Celtic turned on the style late on to shake off stubborn St Mirren in the Scottish Cup as Oh Hyeon-gyu got off the mark – but they were left with a Hampden sweat over Kyogo.
Korean hitman Oh opened his Hoops account in a final quarter flourish flourish from the home side against the battling Buddies. It took until Reo Hatate’s penalty kick with 13 minutes to go to create breathing room with Saints defender sent off after VAR clocked his handball. Daizen Maeda notched early on but Stephen Robinson’s side made life awkward at times.
Mark O’Hara also grabbed one back from the spot in the final minutes but Matt O’Riley stuck and Hatate added grabbed his second to add the polish in stoppage time. Celtic’s frightening quality came through in the end but losing Kyogo to a shoulder injury was a concern with the Viaplay Cup Final showdown with Rangers just a fortnight away. The worries in the stands over the front man were eased slightly within two minutes of the striker going off against Saints.
