Celtic lost 3-1 to St. Mirren in the Premier Sports Cup final at Hampden, and the result extends a negative run that isn’t usually part of the club’s routine. It was the third straight defeat under the new coach, the second national cup final lost in a row and another setback at a point in the season that is normally about building momentum.
The scoreline wasn’t tight. The opponent was efficient, and Celtic failed to respond after falling behind again. Celtic still have two games in hand in the Scottish Premiership, remain in the hunt for the main objectives of the season and have won nine of the last 13 trophies available in recent years. But finals are a harsh snapshot of reality. They don’t care about projections or recent history. What matters is what happens over 90 minutes, and in those 90 minutes Celtic conceded three goals, struggled with aerial plays and couldn’t turn possession into a real advantage on the scoreboard.
Part of the focus naturally falls on the head coach. Celtic’s manager arrived in Scottish soccer after a strong run of success in MLS. He won the Canadian Championship with CF Montréal in 2021, lifted the MLS Cup with the Columbus Crew in 2023, claimed the Leagues Cup in 2024 and was named Coach of the Year last season. The résumé is solid, recent and winning. Precisely for that reason, the turbulent start draws more attention, not less.
An early goal changes the tone
St. Mirren opened the scoring in the second minute, with Marcus Fraser heading in from a corner kick. The early goal completely altered the tone of the match and forced Celtic to take control of the ball from the outset. The response came with greater attacking presence and, little by little, Celtic began to spend more time in the opposition half. The clearest chance arrived with a header from Kelechi Iheanacho, well saved by Shamal George, before the equalizer scored by Reo Hatate after a cross from Kieran Tierney.
The goal brought the game back into balance, but it didn’t solve the issues. St. Mirren continued to find space on aerial balls and created another clear chance later in the first half, when Dan Nlundulu headed wide.
Set pieces decide it, the margin grows and the response never comes
After the break, Celtic lost Iheanacho to injury, limiting their attacking options. St. Mirren stuck to the same approach and again caused problems in the air. In the 64th minute, Jonah Ayunga headed home from an Alex Gogic cross to put his team back in front. Unlike the first half, Celtic couldn’t respond with the same urgency.
As the minutes passed, Celtic had to push forward, which opened space at the back. In the 76th minute, a long ball beat the defensive line, Declan John broke forward and crossed for Ayunga to score again, this time lifting the ball over Kasper Schmeichel. The 3-1 scoreline effectively settled the final.