CELTIC huffed and they puffed.
But in the end, they couldn’t blow St Johnstone down.
Neil Lennon’s time could be up after a disappointing draw
In a catastrophic afternoon for the Hoops, they fell 13 points behind Rangers in the title race and extended their dire winless home run to FIVE games – with their last victory at Parkhead coming in September.
In truth, the damaging result could now signal the end of Celtic’s ten-in-a-row dreams and Neil Lennon’s second spell in charge.
With so much unrest within the support, it’s now hard to see any other outcome.
After sticking by the Northern Irishman for so long, the Parkhead board now have a huge decision to make over Lennon’s future.
Make no mistake. Celtic are now at crisis point in a season billed as the biggest ever in the club’s 132-year history.
This was a must-win game for the Hoops and after Steven Gerrard’s side thrashed Ross County 4-0 in the Highlands, the Ibrox side now look red-hot favourites to end their Old Firm rivals” dominance in Scottish football.
Lennon made just one change to his team which went 4-2 down in Milan, with Christopher Jullien replacing Hatem Elhamed.
After a scruffy opening, the first real opportunity of the match fell to the visitors.
Celtic salvaged a point with a late equaliser
St Johnstone went ahead to pile more misery on Neil Lennon
From a free-kick, the ball dropped to Stevie May at the back post. The striker unleashed a bouncing strike but Nir Bitton managed to header clear from the goal line.
It was a major let off for the Hoops, who could have scored at the other end minutes later after Tom Rogic headed wide from inside the penalty area.
Odsonne Edouard then squandered a golden opportunity after being played in behind the Saints defence by Callum McGregor, but his effort was saved by Zander Clark.
Saints were forced to make an early change on the half hour mark after Michael O’Halloran suffered a hip injury, with Chris Kane his replacement.
Edouard then wasted another chance as he danced midway through the St Johnstone half, only for Jamie McCart to expertly halt the defender with a crucial interception.
Seconds before half-time, Saints nearly took the lead as Ali McCann picked out May inside the penalty area, but the striker couldn’t find the target.
It was another nervy moment for the champions, but they survived to go into the break level.
A knock for Diego Laxalt saw the Uruguayan international replaced by Greg Taylor for the second 45 minutes.
You would have expected Celtic to pile the pressure on their opponents, but there was little goalmouth action for the first 20 minutes.
Saints goalie Clark did well to keep Bitton’s header out from a corner before his defence cleared up the danger.
With Celts chasing a goal, captain Scott Brown was sacrificed for Leigh Griffiths. David Turnbull was also given a rare runout as he replaced Tom Rogic.
The two subs combined almost immediately as Turnbull found Griffiths in the penalty area with a perfectly weighted pass, but the striker couldn’t get a shot away as St Johnstone cleared.
As the clock ticked down, St Johnstone took the lead through sub Kane.
May was given far too much room as he raced down the left hand side and drilled a low cross into the middle for Kane to knock in.
It was a disastrous setback for Celtic with ten minutes left to play, but they were back level just a few minutes later.
Sub Moi Elyounoussi scored with his first touch after replacing Kris Ajer as his fortunate header looped over Clark and into the net.
Time was running out for Celtic and Lennon as they tried to get a stranglehold in the game, but St Johnstone had the home side pinned deep inside their own half for the closing stages.
In the end, Celtic couldn’t get the goal they so badly needed.
As the final whistle sounded, Celts fell 13 points points behind Rangers.
And you get the feeling that time could now be up for boss Lennon and the Hoops’ dreams of ten-in-a-row.
Protesting Celtic fans shout sack the board outside Parkhead after dismal draw to St Johnstone
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
