St Mirren and Celtic face off again at Hampden in cup semi-final 2026

St Mirren defeated Celtic 3-1 in the Scottish League Cup final four months ago, and the sides meet again in the Scottish Cup semi-final.

League Cup final recap Less than 120 days prior, Hampden Park hosted scenes of extreme elation for St Mirren and deep frustration for Celtic. The Paisley side outplayed and overcame Wilfried Nancy's Celtic to claim the Scottish League Cup for just their second time in history. The French manager stood in the technical area attempting to direct his players, yet as had been common across his brief 33-day period in charge, his efforts failed to produce the intended outcome. A goal from Marcus Fraser in the second minute and a brace from Jonah Ayunga in the second half remain indelibly marked in St Mirren folklore. Nancy walked onto the field at the final whistle, consoling his players as celebrations erupted in black and white around him, his third defeat in as many matches marking a disastrous start from which recovery proved impossible. ## Celtic’s rocky season shift The most striking alteration in the months since has been the change of leadership in the Celtic dugout. Nancy’s tenure lasted eight matches totaling 33 days before he was dismissed alongside head of football operations Paul Tisdale. Martin O’Neill returned as interim manager for a second spell this season, and despite periodic struggles in displays and clear flaws within the squad, he has preserved a title challenge and steered the side back to Hampden. One such underwhelming performance occurred in the semi-final journey, when Celtic scraped through by edging Rangers 4-2 on penalties following a sterile 120 minutes with only a single attempt on target at Ibrox. O’Neill has conceded his team is not of sufficient quality to realistically harbour trophy ambitions, yet prior achievements include three Scottish Cup triumphs with Celtic in 2001, 2004, and 2005. A Hampden victory this weekend could still serve as a crucial springboard ahead of the season’s conclusion. 'If we could win the game, it definitely would have a positive effect,' he remarked. 'No question about that. Quite the opposite I suppose really, it [defeat] could have a poor effect on us. But we're going all out to try and win the game.' ## St Mirren’s managerial transition St Mirren also preside over a new dugout after Stephen Robinson departed for Aberdeen last month, ending a highly successful four-year spell in Paisley where he guided the club to three consecutive top-six finishes and capped the campaign by lifting the League Cup. Craig McLeish, a product of the St Mirren academy, has taken interim charge until the season’s end and has made his ambitions clear to extend the role. While the Buddies now fight relegation rather than contend for silverware, McLeish has won two of his four matches and narrowly missed claiming points at Celtic Park last weekend. He believes his side’s performance there and the memory of their Hampden triumph in December will provide the belief required for Sunday’s semi-final against Celtic. Six players from the December final started the recent Premiership fixture, though goalkeeper Shamal George is a doubt with an injury sustained against Celtic. Captain Mark O’Hara has returned after missing the previous Hampden outing, and Manchester United loanee Jacob Devaney has impressed since arriving in January. ## St Mirren’s bold ambitions The Paisley club harbor grand aspirations ahead of the semi-final. 'We’ve got a real chance to make a successful season and to do a cup double, which I think would be the stuff of dreams and the stuff of legends,' O’Hara stated. 'We’ve beaten them at Hampden already this season and our performance last week, especially the second half, has proved we can match them. We’re confident we’ve got enough in the building to go and cause an upset.' McLeish echoed the defiant tone, emphasizing control and execution over emotion. 'I think it’s probably controlling our emotions as well of the occasion, carrying out our game plan,' he explained. 'It’s us going there and going toe-to-toe with them and being brave, not trying to hang onto a game or not trying to nick things just on a counter-attack — we’re absolutely going there with the intention to win the game.'