St Johnstone were edged out 1-0 by Celtic in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday. A second-half goal from Mika Baur was enough to give the visitors all three points at McDiarmid Park, despite the hosts fashioning several clear chances of their own.
Martin O'Neill's side matched the league leaders for large parts of the contest. They registered nine shots, the same number as Celtic, but only three were on target compared to the visitors' nine. St Johnstone's best openings came and went, with the final touch or decision in the final third proving elusive.
The decisive moment arrived seven minutes after the restart. Haissem Hassan provided the assist for Mika Baur to score his first Celtic goal since his summer move, finding the net in the 52nd minute. St Johnstone had held firm until then, with a defensive shape of 4-3-2-1 proving difficult to break down. Goalkeeper S Steward was called into action multiple times as Celtic dominated possession with 60.6% of the ball.
St Johnstone's work rate was high, as evidenced by their 13 fouls conceded. Both teams received two yellow cards in a competitive match. The home side also won just two corners to Celtic's eleven. Yet they passed the ball 386 times with 78.5% accuracy, showing they could build play when given the opportunity.
Celtic boss Martin O'Neill singled out Baur for praise after the match. "He has just been class," O'Neill said. "He looked tired in the game against St Mirren, but I'm not surprised with the amount of things he does for us, both with the ball, which is terrific, and also the work that he does without it. He's second only to the former Celtic forward Daizen Maeda for closing players down."
For St Johnstone, the performance offered positives but the result extends a difficult run. The defeat leaves them seventh in the Premiership, with seven points from their opening six matches. Their recent form shows one win, one draw and three losses in the last five outings. They now sit 11 points behind Celtic at the summit.
The team must regroup during the international break. Their next assignment is a home fixture against Dundee United on 17 October. United currently occupy 11th place, making it a significant match in the early-season schedule. St Johnstone will hope to have key players like the injured Jamie Gullan back in contention by then. Fans can check the upcoming fixtures for all the dates. The squad will be looking to build on their last home victory, a 2-1 win over Hibernian where J. Fowler scored twice, including a penalty. The challenge is to convert promising performances into points when the action resumes next month.
Further reading: thetimes.com
