Celtic run riot in extra-time to sink St Mirren and seal Scottish Cup final spot

Martin O’Neill will face his former captain Neil Lennon in the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup final after Celtic booked their spot in the showpiece against Dunfermline with an eventful 6-2 extra-time win over St Mirren.

A horror mistake by Saints stand-in goalkeeper Ryan Mullen saw Daizen Maeda give the Hoops a first-minute lead at Hampden and to add to the Buddies’ woes the errant number two picked up an injury and had to be replaced after just 14 minutes by 17-year-old debutant Grant Tamosevicius.

Right-back Anthony Ralston added a second on the stroke of half-time, but St Mirren striker Mikael Mandron reduced the deficit in the 53rd minute with a header and then took the game to extra time with a deserved 90th-minute leveller.

However, two goals from Kelechi Iheanacho, one either side of a strike from fellow substitute Luke Cowan, and a finish from
Benjamin Nygren in a ruthless seven-minute spell in the first additional period pulverised the Paisley side.

Lennon’s Dunfermline side from the Championship beat Falkirk 4-2 in a penalty shootout on Saturday and he will relish taking on his former boss, under whom he enjoyed success at Leicester and Celtic, in next month’s final.

Fans were still taking their seats when Celtic took the lead.

Mullen was in for the injured Shamal George and endured the worst possible start.

The 24-year-old had the ball at his feet from a back pass but was caught out by the onrushing Maeda’s speed and succeeded only in striking an attempted clearance off the Japan striker’s leg, with the ball rolling over the line.

St Mirren’s nightmare start boosted the Parkhead side and in the eighth minute midfielder Arne Engels curled a shot from 25 yards against the outside of a post.

Mullen then had to go off, with teenager Tamosevicius taking his place and the youngster had a couple of quick saves to ease the nerves, the second from a decent Maeda drive.

In St Mirren’s first attempt on goal from a 29th-minute corner, Hoops keeper Viljami Sinisalo made a brilliant save from
Liam Donnelly’s powerful header.

Sinisalo, almost in the same fashion as Mullen, then hammered a clearance off Killian Phillips and had to stretch back to claw the rebound away from the line, although referee Matthew MacDermid signalled the ball had struck the arm of the Buddies midfielder.

Celtic attacker Yang Hyun-jun headed a Kieran Tierney cross against the St Mirren bar, but then Sinisalo was charged down and, when the ball fell to Phillips, his weak shot from 16 yards evaded a post.

However, in the last action of the first half, Ralston gave Celtic a cushion when he took a pass from Yang and curled a shot from the edge of the box in off the bar.

St Mirren were handed a lifeline when Mandron climbed highest at the back post to send a Declan John delivery across goal and into the net.

The match began to get stretched.

St Mirren’s direct style and increased confidence paid off in the last minute when Mandron raced on to a Jake Young flick and fired low past Sinisalo.

But it all went spectacularly wrong for Craig McLeish’s side in extra time.

Iheanacho nodded in a cross from fellow substitute James Forrest and Cowan stretched the lead further two minutes later as the Buddies defence evaporated.

Iheanacho grabbed his second with a clever finish before Nygren drove home as Celtic kept their league and cup double bid alive.