St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson in 'we deserved to win' claim following Celtic Park showing

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson believes his players did not receive their just desserts for a fizzing display against the champions in their own backyard.

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson was left frustrated but still delighted by his players performance at Celtic Park in their 2-2 draw. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

The loss of a late equaliser forced them to settle for 2-2 draw on a day when Curtis Main, after bagging a double, missed two golden opportunities to become the first visiting player to net a hat-trick in the east end of Glasgow since Eric Black did so for Aberdeen 40 years ago. The point keeps alive hopes of leapfrogging Hibs to claim the fifth-plce slot in the cinch Premiership that would likely provide them with European football - their fate now resting on Wednesday’s trip to Aberdeen and a hosting of Rangers on the final day. However, Robinson confessed to mixed emotions over their valiant effort at a ground no Scottish visitor has won within since St Mirren did so in February 2021.

"The boys are happy, they know they played very well, but there is slight frustration, which is rare to come to Celtic Park not to get three points. I think we deserved that,” he said. "Celtic had lots of possession in areas that didn't hurt us but their quality comes through. They make changes, they change their system, they are very clever. I thought tactically we coped with it really well, yes, there is a frustration but two games to go and we are still right in the race for Europe. If we can get a slot for fifth place… we might be looking for Celtic to do us a favour at some stage. But we would like to be in that position to see what happens.

“I thought Curtis was handful all day, him and Greg Kiltie. And we know we can't take them off, we know we have no options to bring on but young kids who are very inexperienced. He probably misses the easiest one with the header, he gets good contact so he is frustrated because how many players have scored a hat-trick at Celtic Park? I am proud of his performance and to a man it is very difficult to have any criticism. I said we would come and have a go, we always do.”