Scottish Premiership Sunday, April 6, 2025 McDiarmid Park, Perth ST JOHNSTONE…1 (Balodis 4) CELTIC…0 It was a disappointing afternoon for Celtic who, despite dominating the match against St Johnstone in Perth, found themselves on the end of a 1-0 defeat thanks to an early goal from the home side. Within the first minute, the champions had their first attempt after Daizen Maeda showed his tenacity to win the ball from Zach Mitchell which allowed Arne Engels to fire a shot at goal, but Andy Fisher was able to keep it out. But despite the Celts’ quick start, it was the home side who opened the scoring after Balodis found the bottom corner with a header from six yards out after Graham Carey had swung a cross in from the right wing. With just over 12 minutes played, the Hoops almost grabbed the equaliser as Maeda’s shot across the face of goal reached Nicolas Kühn on the goal line, but incredibly the St Johnstone defence were able to clear the ball to safety. Viljami Sinisalo was called in to action in the 20th minute when Duke-McKenna hit a shot from distance which looked to be swerving in to the far corner, but the Finnish keeper was quick to react with a diving save which dealt with the danger. At the other end of the pitch 10 minutes later, Jota caught sight of goal from distance and hit a shot which seemed destined to drop in just under the crossbar, but the home side’s keeper got his fingertips to the effort and pushed it over the bar for a corner. It proved to be a frustrating end to the half for Celtic, with no clear cut opportunities to speak of against a St Johnstone side who were defending resolutely and making every goal kick or throw in last as long as possible. Brendan Rodgers made two changes at half time, bringing Yang on for Nicolas Kuhn and Greg Taylor on for Jeffrey SchluppAnd the Celts began the second half with a determination to put the hosts under pressure from the off and that pressure almost paid off in the 55th minute when Engels picked out Reo Hatate in the box, but the Japanese midfielder’s strike, which had left the keeper rooted to his line, crashed off the post. Hatate had an even better opportunity five minutes later when Jota cut the ball back towards the penalty spot from the by-line, but this time his strike sailed well over the bar. With just shy of 70 minutes played, the Hoops came close to finding the equaliser after a brilliant piece of attacking play from Callum McGregor, who slipped a pass through to Yang in the box, but the winger’s ball to the back post had too much on it for Jota to reach. In the 77th minute, the home side broke forward for their first attack of the second half, with Kimpioka driving towards the Celtic penalty area with the ball, but Auston Trusty did well to get back and halt the attack. With 10 minutes left to go, James Forrest looked certain to score from close range after a dangerous ball across the box from Luke McCowan, but the St Johnstone keeper was able to block the shot and prevent the goal. In the 90th minute of the match, Adam Idah found himself with an opportunity to shoot from a tight angle inside the box, but the Irishman’s effort hit the side netting. Brendan Rodgers and his side will now turn their attentions to next weekend’s league match against Kilmarnock at Celtic Park, the final match before the split.FixturesSt. Johnstone Vs. Celtic – Sun, Apr 6th 2025, 12:00
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