MATCH PREVIEW: CELTIC VERSUS SAINTS
26th July 2016
Last Saturday, a dour stalemate further delayed the culmination of St. Johnstone's goalscoring drought. Saints and Hamilton played out an uninspiring 0-0 draw at a bitterly cold McDiarmid Park. St. Johnstone have now failed to score in five consecutive matches and the fixture list has ensured that the task won't become immediately easier. On paper, tomorrow's away tie against Celtic (kick-off at 3pm) might not provide the most beneficial preparation for next weekend's League Cup semi-final. However, Saints will undoubtedly be hoping to emulate their Under-20 counterparts by returning to Perth with a victory.
The young St. Johnstone heroes pulled off a shock 2-1 win against Celtic Under-20s, progressing to the quarter-finals of the Scottish Youth Cup in the process. Hot prospect George Hunter (who has recently joined Spartans on loan until the end of the season) scored two crucial goals which completed the impressive comeback.
Mirroring the current league success of their Under-20s side, Celtic's senior team sit at the top of the SPFL Scottish Premiership. They have been on a fine run of form, only falling to defeat in one of their previous fifteen top-flight fixtures (a 2-1 home defeat against Motherwell last month). In Leigh Griffiths, Celtic possess Scotland's most in-form striker. He has scored eight goals in Celtic's last four matches, including a hat-trick in Celtic's most recent victory: an 8-1 thumping of Hamilton Academical. With that impressive victory, the Bhoys maintained their six-point gap at the pinnacle of the Premiership table. Aberdeen remain within shouting distance but, needless to say, they can't afford many more slip-ups.
Whilst Tommy Wright has thus far refrained from making any January signings, Celtic have added Danish defender Erik Sviatchenko to their squad. However, it is unlikely that he will be ready to play in tomorrow's league encounter. Dedryck Boyata is currently injured and Tom Rogic is also a doubt after picking up a knock in the midweek clash against Hamilton. Scott Brown, Charlie Mulgrew and Ryan Christie are long-term absentees.
Chris Millar remains sidelined for the Perth Saints, although he is expected to be ready for match action in the near future. Darnell Fisher isn't eligible to play against his parent club, but Michael O'Halloran is set to return to St. Johnstone's match-day squad.
St. Johnstone have consistently provided a tough challenge for the Scottish champions. They have beaten Celtic in three of the last four Scottish Premiership seasons. In the 2011/12 campaign, Dave Mackay scored the decisive goal in a 1-0 victory at Celtic Park. The following season, a fantastic 2-1 win at McDiarmid Park sparked a resurgence in the team's form. Gregory Tade and Rowan Vine were the scorers on that occasion. Last season, a phenomenal Danny Swanson strike was the difference between the two sides in a league match at Celtic Park. In addition to these happy memories, the wonderful Scottish Cup victory of 2014 might also suggest that Celtic Park has proved itself to be something of a happy hunting ground for St. Johnstone in recent years!
As they make the trip to Glasgow tomorrow afternoon, Saints will be aiming to replicate those memorable results, rather than the 3-1 away defeat in August or the 3-0 home loss in December. It's probably fair to say that the team's performance wasn't necessarily matched by the disappointing scoreline on either of these occasions. Having scored in every single league match prior to this recent goalscoring slump, it's a struggle to explain what has changed in recent weeks. Although St. Johnstone maybe haven't been getting the 'rub of the green', they certainly have the ability to create their own luck. During the latter half of 2015, Saints attracted deserved attention for the success of their new-found attacking philosophy. With Graham Cummins, Steven MacLean and Michael O'Halloran all in contention for a starting place, there's no reason to believe that they can't return to goalscoring ways before too long. Tomorrow's fixture provides St. Johnstone with an opportunity to potentially achieve this in memorable circumstances.
Come on ye Saints!
Match preview by Ollie Wale
Admission
Away allocation tickets have been on sale for the last two weeks from the Saints Ticket Office, without one you will not be permitted to enter Celtic Park.