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Oh Hyeon-gyu gets first league goal as Celtic beat St. Mirren 5-1

Published: 06 Mar. 2023, 16:19 Updated: 06 Mar. 2023, 17:54

Oh Hyeon-gyu of Celtic in action in a game against Rangers on Feb. 26. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Oh Hyeon-gyu scored his first Scottish Premiership goal on Sunday, hammering in a penalty in the 81st minute to round off Celtic’s 5-1 rout of St. Mirren.

It was a dramatic game for the Scottish league leaders on the road at Paisley 2021 Stadium in Paisley, Scotland. The visitors fell behind minutes into the match, conceding a penalty in the sixth minute. The tables turned half an hour later, when St. Mirren’s Charles Dunne was sent off leaving the home side with 10 men for the remaining 50 minutes.

Celtic capitalized on that advantage quickly after the break. Jota scored the equalizer in the 56th minute, with Alistair Johnson adding the go-ahead goal five minutes later. Liel Abada extended the lead in the 70th minute and Matt O’Riley scored No. 4 in the 72nd.

Oh, who had come on as a substitute for Kyogo Furuhashi shortly before the third goal, was fouled in the box in the 80th minute, earning a penalty after a VAR review and stepping up to take it himself. Oh fired the ball into the bottom right corner, not fooling Trevor Carson but overpowering as the ball laced underneath the goalkeepers diving body.

With the goal, Oh has now scored for Celtic in both the Premiership and the Scottish FA Cup, totaling two goals in seven games across all competitions since joining the Glasgow side in January.

Both of those goals came against St. Mirren and both in matches with an identical score — Celtic also beat St. Mirren 5-1 in the round of 16 of the Scottish FA Cup on Feb. 11. Oh also scored at almost the exact same time in the game, the 80th minute on that occasion, although it was not a penalty and it was only the third goal of the match.

Oh signed with Celtic on Jan. 25 in a deal reportedly valued at £2.5 million ($3-million) after a drawn-out transfer saga that saw the Scottish club’s offer initially rejected before both Oh and the Bluewings manager made it clear they thought he deserved the opportunity.

Oh scored 14 goals in 39 appearances across all competitions in the 2022 K League season. He was called up to the senior Korean squad for the first time on Nov. 11, playing 18 minutes of a friendly against Iceland, and landing on the reserves list for the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

Oh is the third Korean to play for the Scottish club, following in the footsteps of Ki Sung-yueng and Cha Du-ri.

Celtic will be back in action on Wednesday as they take on Hearts of Midlothian in the Premiership, before facing off again on Saturday, this time in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup.

BY JIM BULLEY [[email protected]]