SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE Celtic 3 St Mirren 1: TONY MOWBRAY is hoping in-form Aiden McGeady can help breathe life into Celtic's ailing Europa League hopes when Hapoel Tel Aviv visit Parkhead on Wednesday night.
The Republic of Ireland midfielder was a stand-out in Saturday’s 3-1 home win over St Mirren which took the Hoops two points clear of Old Firm rivals Rangers at the top of the SPL, albeit the Ibrox men have a game in hand.
After St Mirren defender Chris Innes had turned Scott McDonald’s shot past his own goalkeeper Paul Gallacher, McGeady set up Georgios Samaras for number two and then crossed for McDonald’s second-half clincher.
The Celtic boss will now turn his attention to a more difficult prospect, beating the Israeli side who are top of Group C with nine points while the Parkhead men languish at the bottom with two points, both having played four games.
To qualify, Celtic have to win against Hapoel and then beat Rapid Vienna away while looking for second-placed Hamburg to lose both their remaining fixtures.
It was to that unlikely end that Mowbray replaced McGeady with Niall McGinn with a couple of minutes remaining on Saturday.
“I took him off to make sure he wasn’t injured,” the former West Brom and Hibernian manager said. “Aiden McGeady is an extremely talented individual, as we can all see, and a very important player for our team and our club.
“I thought the game was finished and we needed him for the next game. But the European game on Wednesday is going to be tough. They are a very talented, technical team who can move the ball around the pitch and score goals. But we are going to strive for consistency over the next couple of weeks.”
CELTIC: Zaluska, Hinkel, Caldwell, Loovens, Daniel Fox, McGeady (McGinn 87), Crosas, N'Guemo, Zhi (Robson 85), McDonald, Samaras (Fortune 64). Subs not used: Cervi, McManus, Carey, Thompson. Booked: Caldwell.
ST MIRREN: Gallacher, Ross, Innes, Mair, Barron, Brady, Murray (Dargo 79), Dorman (Higdon 19), McGinn (Johnston 67), Mehmet, Thomson. Subs not used: Howard, Potter, McLean, Devlin. Booked: Mair, Innes.
Referee: S Conroy(Scotland).
