Celtic leave it late to beat St Mirren as they begin Premiership title defence with win on opening day

Celtic left it late to beat St Mirren and begin the defence of their Premiership title with three points.

Substitute Luke McCowan was the hero as he came off the bench to score the only goal in a 1-0 win over the Paisley side on Sunday.

Former Hoops captain Paul McStay was back at Parkhead to unfurl the league flag before kick-off, as they were rewarded for last season’s achievement.

But after that, it was all about the 2025/26 campaign as both sides looked to get off to the best possible start.

Brendan Rodgers’ side had to be patient as they dominated the ball for the vast majority of the game and created several chances, but struggled to get past a St Mirren backline that defended resolutely throughout, even if they did require the help from the woodwork on more than one occasion.

They were finally rewarded for their persistence when McCowan struck on the 87th minute to secure the victory.

Celtic started on the front foot and created a few chances early doors with Kieran Tierney, Adam Idah, Benjamin Nygren, and Daizen Maeda all trying their luck.

Tierney, playing his first competitive game since his return from Arsenal, had ambitions of getting his second debut off to the best possible start when he had a shot in the opening stages, but his effort was well wide of the target.

In the best chance of the first 45, Maeda rounded St Mirren goalkeeper Shamal George before unselfishly putting the ball across the box, when he would maybe have been better going for the shot, but Yang was unable to connect for a tap-in.

Idah will also feel like he should have done better with a couple of chances that fell his way, particularly a close range header that was easily saved by George.

The home side had the lion’s share of possession in the first half, however St Mirren also created a couple of openings and Mark O’Hara forced Kasper Schmeichel into action when the Denmark goalkeeper was at full stretch to push his shot away from goal.

Nygren then came close to marking his Parkhead bow with a goal, but he was denied by the crossbar, and the sides remained level at the break.

St Mirren were undefeated in the top half after the split last season, including a draw at last day Celtic Park, and they were once again proving a tough nut for the champions to crack.

Reo Hatate came close to the opener just before the hour mark when his deflected shot hit the woodwork twice by coming off the crossbar before hitting off George and back against the post.

Callum McGregor thought he had handed Celtic the lead on the 67th minute, but his strike was ruled out by the VAR team for a handball in the build-up.

It was one-way traffic at this stage, and Idah was next up when his close-range shot came back off the post as St Mirren held on to the clean sheet by their fingertips.

And with just three minutes remaining, Celtic finally got their reward when McCowan slotted his shot past George to make it 1-0 and hand the champions all three points.