Brendan Rodgers’ domestic treble dream could have been shattered tonight when they were down by a goal for almost an hour in Scottish Cup quarter-final fixture against St. Mirren. The bottom side of Scottish Championship ( i.e. second tier of Scottish football ) showed great determination at Celtic Park against the mighty Hoops, however, their dream was demolished when Celtic scored a brace on an hour mark to turn around the result in their favor and registered a 4-1 win to make it through to the semis of the competition.
Below are the Celtic players rated from the fixture.
Craig Gordon: 6
The Scottish custodian had a nervy outing as he conceded an early one and St. Mirren were denied by the woodwork twice during the game. Otherwise, he did not have much to deal with except a few punches and clearances.
Mikael Lustig: 8
The right full-back had an excellent outing as he helped his attackers constantly with overlapping runs when Celtic were down by a goal. His hard work paid off as he scored the equaliser heading home from Patrick Roberts’ free-kick.
Dedryck Boyata: 7
The Belgian centre-back shook off early concerns and delivered a stellar performance as he managed to pull off a few crucial blocks, tackles and interceptions.
Erik Sviatchenko: 6
An average display from the Danish international who could have been better positioned to deny Harry Davis from scoring early into the game.
Kieran Tierney: 6.5
Did fair in defensive duties, however, could have done more from attacking perspective.
Nir Bitton: 6
Bitton had a quiet outing as he was mostly static in midfield and failed to screen his defence in most occasions. Was replaced by Leigh Griffiths within ten minutes into second half.
Scott Brown: 7
Was not at his best in the first 45 minutes. But the skipper stepped up in the second half with tireless runs and combative display.
Gary MacKay-Steven: 6
Made a few good runs and whipped in a few decent crosses with no end product. Was subbed off at half time with Patrick Roberts.
Stuart Armstrong: 7
Worked hard to stage a comeback and linked up well with the attackers to break a determined St. Mirren back-line. Was replaced by Eboue Kouassi late in the game.
Scott Sinclair: 8
Sinclair had a quiet start, however, he turned things around for the Hoops to score their second and assisted Moussa Dembele to tap in from close range.
Moussa Dembele: 7
Wasted a few early opportunities but registered his name in the scoresheet yet again after picking up Scott Sinclair’s pass and tapping in from close range.
Substitutes
Patrick Roberts: 8
The in-form Manchester City loanee changed the whole complexion of the game as his perfectly placed free-kick was headed in by Lusting to equalise. Also had a massive contribution in Celtic’s third and kept the St. Mirren back-line on toes throughout the second half.
Leigh Griffiths: 7
An attacking move by Brendan Rodgers replacing Bitton and his strategy paid off as he terrorised the back-line with his direct runs and movement. Netted Celtic’s fourth after picking up the ball outside the box, taking it on to his left foot and firing low into the bottom corner.
Eboue Kouassi: 6
The teenager was brought in place of Armstrong for last 15 minutes.
