Oh Hyeon-gyu scores late winner as Celtic beat St Mirren

Oh Hyeon-gyu scored his first goal of the 2023-24 season on Wednesday, firing in a late effort to lock in a win for Celtic after a tough clash with third-place St Mirren.

Celtic mark Oh Hyeon-gyu's goal against St Mirren during a Scottish Premiership match on Wednesday in an image posted on the club's official X, formerly Twitter, account. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Oh Hyeon-gyu scored his first goal of the 2023-24 season on Wednesday, firing in a late effort to lock in a win for Celtic after a tough clash with third-place St Mirren.

The Scottish Premiership leaders struggled to get the job done at Celtic Park in Glasgow, falling behind in the seventh minute when Conor McMenamin exploited a tepid defense to head in the opening goal.

Celtic did not trail for long, with David Turnbull scoring the equalizer in the 18th minute to tie things up again. Turnbull had a shot at putting Celtic ahead with a penalty in the 29th minute, but failed to make it count.

Oh, who came on as a substitute for Turnbull in the 74th minute, did make his chance count. Picking up a pass from Odin Thiago Holm in the 83rd minute, Oh made short work of St Mirren goalkeeper Zachary Hemming to hammer in an emphatic go-ahead goal.

While another win for first-place Celtic may seem fairly par for the course, Wednesday’s result could prove crucial for the Glasgow club.

Celtic have noticeably slowed in recent games, struggling to a 0-0 draw with Hibernian last week that saw the gap with second-place Rangers narrow to just three points. St Mirren, meanwhile, showed fantastic form in their last game and are only a few good results away from nipping at Rangers’, and eventually Celtic’s, heels.

Wednesday’s result could turn things around. Celtic, still undefeated after 11 games, are back on firmer ground. The win may have been a tough one, but Oh’s goal puts the club five points above Rangers with a little more breathing room.

Oh was not the only Korean to shine on Wednesday. Teammate Yang Hyun-jun, who came on in the 56th minute, immediately had a positive impact on the game, attempting a few shots himself and cutting apart the St Mirren defense with his long driving runs.

Yang’s arrival really started the shift in Celtic’s favor, with Oh added 20 minutes later to finish the job.

"We made a slow start — just too passive, weren't aggressive enough with or without the ball, and they deservedly went in front,” Celtic manager Brandon Rodgers said after the game.

"After that we sped up the game. They are very well coached so we knew they would have moments, but we kept going. We should have gone in front, we missed the penalty, and that's something as a team we have to be better at.

"Second half we kept going, and the subs come in and make the impact you want."

Celtic will be back in action on Saturday as they take on Ross County in the Scottish Premiership. Following Wednesday’s performance, both Oh and Yang could be contenders for a starting spot in that game.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]