Celtic extended their winning start to the Scottish Premiership season to six matches following a 1-0 victory over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park, according to match reports from Sky Sports and BBC Sport. Midfielder Mika Baur scored the decisive goal in the second half, securing the club’s 13th win across all competitions stretching back to the previous campaign.
Match Breakdown and Decisive Goal
Manager Martin O’Neill made five changes to his starting lineup ahead of an upcoming Europa League fixture and domestic cup commitments, bringing back Kasper Høgh from injury and handing Sam Johnstone the start in goal, as reported by Sky Sports. The hosts created significant early scoring opportunities, including a first-half effort from Joel Cotterill—making his first St Johnstone start—that was pushed over the crossbar by Johnstone.
The defending champions broke the deadlock in the 52nd minute when Mika Baur tapped in a low cross from Haissem Hassan to register his first goal for the club. Celtic thought they had doubled their lead later in the match when Høgh headed a ball back across goal for Hassan to finish, but the assistant referee ruled that the ball had crossed the sideline before the initial cross, a decision supported by pundit analysis on Sky Sports.
Managerial Reaction and League Standings
Reflecting on the performance, Celtic manager Martin O’Neill told Sky Sports that his team made goalscoring “almost impossible” despite creating numerous chances throughout the fixture. St Johnstone remained competitive at McDiarmid Park, maintaining pressure on the visiting defense until the final whistle, though the champions successfully defended their narrow lead.
With the win, Celtic sit five points clear of second-placed Rangers at the top of the Scottish Premiership table. The two Glasgow rivals are scheduled to meet in their next league fixture a week on Sunday.