Celtic 6-2 St.Mirren (AET)

Celtic overcame worries of a St. Mirren comeback with an extra-time punishment to exact Hampden revenge and reach the Scottish Gas Men’s Scottish Cup final.

Maeda (1′) Ralston (45+3′) Iheanacho (96′, 100′) McCowan (98′) Nygren (102′)       Mandron (53′, 90+1′)

Celtic wasted no time after kick-off as Daizen Maeda pounced on a poor kick from Ryan Mullen. A block from the forward trickled over the line to give Celtic at the lead in the opening minute.

Martin O’Neill’s side continued to apply early pressure as Arne Engels attempt bounced off the post within the opening ten.

It became an afternoon to forget for Ryan Mullen who filled in for the injured Shamal George. Mullen would pick up an injury of his own in the 15th minute meaning he was replaced by 17-year-old Grant Tamosevicius who made his senior debut.

The teenager was called into action early on as his kick out was intercepted by Tounekti who played through Benjamin Nygren, but the effort was straight into the hands of the keeper. Moments later, he would deny Maeda a brace with a great stop from inside the area.

St. Mirren’s first shot of the afternoon came from Mikael Mandron just before the half hour mark, but his effort from outside the area was blocked. Liam Donnelly would then force Viljami Sinisalo into a fantastic save from the corner.

St. Mirren would then start to grow into the game and nearly recreated Celtic’s goal when Killian Phillips’ block of Sinisalo’s kick out caused a scare. Luckily for Celtic, if the ball had crossed the line, it was ruled that it came off Phillips’ arm.

Moments later, Arne Engels entered the book for a challenge on Jacob Devaney.

Celtic’s first effort since Engels struck the post would strike the bar as Tamosevicius could only watch on as Yang headed goal-wards from a Kieran Tierney cross.

The drama of goalkeeper kick outs continued as Sinisalo’s short pass was intercepted by Mandron inside the box. Mandron laid the ball off to Phillips whose close range effort was wide off the post.

Anthony Ralston put Celtic two goals to the good with the last kick of the half as Yang’s back heel was left perfectly for the fullback whose shot came off the underside of the bar.

Mandron then pulled one back for St. Mirren shortly after halftime as he headed in from a Declan John cross.

Celtic looked to respond fast through Yang, but his goal bound effort was blocked by Jonah Ayunga for a corner. Celtic would then recycle play as Tamosevicius collected the ball in a congested penalty area. Allan Campbell entered the book moments after for a challenge on Ralston.

A triple-substitution 15 minutes from time would allow St. Mirren captain Mark O’Hara to move back into his natural position in the middle of the park. He’d then instantly have an attempt at goal, but his header from a deep free-kick was just over the bar.

St. Mirren had a penalty appeal waved five minutes from time when Jayden Richardson went down in the box following contact from Marcelo Saracchi.

Sinisalo would then produce an excellent double save to keep Celtic’s lead in the closing stages. The lead didn’t last long however as Mandron latched onto a Jake Young through ball and beat Sinisalo low into the bottom corner to equalise in stoppage time.

Luke McCowan came close to winning it at the death, but his half volley from outside the box was just over.

The first chance of extra-time fell to Mandron, looking for a hat-trick. The forward managed to meet Declan John’s cross once more, but the shot was blocked by substitute Dane Murray.

Celtic then looked to James Forrest to counter from a corner, but was shut down by Mark O’Hara who was booked for his foul.

Iheanacho restored Celtic’s lead in the 96th minute, heading in from a James Forrest cross. McCowan put Celtic two up immediately after with a great finish. The fourth then became the fifth when Ihenancho cooly finished past Tamosevicius. The fifth became the sixth when Nygren gave Celtic their fourth goal in six minutes.

Celtic didn’t look to let St. Mirren off the hook in the second half of extra-time as Tamosevicius produced saves from Forrest and Iheanancho before Austin Trust fired high and wide from close range.

The final chance of the match fell to Iheanacho, but his effort went out for a throw in. The whistle sounded shortly after as Celtic reached their fourth consecutive Scottish Cup final.

Celtic will return to Barclays Hampden to face Neil Lennon’s Dunfermline in the final of the Scottish Gas Men’s Scottish Cup on the 23rd May. This ensures a re-run of the 2007 cup final, where Lennon was the Celtic captain in a 1-0 win.

Celtic: Sinisalo, Ralston, Arthur (Murray 91′), Trusty, Tierney (Saracchi 82′), McGregor (Oxlade-Chamberlin 74′), Engels (McCowan 74′), Nygren, Yang (Iheanacho 82′), Maeda, Tounekti (Forrest 60′)

St. Mirren: Mullen (Tamosevicius 16′), Donnelly (McMenamin 82′), Gogic, Freckelton, O’Hara, Devaney, Campbell (Richardson 74′), Phillips (Idowu 74′), John (Tanser 105′), Mandron, Ayunga (Young 74′)