minutes, then extra-time and penalties between Inverness and

:11:49. > :12:10.

:12:10. > :12:20.attack. Mackay... MacDonald does well to gather it. Mackay didn't

:12:20. > :12:25.

:12:25. > :12:32.catch it as he'd have liked. Brilliant pass by Shinnie. You'd

:12:32. > :12:42.have put your mortgage on Mackay slotting that away. Free kick for

:12:42. > :12:48.

:12:48. > :12:58.Hearts. Going to be a yellow card for Foran. Not much doubt it's a

:12:58. > :13:08.

:13:08. > :13:18.free kic. -- kick. Wilson looking for it. Glancing header off the

:13:18. > :13:22.

:13:22. > :13:32.post by Ngoo. Endearing himself to the Hearts fans. The cross perfect,

:13:32. > :13:34.

:13:34. > :13:44.the header almost so. Foran could be in trouble. Euan Norris has a

:13:44. > :13:54.

:13:54. > :14:03.big decision to make. Foran is a lucky man. Already on a yellow.

:14:03. > :14:13.Andrew Shinnie shapes to shoot, Webster blocks. Andrew Shinnie

:14:13. > :14:18.

:14:18. > :14:22.takes advantage. Inside three minutes of the restart. Driver has

:14:22. > :14:28.his head in his hands. His loss of possession gifted the ball to

:14:28. > :14:38.Andrew Shinnie, and Andrew Shinnie, with his 13th goal of the season,

:14:38. > :14:53.

:14:53. > :15:01.putting it past Jamie MacDonald. level. The decision to put him

:15:01. > :15:06.straight into the starting line-up pays off. Danny Wilson did

:15:06. > :15:16.brilliantly to get that back across goal. What a good finish from

:15:16. > :15:30.

:15:30. > :15:34.a straight red card for the Hearts midfielder. He certainly flew into

:15:34. > :15:44.the challenge. You can see why that has been given as a straight red

:15:44. > :15:57.

:15:57. > :16:04.Surely? Andrew Shinnie cannot get it goalwards. Somehow, Hearts

:16:04. > :16:12.survive. He asks, why did you not whack that into the net? Billy

:16:12. > :16:20.Mackay, somehow, failed to convert when it looked simple to score. The

:16:20. > :16:26.man that has scored 20 goals this season looked utterly short of

:16:26. > :16:36.confidence. Why did he not hit that first time? Great save from

:16:36. > :16:56.

:16:56. > :17:00.McDonald, but the ball should have as Roberts stepped up. Pat to score

:17:00. > :17:05.to keep Hearts in, but it was over the top. Lots of talking points,

:17:05. > :17:09.but the most important one is that an incredible, young Hearts team

:17:10. > :17:14.are through to the final. And not the first time they have done it

:17:14. > :17:19.with ten men, they did it against Dundee United. No doubt that there

:17:19. > :17:27.was plenty of spirit in that team. We will have them looking on this

:17:27. > :17:31.The second half is coming up, we have seen that Goncalves goal

:17:31. > :17:36.already. This was an effort from young John Wiggins, who has been

:17:36. > :17:40.really impressive in the first half. It may be sums up the quality of

:17:40. > :17:44.football that they have come up with? Absolutely, it's been

:17:44. > :17:54.refreshing, the young players coming through, given the poor form

:17:54. > :18:04.

:18:04. > :18:07.bobbling about. They are there, on the edge of the box. Good save the.

:18:07. > :18:11.But the confidence they had, kicking the ball round the edge of

:18:11. > :18:15.the box, when it did come out, they kept it alive, they were on the

:18:15. > :18:25.second ball. That always goes well for any team, if they are picking

:18:25. > :18:30.

:18:30. > :18:40.up the second ball. They did that sickener, but it was coming?

:18:40. > :18:49.

:18:49. > :18:55.little nutmeg, top-quality from is going to get a rollicking, but

:18:55. > :18:59.they are always creating chances. Taking it over his shoulder, as

:18:59. > :19:02.good as anybody in the game. They are creating chances, we knew that

:19:02. > :19:08.would happen and that St Mirren would ride it. The they managed to

:19:08. > :19:14.do it most of the time. The best Celtic each chances have come from

:19:14. > :19:19.their right side. Samaras is always good to be a threat. Hooper has

:19:19. > :19:22.been a lively player. A similar goal at Dundee, from a wider

:19:23. > :19:28.position. He has that quality. If you give him room around the edge

:19:28. > :19:31.of the box, he's deadly. You don't score the amount of goals that he

:19:31. > :19:39.has caught by accident, you do it because you are a terrific finisher

:19:39. > :19:42.What psychological impact to do you think that Hooper goal might have

:19:42. > :19:46.in the game? They haven't been great, but they have something to

:19:46. > :19:53.build on? The word devastating comes to mind. He works so hard,

:19:53. > :19:59.you feel you are there, you have got to half-time and you regroup.

:19:59. > :20:04.Celtic have not been at their best, and yet they are level. They

:20:04. > :20:13.suspect that St Mirren will tire a little bit. I think Newton has been

:20:13. > :20:17.very good, I thought he was the one that got in and tackled Wanyama.

:20:17. > :20:22.But will they be match fit? We will see what they can do between now

:20:22. > :20:25.and the end of the game. For me, I think there has been some

:20:25. > :20:29.inconsistency with some of the refereeing decisions, picking up

:20:29. > :20:34.bookings. I think that Wanyama should have been booked for that

:20:34. > :20:36.blatant body-check. They will feel aggrieved about that. At the start

:20:37. > :20:41.of the second half, they have to come out believing, as they did at

:20:41. > :20:46.the start of the first half. Who is to say they can achieve an

:20:46. > :20:56.unbelievable result? predictable goalscorer, one a

:20:56. > :20:57.

:20:57. > :21:01.surprise. Best male consultants. -- Goncalves. St Mirren were in

:21:01. > :21:08.dreamland. They were deserving of their one-goal advantage, and told

:21:08. > :21:13.this moment right before half-time. Scott Brown set up Garry Cook

:21:13. > :21:23.before his 23rd of the season. 1-1 halfway through, in the second of

:21:23. > :21:27.the League Cup semi-finals. What will they be saying? Same again?

:21:27. > :21:33.Same again, and don't lose heart. There will be disheartened to some

:21:33. > :21:38.degree. They stayed with Celtic, hands up, unexpectedly for most of

:21:38. > :21:41.us. This does not look anything like the St Mirren side. They have

:21:41. > :21:45.played nice football at times this season, but they are fighting their

:21:45. > :21:50.battles. It's got to do with some of the players they have added.

:21:50. > :21:53.Newton has given some steel in the midfield as well. But they must

:21:53. > :21:56.keep the tempo as much as they can and realise that Celtic are not at

:21:56. > :22:01.their best today. If you get a chance, take it, because there will

:22:01. > :22:04.not be many. Is that freshness about the St Mirren side

:22:04. > :22:09.significant? Players not weighed down by the history of the fixture?

:22:09. > :22:15.I think that has helped. That is their first goal in nine attempts

:22:15. > :22:19.against Celtic. They will take heart, and you are right, the young

:22:19. > :22:22.players coming in, they don't have the history of playing as previous

:22:22. > :22:26.games and losing all of those goals. They were more direct at times,

:22:26. > :22:30.Stevie Thomson brought it up the pitch, trying to pass through

:22:30. > :22:34.Celtic. I think that has brought them some jury in the final third.

:22:34. > :22:40.How significant world last kick of the first half proved to be, I

:22:40. > :22:47.wonder? Gary Hooper, scoring, cancelling out the Goncalves opener

:22:47. > :22:51.for St Mirren. 1-1 it is, halfway through the second Scottish

:22:51. > :23:01.communities and the Cup semi-final as we return to Craig Paterson and

:23:01. > :23:11.

:23:11. > :23:21.and Celtic. Saints have won just nine of the last matches. The last

:23:21. > :23:31.

:23:31. > :23:35.meeting in the League Cup ended 1 win in the Lee Cup in 1981. That

:23:35. > :23:45.was a real sickener, a kick in the guts for St Mirren, right at half-

:23:45. > :24:17.

:24:17. > :24:22.goal, but managed to scrape it clear. Danny, a horrible time to

:24:22. > :24:26.concede an equaliser. What will that change in terms of what you

:24:26. > :24:36.save to the boys? We have belief, we have shown we can score. Thank

:24:36. > :24:40.

:24:40. > :24:44.Celtic. Almost a perfect start to the second half of Celtic. Lassad,

:24:44. > :24:48.knocking the ball back. Brown misses by a yard. St Mirren have to

:24:48. > :24:51.come out and show, at the start of the second half, exactly what they

:24:51. > :24:55.did at the start of the game. That they are up for it, they are

:24:55. > :25:02.confident, they will get the ball down and play. They can't afford to

:25:02. > :25:12.keep giving the ball back to Celtic, invite a team of that quality on,

:25:12. > :25:15.

:25:15. > :25:18.spirit out of St Mirren? certainly hurts. You have put

:25:18. > :25:22.yourself in a great position, to lose a goal with seconds to go

:25:22. > :25:26.until half-time, it does get you down. But you have 15 minutes to

:25:26. > :25:30.sit there, the manager will be saying how well they did, how

:25:30. > :25:36.important it is to get YOUR opposite number, go again, show him

:25:36. > :25:39.you are here for 90 minutes of 90 minutes plus. The first nine or 10

:25:39. > :25:49.minutes for a second half might tell the story, it's important that

:25:49. > :25:49.

:25:49. > :26:41.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:26:41. > :26:51.St Mirren get back to doing what players combined for the equaliser,

:26:51. > :26:56.

:26:56. > :27:00.given against Goodwin. And the referee is going to take action

:27:00. > :27:03.against the St Mirren as good as well. Yellow card. Celtic have a

:27:03. > :27:10.penalty and a chance to turn this game around. There's nothing else

:27:10. > :27:17.he can do. He wins the initial header. Lassad is going to pull the

:27:17. > :27:22.trigger, he throws himself in. I'm not sure what he is supposed to do.

:27:22. > :27:31.It hit him on the chest and then on the arm, a tough one for St Mirren.

:27:31. > :27:41.A really tough one. Charlie Mulgrew, entrusted with this task of putting

:27:41. > :27:46.

:27:46. > :27:50.Brilliant, from the goalkeeper. You can complain about the penalty all

:27:50. > :27:54.you like, Mulgrew, what a chance he had. But the goalkeeper guessed

:27:54. > :28:01.right and he got a really strong hand on it. A real chance gone for

:28:01. > :28:04.Celtic. What a lift that is going to give St Mirren. We were talking

:28:04. > :28:08.about spirit sapping for St Mirren, a equaliser just before the break.

:28:08. > :28:18.Had that gone in, you can imagine the hurt that they would feel. That

:28:18. > :28:25.

:28:25. > :28:32.might galvanise them now. Craig couple of times and had a penalty

:28:32. > :28:42.saved. You know they will get more chances in this game. It's been

:28:42. > :28:42.

:28:42. > :29:23.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:29:23. > :29:30.pretty much all Celtic in the delighted to have a him back. Has

:29:30. > :29:38.been out for a couple of months with injury. Former Celtic player.

:29:38. > :29:48.He played for Celtic in that 4-0 defeat in Paisley, one of his last

:29:48. > :30:09.

:30:09. > :30:15.against a team like Celtic, who are favourites for the treble, and then

:30:15. > :30:18.the last 16 of the Champions League, you need luck, and a penalty miss,

:30:18. > :30:23.despite it being a good save from Craig Samson, will go down as

:30:23. > :30:26.something like that. They picked the worst thing to lose a goal

:30:26. > :30:31.before half-time, but the Celtic scored within minutes of the

:30:31. > :30:40.restart there was no way back for St Mirren, but that saved could

:30:40. > :30:48.make such a difference at the end of the 90 minutes. Offside flag up

:30:48. > :30:54.against Steven Thompson. He is not happy with it. I tell you what, he

:30:54. > :31:04.might just have been level. But it is impossible to get them all right

:31:04. > :31:10.

:31:10. > :31:16.He was one of the St Mirren he was in the last round against Aberdeen

:31:16. > :31:26.at Pittodrie. St Mirren went through on penalties after at 2-2

:31:26. > :31:42.

:31:42. > :31:46.grapes -- Craig Samson was beaten by that. He had no chance of

:31:47. > :31:51.getting there. Joe Ledley holding the ball just dips quickly. You

:31:51. > :31:55.cannot allow him that sort of space to get bored shots at goal.

:31:55. > :32:05.Somebody has got to be closing him down quicker. That could easily

:32:05. > :32:09.

:32:09. > :32:16.have nestled in the top corner. in the second half than they were

:32:16. > :32:21.in the first. That was strong from Steven Thompson. He does not agree

:32:21. > :32:31.with it. St Mirren assistant manager Tommy Craig does not agree

:32:31. > :32:33.

:32:33. > :32:43.with it, I do. -- either. He's just trying to move the man out of the

:32:43. > :32:47.

:32:47. > :32:57.of it to the defender. And McAusland has taken us so 1 in the

:32:57. > :32:57.

:32:57. > :33:41.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:33:41. > :33:47.Emilia is a idea. -- is it Dury -- got injured. Just caught below the

:33:47. > :33:57.knee, there. It is a so one. On a day like this, is set of studs down

:33:57. > :33:59.

:33:59. > :34:03.your leg is not going to be comfortable. We are not sure what

:34:03. > :34:10.they did from Norwich was were Gary Hooper, but we know from Neil

:34:10. > :34:14.Lennon that it was less than 6 million. It could take at least 8

:34:14. > :34:19.million for him to get to speak to a club. He has at least one year

:34:19. > :34:29.left on his contract. Celtic will be determined to hold on to him as

:34:29. > :34:44.

:34:44. > :34:53.ball. And McAusland had to deal with that because Lassad was behind

:34:53. > :34:56.him. Celtic realise if they can score than the next five or 10

:34:56. > :35:06.minutes they put themselves in the box seat, and they are not giving

:35:06. > :35:27.

:35:27. > :35:37.himself right now, after that swinging corner. Free kick to St

:35:37. > :35:41.

:35:41. > :35:49.Mirren. McGinn the meat in the sandwich. From the referee's angle

:35:49. > :35:56.it looked like to on one. And he has decided to give a free kick. --

:35:56. > :36:01.two on one. That is an intriguing Scottish Communities Cup semi-final.

:36:01. > :36:11.As it was yesterday with Hearts beating Inverness Caley Thistle on

:36:11. > :36:30.

:36:30. > :36:37.worked to great effect just before with Garry Parker andMel day. --

:36:37. > :36:45.Johan Mjallby. Neil Lennon was in Italy last night watching Juventus

:36:45. > :36:55.draw at home to Genoa. Not a vintage performance from the Old

:36:55. > :37:22.

:37:22. > :37:28.Haven't seen much of Goncalves in the second half. A foul by the

:37:28. > :37:34.Portuguese on the Welshman. He is allowing his team to push up and

:37:34. > :37:44.spend a little bit of time on the Celtic half. It is changed days. It

:37:44. > :37:49.

:37:49. > :37:54.Gary Hooper got some swerve in that. Which she didn't want, what

:37:54. > :37:59.Georgios Samaras coming in at the back post. It would have been a

:37:59. > :38:09.chance for Samaras, but the ball just sliced across. If that had

:38:09. > :38:46.

:38:46. > :38:49.gone in, he would have said that he Mirren have a free kic. -- kick.

:38:49. > :38:53.This is one of the situation is what you fancy a right-footed

:38:53. > :38:59.player to bend it towards the far post. Scott Brown just coming in at

:38:59. > :39:04.the back, there, the referee says free kick, but not a lot in it. A

:39:05. > :39:09.chance for St Mirren to put the Celtic defence under pressure.

:39:09. > :39:19.last cup tie between these two sides in Paisley, St Mirren won, 1-

:39:19. > :39:20.

:39:20. > :39:30.0. It might have been maul grew who got the final touch on that. --

:39:30. > :39:41.

:39:41. > :39:45.a sudden. That was an important intervention by Graham Carey.

:39:45. > :39:49.timing was absolutely perfect. That touch from Gary Hooper was not the

:39:49. > :39:55.best, but it just gave Graham Carey the chance to come in and make a

:39:55. > :40:03.vital tackle. If Gary Hooper gets through, he is through on the

:40:03. > :40:13.goalkeeper. So it took about to bring on Kris Commons. -- Celtic

:40:13. > :40:32.

:40:32. > :40:40.Kelvin Wilson was therefore stop -- Was there. The two oldies, Thompson

:40:40. > :40:50.to Teale. Both St Mirren fans in the twilight of their careers and

:40:50. > :40:54.

:40:54. > :41:00.have a penalty kick. Almost identical to the one on the

:41:00. > :41:04.opposite side. When the referee sees Charlie Mulgrew's hands go up,

:41:04. > :41:11.he has no option but to give the penalty kick. Having seen the

:41:11. > :41:17.goalkeeper saved one, can St Mirren know how home one of their own?

:41:17. > :41:25.Well, well, well, Charlie Mulgrew missed his penalty for Celtic. It

:41:25. > :41:32.was saved by Craig Samson. Paul McGowan, the former Celtic player,

:41:32. > :41:37.not given the chance under Neil Lennon, and scores! Paul McGowan

:41:37. > :41:43.sense St Mirren into League Cup dreamland with as cool a penalty as

:41:43. > :41:48.you will see. Perfect response. Just have will look. Check where

:41:48. > :41:53.the goalkeeper is going to go and knock it into the other corner. A

:41:53. > :41:59.fabulous composure from the Celtic midfielder. Lucasz Zaluska goes

:41:59. > :42:05.right, the ball was left. Paul McGowan, who was in the Celtic side

:42:05. > :42:10.that lost 2 St Mirren 4-0 in the game that cost Tony Mowbray his job,

:42:10. > :42:16.the last time St Mirren beat Celtic. They are back in the box seat at

:42:16. > :42:20.the National Stadium. And, Danny Lennon who had his own League Cup

:42:20. > :42:26.heartache once upon a time against Celtic. He missed out as part of

:42:26. > :42:32.the Raith Rovers squad in 1994, he was injured. And you come Celtic

:42:32. > :42:42.again. Celtic have make the change in the middle of that, Kris Commons

:42:42. > :42:47.

:42:47. > :42:55.on form -- for Lassad. With Goncalves pickpockets small group.

:42:55. > :43:02.-- Mulgrew. Celtic come away, and the first touch of the match for

:43:02. > :43:06.Kris Commons, just on as a substitute. Kris Commons made his

:43:06. > :43:16.debut at this stage of the competition against Aberdeen two

:43:16. > :43:26.years ago. He had a major say in that game, he scored one and made

:43:26. > :43:26.

:43:26. > :44:22.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:44:22. > :44:26.think that he was going to get there. A really poor ball in from

:44:26. > :44:30.Kris Commons. Come on, because of the delivery, you are looking to

:44:30. > :44:40.present the ball for the players in the middle. It was a really poor

:44:40. > :44:47.

:44:47. > :44:55.one. It was overhit and behind for worth Samaras, not happy with

:44:55. > :45:05.something he had to save. -- a word with Samaras, not happy with

:45:05. > :45:09.

:45:09. > :45:19.today, in the League Cup final on 7th March. We are approaching the

:45:19. > :45:25.

:45:25. > :45:31.Cup final twice, they have lost both of those. Goodwin, actress and

:45:31. > :45:36.son. They lost to Aberdeen in 1955/56. Then they lost that one

:45:36. > :45:46.against Rangers in 2010, playing against nine men for much of the

:45:46. > :45:55.

:45:55. > :46:04.second half, certainly ten men for when they lost that late on against

:46:04. > :46:09.Rangers. They have a free kick here, in a reasonable area. Plenty of

:46:09. > :46:19.time to go, is it put this one straight in the box again or take

:46:19. > :46:25.

:46:25. > :46:35.it short? Put it into the wide silence, watching and hoping that

:46:35. > :46:42.

:46:42. > :46:47.the damage doesn't get worse from Absolutely stunning at Hampden

:46:47. > :46:52.Park! It is Stephen Thoms and he has caused his 13th goal of the

:46:52. > :46:58.season. That might just be the goal that takes St Mirren into the

:46:58. > :47:03.League Cup final! Sensational! is the word for it, a sensational

:47:03. > :47:13.strike. The ball is coming away from goal. What a crisp,

:47:13. > :47:19.

:47:19. > :47:29.work to do. That is an absolute peach. Look at Zaluska, I don't

:47:29. > :47:35.

:47:35. > :47:45.think he will be happy. -- Steven the semi-final of the League Cup

:47:45. > :47:48.

:47:48. > :47:58.the League Cup was a 3-1 victory. And its former Scotland

:47:58. > :48:02.something for them to get back into it? They still have enough time and

:48:02. > :48:07.they will still have belief, what they need is a little bit of magic

:48:07. > :48:12.in that 4 would third. Look at Anthony Stokes warming up, you need

:48:12. > :48:15.goals now and he is the obvious replacement. I would bring on

:48:15. > :48:18.another striker to add to that attacking force. Neil Lennon might

:48:18. > :48:22.be looking for the next four or five minutes, see if they can get

:48:22. > :48:28.another goal and get back into the game. But what a chance for St

:48:28. > :48:38.Mirren, 3-1 ahead, not long to go, they have to hold their nerve and

:48:38. > :48:59.

:48:59. > :49:02.bigger and bigger. It could be the defining moment of the game. If

:49:03. > :49:12.Celtic had scored, I could not see a way back for St Mirren, having

:49:13. > :49:24.

:49:24. > :49:29.move, you keep going forward, getting yourself into the box. A

:49:29. > :49:39.decent header, but it's just wide of the goalkeeper's right-hand post.

:49:39. > :49:39.

:49:39. > :49:49.I think Craig Sansom had it covered anyway. A great header from Mulgrew.

:49:49. > :49:56.

:49:56. > :50:02.Celtic are about to bring on Thompson. The ball was behind him

:50:02. > :50:06.when he hit it. It was a hook to folly. To get the power and keep

:50:06. > :50:11.the ball down, or you can ask his may be that the goalkeeper did

:50:11. > :50:21.better. All you can ask of Steven Thompson is to hit the target. He

:50:21. > :50:52.

:50:52. > :50:59.extra time, the way that this game is panning out. Slightly too much

:50:59. > :51:09.juice on the final ball. Too much on it for Cary Hooper to get a

:51:09. > :51:09.

:51:09. > :51:53.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:51:53. > :51:58.reasonably happy if they can keep Celtic two efforts from that kind

:51:58. > :52:05.of distance. There is no doubt that from their Joe Ledley is capable of

:52:05. > :52:11.scoring, but the odds are against it. They might be annoyed they did

:52:11. > :52:15.not close him down quicker, but he is unlikely to score from 35 yards.

:52:15. > :52:22.Anthony Stokes has not scored this season, but he has been out for

:52:22. > :52:32.most of it. Just recently back from injury. Victor Wanyama will be

:52:32. > :52:41.

:52:41. > :52:51.going to be pushed forward into the writer, Lustig and then Anthony

:52:51. > :53:10.

:53:10. > :53:15.at Kilmarnock last season. He scored a couple. He was wide that

:53:15. > :53:25.time. He does the right thing, he's always going to try to drag it on

:53:25. > :53:53.

:53:53. > :54:03.a Hearts or St Mirren final, but they prevailed on penalties, Hearts.

:54:03. > :54:23.

:54:23. > :54:33.And there were even longer odds on in terms of getting behind the ball,

:54:33. > :54:36.

:54:36. > :54:42.the minute they lose possession. what did you make of him? -- John

:54:42. > :54:49.Wiggins. Similar to the young Hearts players, they went out to do

:54:49. > :54:55.a job, they stuck to their task. Despite the lack of experience,

:54:55. > :55:05.they have had terrific games. defensive minded, David Barron. He

:55:05. > :55:16.

:55:16. > :55:26.made all three changes. There is not much else he can do, Neil

:55:26. > :55:26.

:55:26. > :57:06.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:57:06. > :57:12.hopes of a domestic treble slip the shoulder that the referee sees.

:57:12. > :57:16.That is why he is penalised. Is this too far-out for a shot? I know

:57:16. > :57:26.that Charlie Mulgrew would like to get involved, but I think it would

:57:26. > :57:40.

:57:40. > :57:50.take something special to beat from there, but not when he bangs

:57:50. > :57:53.

:57:53. > :57:57.Time is running out for Celtic. Any time they get into the wide areas,

:57:58. > :58:03.they have to get the ball into the box. Plenty of balls in there, but

:58:03. > :58:06.that final pass was never going to come to anything. Gordon Strachan,

:58:06. > :58:16.the new Scotland boss, will name their squad on Thursday for the

:58:16. > :58:16.

:58:16. > :59:00.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:59:00. > :59:04.10 minutes of this league Cup semi- frustrated. You are bound to. They

:59:04. > :59:10.can see the big clock, on the scoreboard behind each goal. They

:59:10. > :59:14.know they have 10 minutes to rescue this. Everybody is trying to play

:59:14. > :59:24.the killer ball. It's hard to calm down and find the right angle, you

:59:24. > :59:34.

:59:34. > :59:41.have to get it in the box as quick but he could not shrug off Mikael

:59:41. > :59:51.Lustig. That is beaten away by Lucasz Zaluska and it almost fell

:59:51. > :59:52.

:59:52. > :59:56.to Steven Thompson. He not great goalkeeping again. You have got to

:59:56. > :00:06.Paris that away from the goal. Steven Thompson almost there to

:00:06. > :00:36.

:00:36. > :00:41.for that challenge. Paul McGowan, magnificent. Trying to get himself

:00:41. > :00:48.on the ball. He has won a free kick allowing them to take another

:00:48. > :00:52.minute or so off the clock. I would suggest at this stage you are

:00:52. > :00:56.looking to get the ball in wide areas and keep it there. You know

:00:56. > :01:06.that with eight minutes plus stoppage time to go, it is very

:01:06. > :01:21.

:01:21. > :01:25.close to being a huge result for St bothered about that. He could have

:01:25. > :01:32.used it better but if you're going to miss, make sure that it is

:01:32. > :01:37.behind the goal, I suppose. The air are lots of balls around the pitch,

:01:37. > :01:45.so Celtic added back very quickly. Seven minutes left, plus injury

:01:45. > :01:53.time. Celtic need to find inspiration from somewhere. Paul

:01:53. > :02:03.McGowan in releasing Gary Teale, on the counter. Cannot score a 4th

:02:03. > :02:27.

:02:27. > :02:33.little over-keen to score the goal instead of looking for a pass or a

:02:33. > :02:43.team-mate, it is a quick touch, go for glory, but Kris Commons since

:02:43. > :03:05.

:03:05. > :03:15.coming on as substitute has not Goodwin. The fresh air swipe from

:03:15. > :03:16.

:03:16. > :03:26.the lender likes the St Mirren fans. -- Neil Lennon delights the St

:03:26. > :03:46.

:03:46. > :03:56.Mirren defence. The final five minutes. The corner kick from Kris

:03:56. > :04:16.

:04:16. > :04:22.Commons is clear. -- cleared. Barron. He's going to get the

:04:22. > :04:26.booking. He has caught the Celtic player, but he was trying to thump

:04:26. > :04:36.the ball clear. He will claim he had eyes for the ball, just trying

:04:36. > :04:50.

:04:50. > :05:00.sweep of trophies this season. That is evaporating. Anthony Stokes with

:05:00. > :05:01.

:05:01. > :05:11.the free kick, again, off the wall. Kris Commons, and a thunderous

:05:11. > :05:20.

:05:20. > :05:30.Commons, not agree clearing header, Samson comes again. - not a great

:05:30. > :05:30.

:05:30. > :06:10.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

:06:10. > :06:15.as that is hoisted as far away as good ball, and it is headed over

:06:15. > :06:19.the bar by Joe Ledley. That might have been the chance that God

:06:19. > :06:27.Celtic back into the game. Twisting and turning from Kris Commons, a

:06:27. > :06:33.great ball in, he cannot get the header down and it is over the bar.

:06:33. > :06:39.St Mirren about to bring Lee Mair on for the final couple of minutes.

:06:39. > :06:49.Since they last beat Celtic 1 24th March 2010, St Mirren have lost

:06:49. > :06:53.

:06:53. > :06:57.every single encounter against Celtic under Danny Lennon and

:06:57. > :07:07.Pascoe three today and or on the brink of a place in a national cup

:07:07. > :07:31.

:07:31. > :07:35.but Craig Samson que Mansiz area, as she has done all afternoon.

:07:35. > :07:43.Another top performer for St Mirren. We spoke before the game about the

:07:44. > :07:49.spine of the team, and it has been great, Samson, McAusland, Jim

:07:50. > :07:57.Goodwin, Paul McGowan. No passengers at all. It's he has done

:07:57. > :08:00.himself no harm its for getting into the Scotland squad, Greg

:08:00. > :08:05.Samson. St Mirren making this change in the final minute of the

:08:05. > :08:13.90. They are going to replace Paul McGowan who scored the second goal

:08:13. > :08:18.from the penalty spot. It was vital that he kept his cool. Up he has

:08:18. > :08:24.had a terrific 90 minutes and a terrific and well-earned standing

:08:24. > :08:29.ovation from the St Mirren fans. will find out how long is being

:08:29. > :08:35.added they injury-time. Celtic would do well to score twice. Three

:08:35. > :08:41.minutes added on, it has been confirmed. And we are about to move

:08:41. > :08:48.into the first of those three minutes. The Celtic supporters

:08:48. > :08:58.heading for the exits, many of them. St Mirren R three minutes away from

:08:58. > :09:05.

:09:05. > :09:09.her place in the League Cup final. -- are three minutes away. Stephen

:09:09. > :09:15.Thomson's scored the third goal, he is a St Mirren fan, a Paisley boy,

:09:15. > :09:25.and that will mean a lot about his goal has sealed a place in a

:09:25. > :09:32.

:09:32. > :09:38.national cup final for his team. park that, if you are winning a

:09:38. > :09:43.semi-final with a two-goal cushion, that you want it to be in, down by

:09:43. > :09:49.the corner flag. Celtic have to go all the way up the park, needing

:09:49. > :09:59.two goals in two minutes. That will be a free kick, and yet more

:09:59. > :10:00.

:10:00. > :10:03.seconds used up, and surely St Mirren other. -- are there. Just

:10:03. > :10:09.running down the clock towards the end of the game. Celtic have got to

:10:09. > :10:16.try and win the ball. St Mirren win themselves a corner kick and Danny

:10:16. > :10:26.Lennon has the luxury of allowing himself another substitution. Lewis

:10:26. > :10:30.

:10:30. > :10:40.Guy coming on. As the rain pelts down in mind Florida. -- Mount

:10:40. > :10:41.

:10:42. > :10:45.Florida. And that just about sums it up for Celtic today. They will

:10:45. > :10:55.the other of all was a crossfield ball to Anthony Stokes. That

:10:55. > :10:58.

:10:58. > :11:06.certainly was not the auction they were looking for. -- the option.

:11:06. > :11:13.Craig Samson gets rid of it. Scott Brown takes it down. St Mirren are

:11:13. > :11:21.so close, now, they can just about touch their place in the League Cup

:11:21. > :11:27.final. That change is going to be made now, at they are going to

:11:27. > :11:32.bring off the man who got the party started for St Mirren, Esmael

:11:32. > :11:36.Goncalves, who gave them the lead in the first half. When you come to

:11:36. > :11:46.a new club you want to get off to a good start and it does not get much

:11:46. > :11:51.

:11:51. > :12:00.better than that. The Portuguese, on loan from Rio Ave, is replaced

:12:00. > :12:06.by Lewis Guy. Anything Celtic get there will be a consolation. They

:12:06. > :12:14.have got one back. Charlie Mulgrew. But surely that has come too late.

:12:14. > :12:20.It has done. St Mirren are coming back to Hampden Park. They will

:12:20. > :12:26.come back to the final to play Hearts on March 17th. And Danny

:12:26. > :12:32.Lennon has the chance to write himself into St Mirren for war.

:12:32. > :12:37.They have deserved this victory. Craig Samson, and that was such a

:12:37. > :12:41.pivotal moment in the semi-final. Saving the penalty kick from

:12:41. > :12:47.Charlie Mulgrew at the start of the second half. It could have gone the

:12:47. > :12:51.other way if that had found the net. His mild Goncalves gave them the

:12:51. > :12:56.lead early corner in the first half, then that dispiriting equaliser

:12:56. > :13:02.from Gary Hooper just before half- time. That could have put their

:13:02. > :13:09.heads down and sat the spirits or St Mirren, but it didn't. Celtic

:13:09. > :13:12.hit the woodwork twice in the first half. Then came that Craig Samson

:13:12. > :13:17.save from the Charlie Mulgrew spot kick. Then St Mirren took over with

:13:17. > :13:22.a penalty of their own, which Paul McGowan converted after it struck

:13:22. > :13:28.the armour Charlie Mulgrew from a Gary Teale effort. Paul McGowan

:13:28. > :13:32.sent Lucasz Zaluska the wrong way, making it 2-1, then Steven Thompson,

:13:32. > :13:38.one of the most experienced campaigners in Scottish football

:13:38. > :13:48.slammed home an outstanding Borley to add the gloss to the St Mirren

:13:48. > :13:52.scoreline -- outstanding volley. Charlie Mulgrew pulled one back

:13:52. > :13:57.with the last kick of the ball but that will not matter to Danny

:13:57. > :14:03.Lennon, who missed out as part of the Raith Rovers side when they

:14:03. > :14:08.beat Celtic in the League Cup in 1994. The St Mirren manager has

:14:08. > :14:14.played his part today and he has been awarded for putting out what

:14:14. > :14:19.was, compared to teams they put out against Celtic in recent times, and

:14:19. > :14:23.adventurous line-up, and it has paid dividends, it really has. It

:14:23. > :14:33.finishes at Hampden Park with St Mirren coming back to face Hearts

:14:33. > :14:37.

:14:37. > :14:42.in the final in March, St Mirren What a result and what a

:14:42. > :14:45.performance by the Paisley team. 3- 2 is the final score. They will

:14:45. > :14:50.play Hearts and the final. Well, St Mirren fans would always have gone

:14:50. > :14:55.into that hopeful and optimistic, as club supporters do. I don't

:14:55. > :14:58.think many neutrals would have seen that coming? We'll said before the

:14:58. > :15:01.game it would have to be a special team performance, and that is what

:15:01. > :15:07.we got. There were so many incidents in the game. Sitting here,

:15:07. > :15:12.a fascinating game to watch. A lot of good quality on display. St

:15:12. > :15:15.Mirren, great individual performances but a great team

:15:15. > :15:19.performance. And I think goals change games as well. The penalty,

:15:20. > :15:28.I think it was harshly given, I think Goodwin was unfortunate. It

:15:28. > :15:30.hit his chest and came off his arm. But Samson made a great save. Then

:15:30. > :15:37.they scored great goals and you can't deny they were deserving

:15:37. > :15:41.winners. Steven Thompson got the third goal. It proved to be

:15:41. > :15:46.decisive, in the end. Congratulations, I'm thinking it

:15:46. > :15:49.will take a long time for this smile to come off your face? It's

:15:49. > :15:54.only just happened, I guess it will sink in tonight and over the next

:15:54. > :15:58.few days. What a monumental effort from all of the players. When they

:15:58. > :16:01.scored just before half-time, I thought it was a terrible time to

:16:01. > :16:06.lose a goal. At half-time we spoke about how well we had done in the

:16:06. > :16:10.first half, if we took the same spirit in, the quality of our play

:16:10. > :16:17.into the second half, we could cause Celtic problems. And we did.

:16:17. > :16:21.It's a magnificent feeling. However, it's a semi-final. If it had

:16:21. > :16:26.happened in the final I would be even happier, I guess. But it's

:16:26. > :16:29.fantastic to be in a final again. Hopefully, this time we can make

:16:29. > :16:33.the 25 year wait goal a. The a stunning victory, a stunning

:16:33. > :16:38.performance, was their real belief beforehand that you could upset the

:16:38. > :16:42.odds? I think there was, I felt that this morning, on the bus, in

:16:42. > :16:49.the changing room. I think in the first 10 minutes it gave us a lot

:16:49. > :16:54.of belief. We kept possession really well, obviously we scored

:16:54. > :16:59.the goal, these tiny things give you the belief. We carried belief

:16:59. > :17:04.through the match. It had been so long since we had scored again

:17:04. > :17:08.Celtic, to get the goal, it gave us the opportunity to say, we can do

:17:08. > :17:12.this, we can get another. Everybody was outstanding, I don't want to

:17:12. > :17:16.pick out individuals, they were all superb. It's a shame we have to do

:17:16. > :17:26.it again on Wednesday, against Inverness, that we have to prepare

:17:26. > :17:29.

:17:29. > :17:33.for. But I guess we can have a week -- a little glass or two. A lot

:17:33. > :17:40.will be said about Celtic, but what we are not losing sight of is how

:17:40. > :17:44.good St Mirren where? Teale had a great game, Thomson was fantastic.

:17:44. > :17:49.Right from the start of the game he was lively. When he did get that

:17:49. > :17:54.goal, suddenly, exactly what he said there, that gave them the

:17:54. > :17:59.belief. That gave them that lift. Just the fact they were on top of

:17:59. > :18:09.Celtic, the entirety of the time. Keep an eye on each of these goals,

:18:09. > :18:11.

:18:11. > :18:18.what Wanyama is doing, precisely Precisely. This is the heartbreak

:18:18. > :18:23.for them, Hooper did what he does best. Great movement. It says any

:18:23. > :18:27.argument of people debating if he was onside or not, clearly onside,

:18:27. > :18:31.great finish. But St Mirren had the belief to carried out on in the

:18:31. > :18:41.second half. A great save from the penalty, they took more belief from

:18:41. > :18:41.

:18:41. > :18:45.that. They knocked the ball around We wondered about the psychology of

:18:45. > :18:55.that Hooper goal, what it would do to both teams. And that second half

:18:55. > :18:58.

:18:58. > :19:04.incredibly harsh. If you have to give it, it is because it hit his

:19:04. > :19:09.hand. Why you get a yellow card, forget that, you have to be able to

:19:09. > :19:13.cope with it. It has hit his hand, you have to get on with it. It's up

:19:13. > :19:19.to the goalkeeper. You have to have everything going your way at this

:19:19. > :19:24.point in time. I'm not saying Celtic after the poor and St Mirren

:19:24. > :19:29.have to be brilliant, there are times when you get, as soon as he

:19:29. > :19:33.saved that, I thought this is not going to be Celtic's day. You get a

:19:33. > :19:38.feeling in football. That is how it transpired. A great save, strong

:19:38. > :19:43.hand to push it away so that there is no rebound. They took strength

:19:43. > :19:49.from that. The actual build-up to the penalty, the move that they had

:19:49. > :19:59.prior to lead to the corner, it was fantastic place. Thomson and Teale,

:19:59. > :20:09.eventually it comes in, the penalty kick, the composure that the young

:20:09. > :20:10.

:20:10. > :20:16.for me, that a clear penalty. There is no reason why he has his hands

:20:16. > :20:21.up there. Brilliant from Gary Teale. If it gets through, it's going to

:20:21. > :20:27.cause problems, as it happened he gets a penalty. Again, I'm asking

:20:27. > :20:32.why he is being booked. He's not done it did pretty. -- done it

:20:32. > :20:37.deliberately. I wouldn't be booking the die for it, but a penalty kick.

:20:37. > :20:42.It's not important, but it's the confidence and composure. For a

:20:42. > :20:45.young lad, in that arena, confidently struck into the corner.

:20:46. > :20:50.2-1, a lot of people would have felt they would sit back and hold

:20:50. > :20:54.on 42-One, they continued to pass and move the ball well. The finish

:20:54. > :21:01.for the third goal, I know what he is capable of and I'm delighted for

:21:01. > :21:10.him, an outstanding lad, great professional. A chance of winning

:21:10. > :21:14.the trophy against Hearts, all Congratulations, will that take a

:21:14. > :21:20.while to sink in? I think so, we put so much into the game, when

:21:20. > :21:24.they got the penalty we thought, not again. All credit to the boys,

:21:24. > :21:28.great character, a great day for the club and supporters. Steven

:21:28. > :21:32.Thompson said he had a feeling something was in the water, did you

:21:32. > :21:36.share his optimism? I did, we have not played well against Celtic

:21:36. > :21:41.every game. We haven't scored since I have been here against them. That

:21:41. > :21:47.was another plus. You just know it is a cup game, anything can happen

:21:47. > :21:51.and it did. If you play like that, can you go and win it? Of course.

:21:51. > :21:55.We don't fear anybody. We know how good we can be. We are not always

:21:55. > :22:04.consistent enough, but if we can take that into the final, I'm

:22:04. > :22:08.pretty sure we can come away with So, Paul Mark Allen with gold

:22:08. > :22:13.number two for St Mirren. -- Paul McGowan. They needed the third as

:22:13. > :22:23.well, as it turned out. Steven Thompson, we picked him out before

:22:23. > :22:24.

:22:24. > :22:29.the match. His 13th goal of the changed at the end and they put him

:22:29. > :22:33.on the left wing. He has not dived in, he has waited out. He realises

:22:33. > :22:37.there is a bit more of Celtic defenders and you're probably not

:22:37. > :22:41.going to get the ball if it is played into that classic area. No

:22:41. > :22:45.problems of offside or anything like that. From the manager's point

:22:45. > :22:49.of view, what is really annoying is when the ball is brought out to the

:22:49. > :22:53.edge of the box, Victor Wanyama, if he went to the edge of the boxy

:22:53. > :23:00.would have stopped the cross coming in to Thompson. That goal was

:23:00. > :23:10.easily avoidable, to a manager. He is a ladder to have come behind him

:23:10. > :23:19.

:23:19. > :23:27.and an easy finish. -- he has a finish. We asked about Paul

:23:27. > :23:31.McGowan going forwards. Wanyama, all through the game he made

:23:31. > :23:37.mistakes like that. The poorest game I've seen have by 1 million

:23:37. > :23:41.miles. You can't play with ten men against a team that up for it. Guys

:23:41. > :23:45.like Thomson are thinking, this is one of the great opportunities of

:23:45. > :23:53.my career and when I get it, I will take it. A lot of his goals have

:23:53. > :23:59.been quality goals. Attitude plays a big part. St Mirren got it spot

:23:59. > :24:02.on and Celtic's must be questioned? St Mirren had conceded 22 in eight

:24:02. > :24:07.games and not scored in Celtic. They know it was a big occasion,

:24:07. > :24:10.fired up to be at their best and show people that we are good

:24:10. > :24:15.players individually, we are a good team, we have not shown it again

:24:15. > :24:20.Celtic but we are going to do that. Celtic had a slow start, but goals

:24:20. > :24:24.change games. If Celtic scored the penalty, I've no doubt they would

:24:24. > :24:28.win something like 4-1. But they didn't. The balance was perfect

:24:28. > :24:33.between the young lads, the new players coming in and the senior

:24:33. > :24:36.pros. They have all played in big games. It's nothing new to Stevie

:24:37. > :24:42.Thomson or Gary Teale. And don't forget the goalkeeper. He was

:24:42. > :24:49.fantastic. Lots of stars and stripes, and one in a yellow jersey,

:24:49. > :24:56.We've spoken to a couple of the goalscorers, but you certainly

:24:56. > :25:00.played your part? Always go to make a penalty save, at a vital part of

:25:00. > :25:03.the game. But the boys had to get the goals to turn that around.

:25:03. > :25:08.Going down to the final, we have to remember this is just the semi-

:25:08. > :25:13.final. Talk us through the save, was it just a good guess? I decided

:25:13. > :25:18.I was going to go to my right. He hit it quite well that I was lucky

:25:18. > :25:23.enough to go to my right and touch it past the post. Stephen and Paul

:25:23. > :25:28.both said that they believed. Did you? Yes, we believed, and that is

:25:29. > :25:34.what happened. Great for us and the fans, delighted. Can you win it?

:25:34. > :25:43.course we can, we have just beaten Celtic. We are going to have a

:25:43. > :25:46.difficult game against Hearts that Sometimes, a goal like this can be

:25:46. > :25:56.described as a consolation goal. As far as Celtic are concerned, I

:25:56. > :25:57.

:25:57. > :26:07.don't think it will give them much force an equaliser. There will be

:26:07. > :26:14.

:26:14. > :26:17.Just an unbelievable day for St Mirren. They are right what they

:26:17. > :26:22.have said, it is a semi-final and they have to come back with that

:26:22. > :26:27.level of performance in the final. If they do, it will take him close

:26:27. > :26:31.to winning the final. Suffering so much, so many defeats at the hands

:26:31. > :26:36.of Celtic, how sweet does that taste? They will be feeling so

:26:36. > :26:44.sweet about it. But you also look at that team and think, actually,

:26:44. > :26:49.they've got a bit of a core now. You begin to see the best of other

:26:49. > :26:53.players. Teale, Thomson up front, he gets a little bit more support.

:26:53. > :26:57.They left they would get from that, we did talk about confidence, but

:26:57. > :27:01.they will not only look forward to the Cup final, they will look

:27:01. > :27:05.forward to the season. I have no doubt that Denni Lennon will look

:27:05. > :27:09.at these players and think, hold on a minute, with that level of

:27:09. > :27:14.performance, we should not be where we are in the Premier League. Let's

:27:14. > :27:20.use that as a catalyst to move forward with a strong end to the

:27:20. > :27:25.season, get better from that. Celtic were not at their maximum

:27:25. > :27:29.level, but you cannot take anything away from how well St Mirren played.

:27:29. > :27:34.Their passing was pleasing to the eye, I think it was an outstanding

:27:34. > :27:42.display from start to finish. hear from the victorious manager

:27:42. > :27:46.Very well done, can you put that into words? We are delighted, the

:27:46. > :27:51.dressing room is buzzing as we speak. It was a fantastic effort

:27:51. > :27:58.from the backroom staff, in the preparation going into the game.

:27:58. > :28:02.The tactics, what the players have brought in, what we certainly had

:28:02. > :28:06.through the working week was inspiration from past Celtic and St

:28:06. > :28:10.Mirren games. That was our message, fuelled the players with that

:28:10. > :28:16.belief that it can be achievable. We work with them on a daily basis.

:28:16. > :28:23.When they have belief like that, and show their true potential, they

:28:23. > :28:30.can bring that best to any game. It's a fantastic achievement to

:28:30. > :28:35.reach that. It's a fantastic result. More importantly, the manner that

:28:35. > :28:38.we got the result. That's for all of our fans that have stuck by us,

:28:38. > :28:43.thick and thin. Hopefully we have given them something to look

:28:43. > :28:47.forward curve. As I say, we're just absolutely delighted. -- something

:28:47. > :28:51.to look forward to. We are chasing another Lennon

:28:51. > :28:56.interview as well. We might have to wait for that one, Neil Lennon

:28:56. > :29:04.obviously distraught about how things have gone for Celtic. Hearts

:29:04. > :29:14.against St Mirren in the final of the Scottish communities to kneecap.

:29:14. > :29:19.

:29:19. > :29:29.At Pittodrie, it was Aberdeen against Hibs. Highlights from that

:29:29. > :29:44.

:29:44. > :29:50.Craig Thomson is going to book Peter Pawlett. He throws himself.

:29:50. > :29:58.Peter Pawlett seeing plenty of the ball in the opening stages. He

:29:58. > :30:06.finds Johnny Hayes. This time, it is a penalty. Craig Thomson pointed

:30:06. > :30:11.to the spot. Johnny Hayes just checked his run, waited for the

:30:11. > :30:21.challenge. And Craig Thomson decides that is a spot kick to be

:30:21. > :30:27.taken by Niall McGinn. Saved by Graham Williams. And clear it.

:30:27. > :30:37.Williams can afford to grin, no. Really good save. Perhaps Niall

:30:37. > :30:52.

:30:52. > :31:02.McGinn's not best streak of the their attacking play. Gavin Rae

:31:02. > :31:07.forced a further wide and he would have liked. And Peter Pawlett, he

:31:07. > :31:17.met that well, but he couldn't direct it down much to test

:31:17. > :31:17.

:31:17. > :31:25.Williams. Craig Brown, looking to turn dominance into goals. And mile

:31:25. > :31:30.McGinn did his best to make up for the missed penalty. -- Niall McGinn.

:31:30. > :31:40.Osborne fancies his chances from distance. Williams happy to see it

:31:40. > :31:47.drift wide. Aberdeen still the dominant force. Pat Fenlon will

:31:47. > :31:54.want his side to start imposing themselves on the match. Again,

:31:54. > :32:04.Aberdeen going for it, from distance. Williams, getting

:32:04. > :32:12.

:32:12. > :32:16.in there causing trouble. Aberdeen tried to keep the pressure on.

:32:16. > :32:23.Johnny Hayes works it on to his right foot. That is a wonderful

:32:23. > :32:33.effort. Just could not whip this clear, and eventually, Johnny's

:32:33. > :32:39.

:32:39. > :32:47.found room to shoot. He wasn't far This is Dorrell. Leigh Griffiths

:32:47. > :32:55.trying to get there, he does, but he can't force it. Junior Langfield

:32:55. > :33:03.happy to see that squirming past the post. Two League games this

:33:03. > :33:06.weekend because of the League Cup finals. This was Dundee United

:33:06. > :33:16.against Ross County at Tannadice yesterday, the best of whip from

:33:16. > :33:35.

:33:35. > :33:42.Gary Mackay-Steven was a bit games this season, having gone nine

:33:42. > :33:52.games without a win. That was Gary Mackay-Steven, turned away by Boyd.

:33:52. > :33:55.

:33:55. > :34:05.And that was knocked out of play. Gary Mackay Stephen set up well.

:34:05. > :34:06.

:34:06. > :34:11.Peter Houston explaining what he wants. And Gary Mackay-Steven again,

:34:11. > :34:21.desperate to add to his three goals this season. He has got the power

:34:21. > :34:29.

:34:29. > :34:35.goalkeeper. He will be delighted to see that going behind. -- closes

:34:35. > :34:45.down the goalkeeper. Mark Brown put in a difficult position by Scott

:34:45. > :34:59.

:34:59. > :35:05.Boyd. And Johnny Russell closes him shoot. And the Dundee United

:35:05. > :35:11.magician conjures up something special again. You just cannot give

:35:11. > :35:17.him space. Johnny Russell work hard. Gary Mackay-Steven was not closed

:35:17. > :35:24.down by Grant Munro, and the goalkeeper simply had no chance.

:35:24. > :35:34.Seven minutes gone in the second half, and Johnny Russell and Gary

:35:34. > :35:46.

:35:46. > :35:56.He had such a good debut against St Mirren last weekend. Almost on the

:35:56. > :36:19.

:36:19. > :36:26.goalkeeper. He gathered it at the what an equaliser from Richard

:36:26. > :36:31.written. It has been a game graced by two great goals. Gary Mackay-

:36:31. > :36:40.Steven with that finish into the top corner, and Richie Britain

:36:40. > :36:50.taking the more direct route. Eight minutes to go. And as two goals,

:36:50. > :37:07.

:37:07. > :37:14.Two great goals and that game, no abbot -- no SPL goals at all, 05-0

:37:14. > :37:19.at Pittodrie, and the latest score from Dens Park is the Dundee nil,

:37:19. > :37:24.Kilmarnock nil, but let's head back to Hampton, the losing manager,

:37:24. > :37:29.Neil Lennon, joins Chris. -- hand in. You will be bitterly

:37:29. > :37:37.disappointed. What went wrong? There was a lack of intensity in

:37:37. > :37:42.the play in the first half. There was a lack of hunger. That was a

:37:42. > :37:50.soulless performance from us. There was a lack leadership, lack of

:37:50. > :37:54.intensity. I don't know where that performance came from. After 15

:37:55. > :38:00.minutes we looked a little bit better, we hit the crossbar twice,

:38:00. > :38:05.second half, we came out much better. I didn't think either of

:38:05. > :38:12.the penalties was a penalty but St Mirren scored from theirs, we

:38:12. > :38:21.didn't. And we never really had quality in the final third.

:38:21. > :38:24.Defensively we were awful. Apart from Gary Hooper. Without him we

:38:25. > :38:29.would have been in trouble. There was no sign from previous results

:38:30. > :38:39.that this was coming. What do you put it down from? Their attitude

:38:40. > :38:40.

:38:40. > :38:44.has been very good this season, so I don't know. There was a lack of

:38:44. > :38:48.discipline in shape, we did not play like a team. We played like

:38:48. > :38:56.individuals. You always worry before the game, semi-finals, it

:38:57. > :39:02.has not been a happy hunting ground for us. And we need to rectify that

:39:02. > :39:08.if we are going to progress. Complacency is a strong word, but

:39:08. > :39:14.was it a problem? I am not going to hide from criticism. The first and

:39:15. > :39:18.then the team. I am not going to hide from that. There was no

:39:18. > :39:24.contribution -- complacency in the contribution but the lack of

:39:24. > :39:28.intensity concerned me. How much of the concern is it with the cup game

:39:28. > :39:33.coming up and then the game against Juventus? We have a league game

:39:33. > :39:42.first. You would think about that on Wednesday and see what type of

:39:42. > :39:46.Fair play to Neil Lennon. A brutally honest assessment of what

:39:46. > :39:51.happened or did not happen for Celtic at Hampden today. You have

:39:51. > :39:56.got to admire it alight. You can see how much it is hurting them. He

:39:56. > :40:01.was not expecting that level of performance. The preparation has

:40:01. > :40:07.been buying on. The players sometimes have got to look at

:40:07. > :40:10.themselves. The manager puts the players out there expecting them to

:40:11. > :40:15.live up to the standards Celtic's set and they have not done that

:40:15. > :40:22.today.And was very honest and very frank and sometimes that is what

:40:22. > :40:29.you have to be. It is a desperate statistic, five defeats at Hampden

:40:29. > :40:33.under his management. But lets not lose sight of the positives, a

:40:33. > :40:37.fantastic result for St Mirren. There is a temptation to talk about

:40:37. > :40:41.what is going on the Celtic there, I did not see this coming at all,

:40:41. > :40:46.but you have to say, St Mirren played incredibly well. Danny

:40:46. > :40:49.Lennon had to change a lot of things. He was brave enough to

:40:49. > :40:55.bring those players into his group, and to get the best out of them

:40:55. > :40:59.very quickly, but also to prepare his team to make sure they peaked

:41:00. > :41:04.for the Right game. I thought Conor Newton made a massive difference to

:41:04. > :41:11.them. And you have to applaud the efforts of Paul McGowan. But

:41:11. > :41:15.throughout the entire team from one to 11, you have to upload them. The

:41:15. > :41:25.best performance from St Mirren, and a poor performance from Celtic,

:41:25. > :41:26.

:41:27. > :41:32.that happened -- applaud them. the latest from Dens Park, still

:41:32. > :41:38.Siro IV 0. You will be able to see highlights later on, on the BBC

:41:38. > :41:45.website. Next weekend, it is all about the Scottish Cup, down to the

:41:45. > :41:51.last 16. We have extensive coverage on BBC Radio Scotland. Highlights

:41:51. > :41:59.of those five cup ties on Saturday night at 10:30pm. The live match

:42:00. > :42:05.from the 5th round, it is Raith Rovers against Celtic at Kirkcaldy.

:42:05. > :42:09.And highlights of the Sunday cup ties at 10 twenty-five pm on Sunday.

:42:09. > :42:13.The Scottish Cup will have to go some to match the drama of the