St Johnstone 1-2 Celtic: Giorgos Giakoumakis nets last-minute winner amid late drama
- Published
Two goals in stoppage time as Celtic beat Saints
Ange Postecoglou says Celtic will need plenty more of the character which earned them a last-gasp Scottish Premiership victory against St Johnstone throughout the season.
Alex Mitchell sensationally levelled for the Perth side in the 92nd minute after Andrew Considine's earlier own goal, only for Giorgos Giakoumakis to hit back with virtually the last kick.
The Greek striker pounced on Alex Bernabei's cross to stretch Celtic's league lead to five points before Rangers returned the gap to two later.
"Through the course of the year, there are times where you have to show that [character]," Postecoglou told BBC Scotland.
"Not every game is going to run smooth, it won't always go your way. There are times we had to do that last year and it's good to know it's still there this year because we're going to need it.
"We got a bit sloppy towards the end but I don't think the performance was that bad. Up until the final third, we were really good."
Celtic dug deep after Mitchell's late sucker punch, but once again Postecoglou's side were wasteful when on top for three quarters of the game. When St Johnstone boss Callum Davidson threw on the attacking cavalry, they were frantic and nervy.
They had 80% of possession for the first 70 minutes, but in the first half struggled to penetrate a stout St Johnstone defence, until a clever inside run and low cross from Sead Haksanabovic forced Considine to turn past his own goalkeeper just before the break.
Celtic created more opportunities after the break, with Giakoumakis and Daizen Maeda both having goals ruled out for offside, while Liel Abada was denied by Remi Mitchell when clean through.
But Davidson's substitutes helped turn the tide, with Stevie May first forcing Joe Hart to tip his shot onto a post, and then the striker crossed for Connor McLennan, who should have done far better from eight yards than slice high and wide.
But St Johnstone eventually got their reward, albeit it was fleeting. Ali Crawford's free-kick caused havoc, and Mitchell was there to side-foot home and spark bedlam at McDiarmid Park.
However, they will be kicking themselves at the finish.
Celtic had three minutes to salvage victory, and managed it in the dying seconds when they worked the ball down the side to Bernabei, whose terrific cross was bundled home by Giakoumakis to create wild scenes in the away end behind the goal.
Player of the match - Sead Haksabanovic
Haksabanovic dropped into midfield in Callum McGregor's absence and looked a threat with the ball. Bernabei was also fantastic on only his second start.
Below par Celtic grind out another win - analysis
Celtic are definitely not firing like they were in the first six games of the season. There seems to be a slight drop in intensity, and certainly they are not finishing the chances they continue to create.
Amid a hectic schedule, Postecoglou made six changes, with captain Callum McGregor missing the first of his expected 11 games out due to injury.
That will undoubtedly have a huge impact, which means fringe players need to step up in order to keep churning out wins. From that perspective, there were some encouraging signs.
Haksabanovic was impressive, as was Bernabei on only his second start at left-back in the absence of Greg Taylor. With Champions League commitments ongoing and their captain missing, it could be a tough spell. That's where character comes in, and Celtic certainly showed that at the death.
As for St Johnstone, they can count themselves unfortunate. They defended well in the first half and were unlucky to fall behind to an own goal. As Celtic failed to convert opportunities, they threw the kitchen sink at them in the last quarter and so very nearly snatched a draw.
St Johnstone look a much better proposition than last season, and capable of threatening the top six.
What they said
St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson: "As a unit I thought we were brilliant and worked really hard. You concede an own goal in the 42nd-minute it's a tough one to take. We got a goal which I thought we deserved.
"Then I don't know what the word is... to concede in the 95th minute when I thought the players deserved more. I'm really gutted for them."
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou: "We had to show some character right till the last minute. It's a game we should have put to bed a lot earlier. We had chances to do that. The good thing is we showed the character we needed to get the result."
What's next?
St Johnstone are away to Livingston next Saturday (15:00), while Celtic host RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday (20:00) before hosting Hibernian on Saturday (15:00).