Last change of the match from Tommy Wright, who once again has did remarkable work with St Johnstone this campaign. Leaving the action is Danny Swanson and he will be replaced by Michael Doyle, a former Celtic young product.
87'
Unfortunately for the Hoops, though, even though the result isn't important in itself, it is indicative of a campaign in which they have continually failed to see out games from dominent positions. It almost happened in the title-clinching match versus Aberdeen at the weekend, as it was only the brilliance of Patrick Roberts than ultimately saw them win 3-2. Changes needed!
85'
Five minutes to go, and the Celtic fans aren't going to be stopped in their champions celebration by the small matter of a penultimate league game defeat. It was an experimental team fielded by Deila tonight, and as such the result doesn't matter to a high degree, even though the Saints are going to earn a cool 100k from it.
83'
Very patient passing play from Celtic at the moment as they probe for any kind of space to take advantage of in the final third. They are finding life difficult though as they are facing a wall of blue defending the opposition goal, and things can certainly be tough mentally when the scoreline effectively means nothing at full-time.
81'
Both sets of fans are in full voice now as they attempt to catalyse a reaction from their team. The Saints are basically playing with 10 men behind the ball at the moment, as Celtic press ahead searching for this equalising goal, with Griffiths looking the most likely source of it.
80'
T. Rogić enters the game and replaces S. Allan.
79'
Third and final change from Deila and it sees Scott Allan make way to the bench to be replaced by Tom Rogic, who earned the goal of the season award for his strike against Kilmarnock a couple of months back. The Australian actually netted that goal in the last 10 minutes, and the Hoops are needing a similar impact from the bench here.
77'
G. Cummins has scored a goal for St. Johnstone!
GOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAALLLLL FOR ST JOHNSTONE! WHAT A TURNAROUND! A cross is sent into the box from Shaughnessy and Ambrose and Bailey get into a hell of a mix-up at the back post, which allows Cummins to pounce on the loose ball to fire a strike home into the empty net! Two-one!
75'
Fifteen minutes to go at McDiarmid Park and if there going to be a winner in this clash, you would fancy Celtic to claim it with their sheer domination of possession. Unfortunately for the visitors though there is little penetration into the danger area which is making their ball-playing rather stale in the central areas.
Minute
Description
74'
A. Ralston enters the game and replaces S. Janko.
73'
Celtic make their second substitution here and it is a special night for 17-year-old Anthony Ralston, who makes his first-team debut for the Hoops after coming through from the academy. A lot is thought of the youngster, so it will be interesting to see how he fairs in his 20-minute cameo. He will replace Janko.
70'
Craig receives possession to feet and clips a teasing ball in behind the Celtic defence, looking for the run of Cummins. The substitute gets involved in an entertaining footrace with Sviatchenko, but it is the towering Danish defender who comes out on top after an impressive display of pace and strength.
68'
Unfortunately for the viewing public, that little burst of goals appears to have been a false dawn, as the play has reverted back to the lethargic, lackadaisical action we saw for the majority of the first half. Indeed, Griffiths has his 40th goal of the season too so even that story arc has already been completed!
66'
N. Bitton enters the game and replaces S. Johansen.
First alteration of the match from Ronny Deila, and no real surprise to see Johansen took out of the firing line after that poor mistake for the equaliser. He trudges off to the side of the pitch to be replaced by Nir Bitton, who scored his first ever goal for Celtic on this very pitch a few years ago.
64'
The last third of the match is just approaching us, and after that Griffiths goal it seemed like the Hoops would go on and gain a scoreline which reflects on their complete and utter domination of possession. However, that error at the back from Johansen has gifted the Saints back into contention.
62'
Janko picks up the ball at right back and assesses the options available before chipping a speculative cross into the area. The former Manchester United defender collects again from a clearance and proceeds to burst into the penalty area with a twisting dribble, but is forced to settle for a throw-in after Easton clears into the stand.
61'
D. Swanson gets yellow.
The yellow cards are coming thick and fast now and the latest guilty party is Swanson for St Johnstone.
59'
G. Cummins enters the game and replaces C. Kane.
First change of the match now and it comes from St Johnstone. Kane, who is actually the Saints' most used substitute this season, goes off on the other direction this time as he is replaced by Graham Cummins.
57'
S. MacLean gets yellow.
Just about the most deseved yellow card you will see this season as MacLean, who scored the equaliser just a couple of minutes ago, completely takes out Roberts as the Englishman attempts to break free down the right. An awful challenge, and a rightful booking.
56'
S. MacLean has scored a goal for St. Johnstone!
55'
GOOOOAAAAAAAALLLL FOR ST JOHNSTONE! AN EQUALISER FROM NOWHERE! Johansen has the ball inside of his own penalty area, only for possession to horribly bobble up which results in it cannoning off the Norwegian's leg! MacLean takes advantage and ends up netting with a delightful dink over the oncoming Bailey! One-one!
53'
L. Griffiths has scored a goal for Celtic! Assist by S. Johansen.
GOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAALLLL FOR CELTIC! AND IT IS LEIGH GRIFFITHS! The visitors play the ball out from the back with confidence and possession eventually comes to Johansen, who slides a lovely pass down the left wing for his team-mate. The Scotland international scores his 40th goal of the season after easily dancing his way into the penalty area before lashing a strike past Clarke! One-nil!
A neat assist from Johansen.
52'
Decent start to the second period from Deila's men, who just seem to have a little more verve about them in terms of their passing play. Allen in particular has started to see a lot more of the ball in a rare start, and Celtic are looking the better for it.
50'
That is surely a yellow card for Liam Craig?! Christie skips through the middle of the park with ease and looks to catalyse an attack for Celtic, but not before being scythed down by the onrushing former Kilmarnock midfielder, who somehow escapes seeing his name go into the book. Fair enough if it is the end of the season, but the punishments need to fit the offence.
48'
JUST WIDE FROM CHRISTIE! Griffiths picks out Allen down the left wing with a glorious drilled pass and the January Celtic signing takes in to feet with a neat touch. The resulting cross is whipped into the danger area for his young team-mate, but the header on goal goes just the wrong side of the post. Really nice move, but just lacked the end product.
46'
We are back underway in this clash between St Johnstone and Celtic!
44'
Only one minute of added time has been allocated by the referee, which sounds about right as we have barely had any stoppages to speak on. Perhaps the injury to Shaughnessy has been a factor in the decision.
42'
VITAL BLOCK FROM SVIATCHENKO! Shaughnessy maraudes his way down the right wing and skips past a couple of challenges before hitting the byline to get the cross inside. The Hoops survive though as a combination of the Danish defender, and the retreating Allen, means that possession is intercepted behind for yet another St Johnstone corner.
40'
Ambrose takes advantage of the space ahead of him and advances forward into space down the right wing. There is desperately little movement up top from The Hoops though which forces the Nigerian into playing back inside to Johansen, who in turn floats a pass to the opposite wing for Izaguirre.
38'
SUPERB INTERCEPTION FROM MCGREGOR! Craig clips a cross to the back post and Celtic fail to clear, with the loose possession eventually falling to Kane. However, before the shot on goal can be made from the St Johnstone man, the Hoops midfielder gets back in the nick of time to deflect over the crossbar for a corner-kick. Much better from the hosts!
36'
Griffiths dusts himself off to hit the subsequent set-piece following the Anderson foul, but the free-kick is slammed disappointingly into the wall.
35'
S. Anderson gets yellow.
A Saints player goes into the book now and it is richy deserved for Steven Anderson, who goes in extremely late on Griffiths around 25 yards out, with the Celtic man looking seemingly poised to pull the trigger. No malice in the tackle by any means, but still a yellow.
33'
The Celtic fans were in a party mood at the start of play but even their celebrations at winning the title have slightly wained at the quality of play on show so far. A few nice touches here and there, from Christie and Griffiths in particular, but no domination from either team.
31'
St Johnstone are currently down to 10 men as Shaughnessy has been forced to the side of the pitch to receive some physio treatment after suffering a rather nasty looking gash to the side of the head. It is actually unclear what actually caused the injury, probably just during a melee, but he should be okay to continue after getting patched up. Where is the magic sponge?!
29'
One factor that has contributed to Celtic's inability to muster up any kind of ascendancy has been their failure to get Roberts into the game down this right-hand side. The Manchester City loanee was the man of the match in the weekend win over Aberdeen with two wonderful goals, but he has been on the periphery of play so far tonight.
28'
S. Johansen gets yellow.
27'
First yellow card of the match now and it is a deserved one for Johansen, whose first contribution to the match really is to take out Swanson with a needlessly overzealous shoulder barge in an area that didn't really pose any danger to Celtic. That is the Norwegian's 15th booking of the season in all competitions.
25'
Due to the plethora of changes from Deila tonight, the captain's armband has actually been placed on Erik Sviatchenko, who only joined the club less than six months ago in the January transfer window! Some sections of the Celtic support believe he is a future permanent captain in the making, so tonight is a decent audition for him.
23'
We are just beyond the midway point of the first half at McDiarmid Park and unfortunately we have had very little goalmouth action to speak of so far. Griffiths in particular will no doubt be upset at this as with the league title in the bag, he will be eager to pursue his personal target of 40 goals for the campaign. Doesn't look likely to be happening anytime soon, though...
21'
Shaughnessy blocks his own team-mate's shot inside the box! The Saints get the corner-kick down the right wing which is floated dangerously to the back post, eventually dropping to Easton who drills a low strike back into the danger area. The former Hamilton full-back thinks he has scored, but in the melee inside the six-yard box his team-mate makes the unfortunate interception!
19'
Shaughnessy opens up his stride down the right wing and makes his way out of the shadow and into the part of the pitch which is blazed with sunshine. We can perhaps let him off with his subsequent cross into the box then as perhaps the sun was in his eyes, as it goes absolutely nowhere near a team-mate before flashing out for a throw-in.
17'
Those who were expecting a thriller tonight were perhaps misled ever-so-slightly as so far the match has played out like a typical end-of-season fixture, with desperately little tempo or intensity in the passing from either side. Hopefully both sets of players are just taking a while to find their feet in an attacking sense.
15'
SAVE FROM CLARK! After 15 minutes of play, we finally get our first attempt on target and it predictably comes from Griffiths with a bullet header on goal after some superb work from Christie to get the cross to the back post. The St Johnstone goalkeeper is on his toes though and manages to dart across to make the vital block!
13'
Celtic are just enjoying a small period of sustained possession here in and around the opposition penalty area. Allen, Christie, and Roberts are all swapping positions in that area behind the central striker, and it is making it difficult for the St Johnstone defenders to get close to the talented young trio.
11'
It has been an extremely tepid start to proceedings here in this midweek Premiership clash, which is probably understandable considering we are at the closing end of the season. However, it can also be attributed to these Celtic players having barely featured alongside one another before, so the link-up just isn't there as of yet.
9'
One underlying story in tonight's match is Leigh Griffiths' relentless pursuit of the 40-goal mark for the season in the green and white of the Hoops. The Scotland international is suspended for this weekend's match against Motherwell, so this is his last chance to hit that magnificent tally. The last man to do it for Celtic? The legendary Henrik Larsson.
7'
Swanson collects the ball to feet down the right wing and attempts to burst into space whilst under plenty of pressure by the retreating Christie. The former Inverness youngster manages to get in front of the winger and shield possession effectively near the touchline to eventually earn a free-kick, albeit in slightly soft fashion.
5'
The pitch is bathed in sunshine in a quite fabulous night in Perth, but there is indeed a risk tonight that both sides may take their foot off the gas slightly so close to the summer break. St Johnstone are of course still going for fourth, but Celtic are more or less playing in order for some fringe players to make a positive impression before next year.
3'
Celtic, perhaps expectedly, are dominating possession in the early stages which is actually quite impressive considering they are fielding a relatively untested starting XI. Christie is especially raw, as this is his first ever league start for the Hoops under Ronny Deila.
1'
The first half is underway at McDiarmid Park!
It is party time for the Hoops at the moment, as their entertaining 3-2 win over Aberdeen at the weekend saw them officially and mathematically crowned champions of Scotland's top-flight for the fifth time in a row. Ronny Deila's outfit were always viewed as massive favourites to claim the league title, and although this will arguably go down as a disappointing campaign overall due to European and domestic cup disappointments, nobody can deny their stature as the best team in the country.
Good evening football fans! Welcome to LIVE coverage of the Scottish Premiershp clash between St Johnstone and Celtic from McDiarmid Park.
With Deila on his way out at the end of the current campaign, speculation is mounting as to who will be named the new boss of the Hoops, with the vital Champions League qualification rounds coming up towards the end of the summer. Some of the names being touted are Roy Keane, Paul Lambert, David Moyes, and even former boss, Neil Lennon. We shall see!
Ten days ago, Celtic successfully defeated Hearts 3-1 at Tynecastle which took them nine points beyond the Dons with three games to go, which effectively saw them claim the title. However, it took a narrow 3-2 victory on Sunday against Derek McInnes' outfit to make it official, and the hero of the day proved to be Manchester City loanee, Patrick Roberts, who netted a double with a duo of fabulous finishes for the Bhoys.
The last clash between St Johnstone and Celtic ended in a comfortable 3-1 home win for the Glasgow-based side, with a double from Gary Mackay-Steven and a strike from Stuart Armstrong sealing the three points. It will be interesting to see if that duo are featured tonight by Deila, who will likely make a raft of changes with the championship already in the bag, and with players waiting in the wings for playing time.
The Saints have enjoyed another excellent season under the tutelage of Tommy Wright and are currently in pole position secure their second consecutive fourth-placed finish in the Scottish Premiership – a hell of an achievement for a side with very limited resources. Indeed, if the Perth outfit can finish fourth instead of fifth, it means an extra £100,000 prize money when the campaign finishes, which is not to be sniffed at.
St Johnstone subs: Mannus, Doyle, Sutton, Cummins, Hurst, McCawl, Krachunov.
The teams are making their way to the pitch and we are almost ready for kick-off!
Half-time at McDiarmid Park. The dreaded 'holiday mode' mindset appears to have unfortunately already claimed St Johnstone and Celtic here tonight, as the Premiership outfits have played out a stinker of a 0-0 draw so far. One chance of note as Clark saved well from a Griffiths header, but not much beyond that as the Hoops continue with their experimental line-up. Some goals, please, in the second period to come!
Full-time at McDiarmid Park as the referee adds on barely any stoppage time. Despite taking the lead through Leigh Griffith's 40th goal of the season and dominating possession throughout, Celtic succumb to a 2-1 defeat against St Johnstone after two calamitous moments at the back, which gifted goals to Stephen MacLean and Graham Cummins to eventually earn the three points. The title party for the Hoops comes this weekend against Motherwell. Thanks for joining us, see you next time.
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