St Johnstone 1 Celtic 2:This season, it would appear, cannot end quickly enough for Celtic. Stumbling towards a successful defence of their Premierleague title, Gordon Strachan's men found themselves clinging on against First Division St Johnstone before booking a place in the Scottish Cup final.
The malaise that has set in among Strachan's team since their Champions League elimination at the hands of AC Milan has not yet proved fatal to their aspirations of a domestic trophy double, but there remains a palpable feeling of unease surrounding their displays.
The Celtic support protested vigorously in the 65th minute when Derek Riordan was replaced with Kenny Miller, who has found the net only three times in 2007.
"If I go home and have an argument with my wife, I'll still love her in the morning," was Strachan's summation of the discord.
St Johnstone deserve enormous credit for their display. Not content to play the role of plucky underdogs, Owen Coyle's side controlled long periods of play.
Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink opened the scoring in the 13th-minute from the penalty spot but the Perth side restored parity six minutes later when Martin Hardie lobbed Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc.
Vennegoor of Hesselink's near-post header from Shunsuke Nakamura's corner nine minutes after the interval ultimately settled the tie in Celtic's favour.
Meanwhile, in yesterday's other semi-final Hibernian struggled to a 0-0 draw with Stephen Kenny's Dunfermline to end a turbulent week in which a delegation of players protested about boss John Collins's management style.
Collins dodged the post-match press conference, sending in his number two Tommy Craig to answer questions. "His wife and kids flew in late last night (from Monaco) and he has not seen them for a week," he said.
Dunfermline, bottom of the Scottish Premier League, nearly took the lead after 10 minutes when an angled shot by Jamie McCunnie struck the inside of the left post.
Moroccan Abdessalam Benjelloun almost won it late on for Hibs when his goalbound shot was headed away from under the crossbar by Ivory Coast defender Soulemayne.
It remains to be seen whether or not off-field matters in Edinburgh's east end will be calmer for the replay in eight days.
Guardian Service
ST JOHNSTONE: Cuthbert, Anderson, James, McManus, Stanic, Sheerin (McLaren 89), McInnes, Mensing (Morais 75), Hardie, Scotland, MacDonald. Subs not used: Halliwell, Lawrie, Jackson. Booked: McInnes, Mensing, Hardie.
CELTIC: Boruc, Caldwell, Pressley, McManus, Naylor (O'Dea 90), Nakamura (Gravesen 78), Lennon, Hartley, McGeady, Riordan (Miller 65), Vennegoor of Hesselink. Subs not used: McGovern, Beattie. Booked: Lennon.
Referee: C Richmond (Scotland).
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