Five games into a new league season St Mirren begun to bear the look of the haunted. The fresh glow of promotion gone, an opening day win over Dundee had begun to feel like a mirage.
The final four games of Alan Stubbs resembled a death march. The Paisley side shipped 12 goals, scoring one. Against a Celtic side buoyed by another win over Rangers no one gave them a earthly.
It’s amazing what a new manager can do in a few days. Oran Kearney called countryman Brendan Rodgers for advice over taking the St Mirren job when the chance first came up over the summer.
Celtic's Olivier Ntcham was sent off for a second booking before half-time at St Mirren
Ntcham is ordered from the pitch after his late sliding challenge on Stephen McGinn
A night of abject frustration for the 10-man champions left Celtic’s manager sorry he offered the encouragement.
Make no mistake, St Mirren were well worth their point. Terrific in the first half they spent the final stages clinging on slightly.
Yet the organisation, spirit and industry missing in the final weeks of an ill fated Stubbs reign were all here. The new found optimism at time up was justified by the performance.
Celtic were already under the cosh, being resolutely outplayed, when they were reduced to ten men after 36 minutes.
The standard of refereeing in Scottish football remains an open sore. Yet there could be no argument over Olivier Ntcham’s second yellow card for the needless and late sliding challenge on Stephen McGinn which left Celtic to play with ten men for fully 54 minutes.
The only complaint could come from St Mirren. Bluntly, the Frenchman should have seen red sooner than he did.
Anton Ferdinand, making his St Mirren debut, remonstrates with referee Andrew Dallas
St Mirren's Ryan Flynn clears Celtic defender Dedryck Boyata's header off the line
Ntcham could easily have been booked for the handball which saw Craig Gordon foil Cammy Smith’s thumping free kick after two minutes. He avoided a booking once again when he clattered into the back of Smith in the St Mirren half.
Referee Andrew Dallas finally reached for his yellow for persistent fouling in 24 minutes. And had no option but to produce the ultimate sanction when Ntcham self imploded nine minutes before half-time. There will be no cause, this time, for any appeal controversy. Ntcham deserved all he got.
The same couldn’t be said at half-time of a St Mirren side benefitting from a significant managerial bounce.
Oran Kearney left the security of a teaching career in Northern Ireland to take his first steps in full-time management. Right from the whistle his new charges were almost unrecognisable from the shapelesss, disjointed outfit left behind by Alan Stubbs.
Ryan Edwards clattered into Kieran Tierney after a minute and 14 seconds and Celtic knew they were in for a game of it. Thumped 4-1 by Hearts in the last league outing under Stubbs the home side dominated the first half from start to finish, getting in Celtic faces, biting into tackles and refusing to give the champions a minute’s peace.
Kearney’s first act was to name a new, if well-known, face to his starting Xl. At 33, Anton Ferdinand played his last game for Southend United against MK Dons on April 21, all of five months ago.
Celtic's Kristoffer Ajer lies on the turf and winces in pain after a collision with an opponent
St Mirren's Kyle Magennis (right) and Celtic's James Forrest battle for the ball
Pitched straight in against £9million striker Odsonne Edouard the inclusion of Rio’s younger brother was clearly a gamble.
A signal of intent from a manager who also bombed Stubbs signings Jeff King and Cole Kpekawa from his match squad. And left Hayden Coulson, Matty Willock and Alfie Jones to settle for a seat on the bench.
Yet Ferdinand was less of a risk than he might have been as St Mirren took the game to their visitors from the off.
Seeking their first win of any description over Celtic since the League Cup semi-final in 2013 this was a first visit to Paisley as manager for Brendan Rodgers. Even before Ntcham’s act of folly it was a testing, uncomfortable experience.
Celtic’s 3-4-2-1 formation - with Croatian defender Filip Benkovic on the left of the back three - looked uncomfortable from the moment Tierney incensed the home support by collapsing holding his face in front of the dug-outs, Edwards protesting his innocence as Dallas produced his first yellow card of the night. If not his last.
The only first half regret for St Mirren was the failure to eke out an advantage.
An unmarked Ryan Flynn should have headed Lee Hodson’s pinpoint cross into the net from 12 yards in 14 minutes, but put the ball over the bar.
Oran Kearney gees up the home fans in his first game since taking over from Alan Stubbs
Hodson had a go of his own after 31 minutes, controlling on his chest before firing a fizzing, right-foot shot past the base of Craig Gordon’s right-hand post.
As an attacking outfit Celtic were sporadic and off colour, in spite of their lurid flurescent shirts.
Their best chance came a minute before Ntcham went off.
Callum McGregor’s corner was headed back across goal by Kristoffer Ajer at the back post, Belgian Dedryck Boyata nodding the ball towards goal before Flynn cleared the ball off the line.
Had St Mirren finished the half a goal down it would have been nothing short of a travesty.
For Rodgers the chance to regroup at half-time was welcome and timely.
The introduction of striker Leigh Griffiths for centre half Benkovic in 59 minutes was a bold move by the Celtic manager. Yet something had to give.
Odsonne Edouard was operating on scraps, dropping deep to find the ball. As an attacking force Celtic were uncharacteristically subdued.
Slowly, yard by yard, that began to change.
Brendan Rodgers looks to return the ball into play quickly as the Bhoys chase a winner
The first act from Griffiths was to thump a corner deep towards the back post where it dropped kindly for Ajer at the back post. Not for the first time black and white shirts threw themselves in the path of a speeding bullet.
Yet the longer the game went the harder it became to know who had the extra man.
Griffiths thumped a low Forrest centre high over the bar with 20 minutes to play. St Mirren were finding it harder to get out of their own half, breathing harder with every passing minute.
Celtic failed to penetrate the home team until five minutes from the end when the play finally opened up for Callum McGregor.
A tame sidefoot into the arms of a falling Craig Samson summed Up their performance, Dedryck Boyata’s late header dropping onto the roof of the net and when Griffiths finally forced the ball into injury time the offside flag came to the rescue of a home team for whom defeat would have been harsh.
For St Mirren a new manager suddenly brings the promise of a new start.
Link article
https://hienalouca.com/2018/09/15/st-mirren-0-0-celtic-olivier-ntcham-sees-red-for-brendan-rodgers-side/
Main photo article Five games into a new league season St Mirren begun to bear the look of the haunted. The fresh glow of promotion gone, an opening day win over Dundee had begun to feel like a mirage.
The final four games of Alan Stubbs resembled a death march. The Paisley side shipped 12 goals, scoring one....
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves Sport HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1/2018/09/14/21/4298442-6169581-image-a-72_1536956905875.jpg
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