Celtic 1-0 St Johnstone: James Forrest nets winner to send Ange Postecoglou's side to final
- Published
Substitute James Forrest (left) inspired Celtic to semi-final victory with the only goal of the game
James Forrest came off the bench to send Celtic into December's Scottish League Cup final at the expense of holders St Johnstone.
On an emotional evening following the death of Celtic legend Bertie Auld earlier this week, the Parkhead side were frustrated until the 73rd minute.
But four minutes after his introduction, Forrest drilled in to spark wild scenes in the Celtic end.
Rangers or Hibernian will complete the final line-up on Sunday.
The defeat brings to an end a remarkable 11-game unbeaten run in knockout football for St Johnstone, which saw them win both last season's domestic cup competitions.
As for Celtic, it is a domestic cup final at the first attempt for manager Ange Postecoglou - who is aiming to win his first silverware in Scotland.
Monday's Scotland euphoria was swapped with raw emotion at Hampden as the Celtic end paid tribute to Lisbon Lion Auld with a moving display pre-match.
The stadium rose for a deafening minute's applause and a roar from the 50,000-strong crowd followed.
After an entire season of being locked out last term, St Johnstone's fans were finally getting the opportunity to watch their double cup-winning side at Hampden.
However, it looked like it would be a long night for Davidson's men in the early exchanges. Jota took just two minutes to have a pop, skipping and dancing inside before guiding a right-footed effort wide.
The on-loan Benfica man was causing all sorts of problems for the Perth backline, setting up David Turnbull, who blasted over from close range, before dinking in a sublime 'Rabona' cross.
But Davidson's men weathered out the early storm and began to pose a threat of their own when Michael O'Halloran's dangerous ball evaded everyone in the box.
O'Halloran was again the threat as Joe Hart took a massive gamble and got away with one when his clearance rebounded off the attacker before rolling just past a post.
Hart - on his first visit back to Hampden since Leigh Griffiths bent two Scotland free-kicks beyond him in 2017 - again looked suspect when Craig Bryson struck from range, with the Celtic keeper smothering at the second attempt.
Bryson was then in the face of action at the other end, throwing himself to deny Liel Abada at close range.
With half-time nearing, there was still no sign of Celtic's attacking spark reappearing as St Johnstone continued to ask questions, Chris Kane dragging an effort from outside the area wide.
But Davidson's men had to be on hand to deny what looked like a certain goal with seconds remaining in the half as Jamie McCart somehow bettered Bryson's previous block by sliding in to prevent Callum McGregor's finish reaching the goal.
Similar to the first period, St Johnstone were hemmed in early in the second half but again held firm.
Groans were getting louder from the Celtic end, but with Postecoglou searching for a spark, Forrest was introduced.
He took to the pitch with sparks flying as the Celtic end paid a further tribute to Auld with a banner of the legend accompanied by pyrotechnics.
It took the forward just four minutes to make his impact, as Jota's cross could only be cleared as far as the Scotland winger who fired in from close range.
The Perth side responded well as Celtic continued to take chances at the back, but it was Postecoglou's side who came closest to adding to the scoring when Jota had a finish deflect just wide before Mikey Johnston was denied by Zander Clark.
Man of the match - Jota
He went to ground a bit easily at times but again the Portuguese winger (right) was Celtic's bright spark and failed to let St Johnstone's stubbornness impact his game
What did we learn?
After the first few minutes, it seemed like Celtic would breeze their way to victory in the scintillating fashion we have become accustomed to under Postecoglou.
But resolute St Johnstone defending meant the Parkhead club had to dig in as they continue to show they can win ugly. It's 11 games undefeated domestically now for the finalists with a showpiece event to look forward to.
Regardless of the way this game went, there was always going to be an immense sense of pride come full-time for St Johnstone.
But even the way they played out this contest enhances that further. They pushed and can be proud of their efforts once again.
Albeit a victory, last season's semi-final win against Hibs sparked their season into life - they need this performance to do likewise.
What they said
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou: "We knew it was going to be a tough game against a tough opponent who make things difficult for you in these cup games and I thought our players really held their discipline and stayed patient and worked hard.
"I thought we deserved our victory and it gives us the opportunity now to play for some silverware. It would have been easy for us to get frustrated and not play our football, but we stuck to our task and got our rewards."
St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson: "Overall, very proud of what we tried to achieve and the way we went about our business. They defended their trophy with pride and courage and that's all I can ask from them.
"A wee mistake for the goal, but I'm not going to criticise them - when you come to a semi-final at Hampden and Celtic have three shots on target, I would have taken that ahead of the game. I didn't think there was dirty foul in the game, but there were 10 bookings, which made it difficult for us to put in challenges."
What's next?
Celtic return to Europa League action on Thursday (17:45 GMT) when they travel to Bayer Leverkusen, before hosting Aberdeen on Sunday (15:00), while St Johnstone are at home to Hibernian next Saturday (15:00).