AFP, GLASGOW: Callum McGregor struck late to rescue a point for Celtic as the Hoops lost top spot in the Scottish Premiership following a 1-1 draw with St Johnstone on Saturday.
St Johnstone grabbed a shock lead through Steven MacLean in the 40th minute at Parkhead as he took advantage of an error from Celtic goalkeeper Craig Gordon.
Celtic were rewarded for their relentless pressure in the second half when McGregor grabbed an equaliser 11 minutes from time to extend the Scottish champions' unbeaten domestic run to 53 games stretching back to May 2016.
Aberdeen top the table, two points above Celtic and St Johnstone, following a thrilling 4-3 win over Partick Thistle at Firhill that maintained their 100 percent start.
“We were a bit slow in our game in the first half and I think the travelling in midweek had a real affect on us,” said Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers, whose side were in Kazakhstan on Champions League duty on Tuesday.
“The reaction we got after half-time was amazing and I just felt it was a matter of time.” St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright was proud of his players' battling effort.
“I thought it was a great performance. We came to try and press them and the goal came from pressing them high up,” he said.
“We knew we were going to be under pressure in the second half but we defended well and their goal was a wee bit fortuitous.”
It was a combination of good pressing from the St Johnstone forwards and an error from Gordon that led to a bizarre opening goal for the visitors.
Hoops defender Anthony Ralston played the ball back to Gordon under pressure from Michael O'Halloran and the goalkeeper's slack clearance only reached Liam Craig at the edge of the area.
The Saints midfielder cushioned it into the path of MacLean, who took a touch and curled into the bottom corner, much to the anger of the Celtic defence who felt the striker was offside.
Celtic were stunned and Rodgers made a double substitution at half-time as he brought on Stuart Armstrong and Jonny Hayes.
Gordon made amends for his earlier error as he superbly blocked MacLean's header from close range, with the striker sending the rebound into the side netting.
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Editor : M. Shamsur Rahman
Published by the Editor on behalf of Independent Publications Limited at Media Printers, 446/H, Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1215.
Editorial, News & Commercial Offices : Beximco Media Complex, 149-150 Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1208, Bangladesh. GPO Box No. 934, Dhaka-1000.
Editor : M. Shamsur Rahman
Published by the Editor on behalf of Independent Publications Limited at Media Printers, 446/H, Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1215.
Editorial, News & Commercial Offices : Beximco Media Complex, 149-150 Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1208, Bangladesh. GPO Box No. 934, Dhaka-1000.