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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Ben Ramage

Red card proves pivotal as St Mirren bow out of Scottish Cup despite determined performance against Celtic

St Mirren put up a brave fight against Celtic but ended up on the receiving end of a bruising 5-1 Scottish Cup defeat after Richard Taylor picked up a costly red card at a key moment.

The Buddies suffered an early setback when Daizen Maeda slotted home Aaron Mooy's cross to put the favourites in front. But the visitors rallied well and matched the hosts for the rest of the first half, with Tony Watt and Alex Gogic both spurning chances to equalise.

St Mirren battled hard deep into the second half but suffered a double blow when Taylor was deemed to have stopped Liel Abada's shot with his arm. After a lengthy VAR review the centre back was sent for an early bath, with Hatate stepping up to slot home from the spot.

Oh Hyeon-gyu , Matt O'Riley and Hatate added gloss to the scoreline late on for the hosts, with Mark O'Hara's cool penalty only a consolation on another sore night in Glasgow for the Saints.

The Buddies were without key defender Charles Dunne, who missed out entirely with a hamstring issue. Taylor was drafted in for just his fourth appearance for the club, with the 22-year-old playing alongside Declan Gallagher who was passed fit to start.

New Zealand international Alex Greive kept his place up front alongside Curtis Main, with Tony Watt and Kieran Offord the Saints' attacking options off the bench.

St Mirren were humbled 4-0 at Celtic Park just last month and knew they'd need to keep it tight in the early stages to avoid a similar result at the same venue.

Jota stung Trevor Carson's palms after just two minutes as the hosts spurned an early opportunity to take the lead.

Buddies boss Stephen Robinson insisted before the clash his side would look to attack the much-fancied hosts when the chance presented itself and his side were true to his word in the opening ten minutes.

A quick Scott Tanser ball sent Main through down the left wing, with his cutback just evading O'Hara in the box.

The full-back himself found space down the same side but his teasing cross for Main was headed to safety by Cameron Carter-Vickers.

The home side were still looking dangerous and almost took the lead with a stroke of luck. Maeda found space and curled in a cross that almost snuck in the top corner. It cleared Carson but bounced back off the bar, much to the relief of the travelling Saints support.

St Mirren were handed a boost after quarter of an hour when Celtic's lethal frontman Kyogo Furuhashi was forced off injured after clashing with Keanu Baccus.

Unfortunately the switch had the opposite effect with the Hoops opening the scoring just a minute later. Former Saints midfielder Aaron Mooy was allowed far too much space on the right wing, with his cross picking out Maeda who stabbed home from close-range.

The opener almost sparked an instant reaction from the Saints. A long ball found Greive just inside the Celtic box, with the striker cutting back inside his marker before unleashing a shot that was desperately blocked by Carter-Vickers.

Far from retreating into their shell after going behind, the Buddies settled into the tie and restricted the home side to very few clear cut chances.

Alex Gogic in particular did a brilliant job of marshalling the midfield and keeping a close eye on Callum McGregor, not allowing the Scotland international time on the ball to dictate the game.

The Cypriot's tempting ball over the top almost sent Greive in on goal, with Hart racing confidently off his line to clear the danger. Unfortunately for Greive that was his last contribution to the game, with the striker hobbling off to be replaced by Tony Watt.

Keanu Baccus was another in black that was impressing in the middle of the park. His determination to drive down the right wing resulted in a pinpoint cross that found Watt. The forward could only head over against his former employer.

Gogic almost levelled just before half-time, his powerful drive from the edge of the box clearing the bar.

Five minutes into the second half Celtic were inches away from doubling their lead. Alistair Johnston's low cross caused all sorts of problems in the box, with Marcus Fraser's clearance smacking off the post before bouncing to safety.

Watt was looking lively up front and went close to fashioning an equaliser. The forward collected a Baccus pass, beat his man inside the box before his powerful shot was blocked.

The Hoops were screaming for a penalty when Abada's shot after rounding Carson looked to hit Taylor's arm. A lengthy VAR check resulted in referee Steven McLaren both pointing to the spot and sending Taylor off for stopping what he thought would be a goal. Hatate stepped up to blast past Carson.

With the Saints reduced to 10 men the closing stages were always going to be tough and just a few minutes later the tie was virtually over. Carson stood tall to save McGregor's initial effort but was powerless to stop the rebound being fired home by Oh to make it three.

The Buddies did grab something to show for their efforts when Carl Starfelt brought down Greg Kiltie in the box. O'Hara held his nerve to send Hart the wrong way, but in the end it was only a consolation with O'Riley slotting home from the edge of the box to restore the Hoops' three-goal advantage.

Hatate then lashed home an impressive fifth in extra-time to rub salt in the Buddies' wounds.

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