St Mirren 0-1 Celtic: Nakamura free-kick gets lacklustre Celtic off the hook and back on track

Published on Sunday 24 February 2008 21:16

St Mirren 0 Celtic 1 Nakamura (86)

With the SPL title holders staring down the barrel of a result which would have seen them drop six points off the championship pace being set by Rangers, Nakamura imperiously swept home a trademark free kick with four minutes remaining to keep his team's great rivals firmly in their sights at the top of the table.

It was dreadfully harsh on a St Mirren team whose tactical discipline and boundless energy deserved greater reward against Gordon Strachan's off-colour side for whom goalkeeper Artur Boruc was just as much of a saviour as their goalscorer.

The sense of injustice felt by Gus MacPherson's men was intensified by the highly contentious nature of the free kick award by referee Eddie Smith, for Gary Mason's challenge on Nakamura, but this is the kind of victory which so often proves pivotal in a championship race.

Celtic started brightly enough, forcing a series of early corners, but were unable to test the confidence of St Mirren goalkeeper Mark Howard who had played such a calamitous role in his team's 4-0 defeat at Falkirk the previous weekend. Until he picked the ball out of the net, Howard was barely called into significant action.

Clearly determined to avoid being overwhelmed in the manner they were by Celtic in September, when the champions romped to a 5-1 win at Love Street, St Mirren adopted a far more cautious approach with MacPherson's 3-5-2 formation designed to cut off the supply to the visitors' front pair of Scott McDonald and Georgios Samaras. It was a tactic which worked to considerable effect for the home team, with wing-backs David Barron and Ian Maxwell manfully sticking as close as possible to Celtic's wide midfielders Aiden McGeady and Barry Robson.

An early long-range shot from St Mirren's impressive January recruit Andy Dorman flew narrowly wide of Boruc's right-hand post to offer the home supporters some encouragement that an upset may be possible.

They were on their feet again when some slack play from Andreas Hinkel, back at right-back for Celtic, allowed Maxwell to sling over a cross from the left which looked as if it was going to fall invitingly for Craig Dargo. Fortunately for Strachan's team, Massimo Donati managed to hook the ball to safety.

There was an even bigger scare for Celtic nine minutes from half-time when they were indebted to the instinctive excellence of Boruc for keeping them on level terms. Having forced a corner kick when McGeady's low shot was deflected wide, Celtic made a mess of the set piece and allowed St Mirren to launch another swift counter-raid.

Dargo burst clear down the right and picked out Van Zanten's supporting run perfectly. The Irishman's first-time right-foot shot from around 12 yards was well struck but Boruc threw himself to his right to beat it away.

McGeady's foolish caution for a show of dissent early in the second half was an indication of the frustration being felt by the visitors who once again had Boruc to thank for not falling behind in the 60th minute. The lively and intelligent Dargo laid Maxwell's flick back into the path of Billy Mehmet whose thunderous first-time shot from just inside the penalty area was kept out by another brilliant reaction save from the big Polish keeper, this time with his right boot.

Strachan's response was to introduce Nakamura for the ineffective Robson.

Chris Killen was also sent on for the out-of-touch Samaras and Celtic's final opportunity to snatch victory seemed to have passed them by in the 85th minute when the big New Zealand striker headed a Lee Naylor cross narrowly over Howard's crossbar.

Just a minute later, however, the precious three points were heading back to Celtic Park. The St Mirren players reacted furiously when Nakamura tumbled to the turf some 25 yards out following Mason's challenge.

Nakamura stepped forward to curl the ball left-footed up and over the St Mirren wall and beyond the left hand of the flummoxed Howard into the corner of the net. It was a glorious strike, reminiscent of the free kick which clinched the SPL title at Rugby Park last season.

If Celtic find themselves back in pole position this May, they may well reflect on another hugely significant contribution from their Japanese talisman.

St Mirren: Howard, Van Zanten, Potter, Haining; Barron, Murray, Mason (Corcoran 90), Dorman, Maxwell; Mehmet, Dargo (Kean 80). Subs not used: Mathers, Hamilton, Miranda, McCay, McGinn.

Celtic: Boruc, Hinkel, Caldwell, McManus (O'Dea 52), Naylor; Robson (Nakamura 63), S Brown, Donati, McGeady; Samaras (Killen 76), McDonald. Subs not used: M Brown, Sno, Hartley, Hutchinson.