PERTH, SCOTLAND - SEPTEMBER 09: Celtic's Mika Baur celebrates as he scores to make it 1-0 during a William Hill Premiership match between St Johnstone and Celtic at McDiarmid Park, on September 09, 2026, in Perth, Scotland. (Photo by Ross MacDonald/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Celtic wins are not always vintage. We know that. Paulina will write a more detailed piece on the game tomorrow, but we got the points, and I’m going to talk about a couple of players in the team tonight who deserve a little special mention of their own.
First was Kasper Høgh, who played more than 80 minutes.
There are going to be people who say he hasn’t scored again and all the rest of the nonsense, but one of the things I love in a striker is a team player. Someone who plays for the jersey, and not for the man inside the jersey, and that absolutely sums him up.
He is always willing to pass the ball to a teammate. He is always willing to give someone else the shot at glory. He is not greedy or selfish, and that is why he is a fine asset to this team.
I’m more than pleased with the guy. I’m more than pleased with what I see of him, because if we give him the service, he is going to score plenty of goals, and when he is not doing that, he is going to be laying them on for other players in the team.
The other guy I want to talk about is Hassan, who got his first assist and who I thought had an excellent game overall tonight. He is another guy I’m more pleased with every time I watch him.
His assist for Mika Baur’s goal was no more than he deserved. Hassan drove the ball across the box and Baur was there to put it away for his first Celtic goal.
Hassan almost got one himself from a Kasper lay-off, and he would have raised the roof in the Celtic end had he got it.
Obviously, Mika is the big hero of the night for getting the goal, but he did brilliantly all evening. I thought he ran and covered every blade of grass, and when the moment came he was in the right place.
He is another player who looks more and more potent every time you watch him. He may seem a little lightweight as a guy to carry the midfield battle, but he is as tenacious as any player you will watch. He is certainly not a coward, and sometimes that makes up for a lack of physicality.
I think Colby Donovan is more impressive the more you watch him play as well. He had a really good game tonight and was especially sharp going forward.
His crossing into the box and his accuracy at the top end of the pitch are every bit as impressive as Kieran Tierney’s on the other side. That could be a potent weapon at the weekend, especially if big Kasper can get on the end of those balls.
There was nothing sexy about that performance tonight, except perhaps for the performances of a handful of players. It was good to see Kieran back. It was good to see Kasper. It was good to see Hassan get an assist. It was good to see Baur get a goal.
But especially in the latter part of the game, I cannot say I enjoyed that as much as I wish I had.
Because there are still vulnerabilities in this team, and they are scary.
The Ibrox club came within an ace of dropping points tonight. They were only rescued in the 91st minute by Bojan Miovski after St Mirren had threatened to take something from the game.
They got the job done, just as we did, but I think we would be relying on luck if we expect them to waste the same kind of opportunities at Ibrox on Sunday. I would love to be able to say that because their performance against St Mirren was unconvincing, I am therefore unconcerned about them. I’m not.
Because I’m unconvinced by our defensive game as well.
Once Celtic went ahead tonight, it did increasingly look as though there would only be one winner. We were much better in the second half than we were in the first, with far more attacking intent, and we could have scored another couple.
But those moments when we are caught with the whole team up the pitch, and most of them in the opposition half, worry the hell out of me.
We cannot do that in Europe. We cannot do it at Ibrox.
We are asking for trouble if we do, even with our ability to score at the other end.
We have a 100 per cent record in the league and that is not nothing. Six games, six wins. We do not look like a side which is going to drop a lot of points or lose many matches.
We have all talked about how the benchmark is a 90-point season. We look well on our way towards that kind of total, and we very well might get there.
But we are risking making this a harder season than it otherwise needs to be. We have improved at the top end of the pitch. We are going to score a lot of goals. I think we are also going to concede a lot.
For tonight, though, I’m happy.
It is job done. It is three points. It is a victory. It is another game on the road and another win on the road. We will get properly tested on Sunday, and our backline had better be up to that test. As happy as I am with the guys at the top end of the pitch, I am still a little concerned about what is happening behind them.
And that feeling is very hard to shake.
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Still confused about Hassan’s goal being disallowed. The replay showed the ball clearly stayed in play so is this another honest mistake? The 3rd in less than a week from technology which is supposed to eliminate mistakes? Or was it just not working again perhaps? As usual, we will say nothing until it eventually costs us
Can someone explain what Sorensen brings to the team? What position does he play? Why can’t he head the ball or make a pass? He shirks tackles like a mouse. Jock Stein’s comment about the jersey not striking is rendered void by that fraud.
Most importantly, another 3 pts!
Was it pretty on the eye or free flowing football…no! However, at the moment, we just have to keep winning whilst new players bed in and get up to speed with Scottish football and general fitness.
Positives for me were Bauer, Hassan and the big GK’s magnificent save in first half!
Like many others I’m still looking to see the positives from big Sorensen! I’m hoping they will come !
I liked the shift big Hogh put in and I’m sure he will score plenty and help create more over the coming weeks and months!
I have no fears going to Ibrokes, but we certainly have to tighten up all aspects of our play, especially on transition …as even tonight we looked fragile when we lost the ball.
Im sure that those who may undermine the League Cup will not be doing so this Sunday !
Very important we turn up and do a very professional job and ensure that they can’t touch the first piece of silverware on offer! HH
Hassan is going to be brilliant in Scotland, his career hasn’t yielded many goals and assists but I think he’s about to put that right. Another perfectly good goal chopped off for Celtic and another honest mistake denying St Mirren a stonewaller at Ibrox shows what we can expect from refs on Sunday. There’s nothing we can do about that.
The big question is the starting 11, there’s some big decisions, Sinisalo or Johnstone, Scales or Trusty, Baur or Ox, Duran or Hogh through the middle, Tounekti or Forrest or Duran. He’s got to get that right.
By the way, Mheuka looks very dangerous and needs to get a run out at some point on Sunday.