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2 days ago
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St Johnstone gave themselves some unlikely relegation relief with a stunning 1-0 win against the Scottish Premiership leaders, Celtic, at McDiarmid Park.
Daniels Balodis went off-script after four minutes when the defender scored with a header and, while the visitors dominated for the rest of the game, Simo Valakari’s side held out, helped by some vital saves by their goalkeeper Andy Fisher.
It was the Perth side’s first win against the Parkhead club since 2016 and they moved five points behind second-bottom Dundee with six fixtures remaining while Celtic – still 13 points ahead of Rangers – have to delay thoughts of their Premiership title celebrations. It was a momentous win for Saints.
The magnitude of the home side’s task was underlined by the fact that they had lost 6-0 at home against Celtic in September and 4-0 at Parkhead in December. Three of the four stands were full of expectant Hoops fans for the midday kick-off and they were shocked when Saints raced ahead, after the Celtic midfielder Arne Engels had tested Fisher with a drive.
Balodis headed just over the crossbar from a Makenzie Kirk cross in St Johnstone’s first attack but Saints’ Latvian defender was more accurate from Graham Carey’s free-kick, glancing a header past the Celtic goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo.
In the 13th minute, after Fisher parried a drive from Daizen Maeda, Stephen Duke-McKenna’s last-gasp tackle prevented Nicolas Kühn tapping into an empty net from a yard out before he drew a fine save from Sinisalo with a drive on the turn. Saints were coping well with Celtic’s pressure.
However, a slack back pass from the defender Sam Curtis was intercepted by Maeda but Fisher made the save, as he did moments later from a Jota drive. Five minutes from the break VAR checked a possible penalty for St Johnstone for a Reo Hatate handball but play moved on and Sinisalo saved Adama Sidibeh’s header from a Carey corner.
Yang Hyun-jun and Greg Taylor replaced Kühn and Jeffrey Schlupp for the start of the second half but there was no instant improvement. Sidibeh did well to escape the attention of the Celtic defender Cameron Carter-Vickers only to drag his shot wide.
Celtic continued to dominate the ball and in the 55th minute from an Engels corner, Hatate crashed a shot against a post while at the other end Duke-McKenna’s effort from distance flew just wide. After Hatate drove high over the bar from 12 yards after being set up by Jota, Adam Idah replaced Maeda.
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Amid relentless Celtic pressure, Valakari made a quadruple substitution with Taylor Steven, Sven Sprangler, Nicky Clark and Benjamin Kimpioka on for the injured Drey Wright and Sidibeh, Carey and Kirk.
Kimpioka had a couple of chances in quick succession inside the Celtic penalty area in a rare Saints attack but could not get his shot away. At the other end, Luke McCowan – on for Engels – fired wide from 16 yards in the 79th minute before his fellow Parkhead substitute James Forrest hit Fisher from close range and then from distance.
Fisher then blocked a McCowan chip in the first minute of five added on as St Johnstone kept their survival hopes alive.
