Buddies shock Celtic

There were 55 minutes played when Celtic captain Stephen McManus felled Craig Dargo inside the box and English striker Mehmet sent Artur Boruc the wrong way from the spot.

Celtic threw everything forward, especially in the latter stages, in a bid to keep their hopes of a domestic treble alive, but the Buddies defended resolutely to book their semi-final spot.

The final whistle brought elation to the home fans among the crowd of 5,925 and also to goalkeeper Chris Smith who made up for his Parkhead nightmare with a fine save at the end from a Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink header to prevent a replay.

The home side started as though they had wiped clean the memory of their drubbing in Glasgow. In the second minute, following the home side's first corner of the game, Boruc was forced to make a good save from Garry Brady's angled volley.

In the 14th minute, as both sides tried to come to terms with the swirling wind, Scott McDonald had the ball in the net from Shunsuke Nakamura's cross but was ruled offside.

Five minutes after the restart Aiden McGeady got the break of the ball from former Celtic defender Mo Camara but fired wide of the target from 25 yards.

But in the 55th minute Saints found themselves dramatically ahead after they were awarded a penalty when McManus chopped down Dargo as the former Kilmarnock striker burst into the Celtic box.

To the annoyance of the home support, mindful that Jack Ross was red-carded for a similar incident involving McDonald last week at Parkhead, McManus was only booked by referee Charlie Richmond. But they were soon cheered when Mehmet sent Boruc the wrong way from the spot.

Smith made a decent block from McDonald in the final few minutes and then an even better one from Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink's point-blank header from a Nakamura cross. But in the end, there was too much determination in the home side to let this chance of history slip.