Yang Completes Celtic Comeback as Celtic Go Five Clear
Celtic came from behind to beat St Mirren 2-1 at the SMiSA Stadium, with Liam Scales and Hyun-Jun Yang scoring after Nikolas Agrafiotis had put the hosts ahead from the penalty spot.
St Mirren 1-2 Celtic. Celtic maintained their winning start to the Premiership campaign, but they had to recover after St Mirren took the lead in Paisley. Agrafiotis converted in the 22nd minute after Chris Mochrie’s effort struck Scales’ arm, before Scales equalised in the second half and Yang completed the turnaround in the 68th minute, according to Sky Sports.
Celtic thought they had responded quickly when Camilo Duran turned in Yang’s cross, only for VAR to rule the effort out for offside. The visitors continued to create opportunities, with Callum McGregor, Hussain Hassan and Yang all missing chances before the interval and early in the second half.
Scales made amends for the handball when he rose to head Mika Baur’s corner into the net in the 51st minute. Celtic then moved ahead when Duran won the ball back and set up Yang, who finished beyond Jacob Chapman to make it 2-1.
St Mirren remained a threat and had opportunities to level. Thomas missed from six yards late on, while substitute Shim Mhueka had a stoppage-time goal ruled out for offside following a review. St Mirren manager Craig McLeish said his side had 19 shots at goal and carried a threat throughout the contest, although he was disappointed by the goals conceded.
Five Clear at the Top
The match brought together the division’s only unbeaten sides, with St Mirren seeking to move top of the table. Instead, Celtic recorded a fifth win from five and moved five points clear of St Mirren at the summit.
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill described it as a tough evening and said his side had not found much fluency, but he felt they had dug out the result after falling behind against opponents in strong form. O’Neill also said Yang would be missed when he leaves for international duty with South Korea, highlighting the winger’s defensive work and positive start to the season.
