celtic booked their place in the Scottish Cup final after a chaotic 6-2 extra-time victory over St Mirren at Hampden Park on Sunday afternoon ET. The record champions led 2-0, were dragged back to level terms, and then overwhelmed their opponents in the first period of extra time. Martin O’Neill’s side will now face Neil Lennon’s Dunfermline on May 23 at Hampden Park.
How the match turned
The game opened with a blow for St Mirren inside the first minute, when Ryan Mullen’s touch was punished by Daizen Maeda. Celtic doubled the lead before half-time through Anthony Ralston, who struck in off the bar on the stroke of the interval.
St Mirren refused to fold. Mikael Mandron headed home after the restart, then hit the equaliser deep into stoppage time to force extra time after a strong late spell from the League Cup holders. That left the tie level and poised for a decisive next chapter at the national stadium.
What followed was ruthless. celtic scored four times in extra time through Kelechi Iheanacho, Luke McCowan and Benjamin Nygren, with Iheanacho completing a brace as the Hoops pulled away fast and hard. The surge ensured there would be no repeat of December’s League Cup final.
Key moments and reactions
For St Mirren, the night began badly and got worse when Mullen had to go off injured after 14 minutes, forcing 17-year-old Grant Tamosevicius into his senior debut. Tamosevicius made several saves to settle early nerves, including stops from Maeda, while Viljami Sinisalo was twice called into action at the other end with important saves from Liam Donnelly and Mandron.
Mandron was the main St Mirren threat throughout, and his second-half double gave the visitors belief. But once extra time began, celtic seized control quickly and decisively, turning a tense semi-final into a one-sided finish.
Martin O’Neill will now meet former captain Neil Lennon in the final, setting up an all-Celtic managerial storyline at Hampden. Lennon’s Dunfermline reached the showpiece after a shoot-out win over Falkirk in the other semi-final on Saturday.
What this means next
The final is set for May 23 at Hampden Park, where celtic will try to convert this emphatic semi-final win into silverware. The matchup adds a sharp layer of emotion, with O’Neill facing Lennon in a final shaped by two dramatic semi-finals and a late surge that changed everything. For celtic, the path now leads straight to one more high-pressure night, with the Scottish Cup final against Dunfermline fixed as the next major test.
