ST MIRREN were supposed to be lambs to the slaughter after last week's 5-1 thumping at home to Falkirk but they stunned Celtic by stealing a shock point.
Everyone expected the Hoops to take advantage of an idle weekend for Rangers by moving four points clear in the SPL title race.
But it didn't go to plan for Gordon Strachan's men. Talk about a coupon buster.
They struggled to break down St Mirren's defence and the Buddies stunned Parkhead when Stephen McGinn pounced in 73 minutes with the kind of goal every midfielder sets out to score.
McGinn - who also scored at Parkhead last season - made a late run into the box and his gamble paid off after Mark Brown could only parry Billy Mehmet's shot.
But Celtic fought back to avoid an embarrassing defeat as sub Derek Riordan bagged a leveller with five minutes left.
Those goals lit up a dull day and the first half was particularly poor.
Both sides struggled to make simple passes on a cold and wet afternoon so there was little entertainment for the fans.
Strachan's side were expected to be on a high after their midweek exertions secured a place in the last 16 of the Champions League - but they were flat.
St Mirren packed men behind the ball and there was no way through.
Only Aiden McGeady - sometimes with four Buddies players surrounding him - looked capable of stirring up a bit of interest. The winger fired in a couple of shots at goal but nothing to trouble St Mirren keeper Chris Smith.
Celtic now seem to be relying too much on McGeady and others have to step up and start delivering for the side.
Strachan said: "We lacked quality today. Quality wins you football games."
Smith wasn't tested until 20 minutes when he got down low to his right to palm away a Jiri Jarosik shot.
And the Buddies keeper denied Jarosik again when he saved his header from the Paul Hartley corner.
Gary Caldwell got into great positions on the right several times but his crossing left a lot to be desired. Darren O'Dea was also guilty of poor delivery on the other flank and that frustrated Hoops strikers Scott McDonald and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink.
Celtic threatened once more before the break but McGeady's free-kick from 20 yards only hit the side netting.
Strachan resisted the temptation to bring on any subs and gave his players the chance to make amends for their desperate first-half show.
They almost got their noses in front within minutes but Jarosik's header from Hartley's free-kick came back off the post.
That was one of the Czech's last contributions and he made way for Evander Sno in 56 minutes. That change allowed McGeady to move to the left with Scott Brown stuck on the right and Hartley pushed up as the attacking midfielder.
The home fans weren't happy with the introduction of Sno but the Dutchman played well and looked the part. Riordan was given a much warmer welcome when he came on for O'Dea in 70 minutes and both were involved when Celtic grabbed the leveller.
As the snow came down the fans lost patience with Celtic's players when several passes went astray. The howls of disapproval were easy to hear and things got even worse in 73 minutes when St Mirren took a shock lead.
Hartley was robbed in the left-back area by Billy Mehmet who raced in on goal. The striker cracked in a shot from 14 yards and Brown could only parry into the path of McGinn who coolly shot home from eight yards.
Smith had his first serious save in 82 minutes when he showed quick feet to tip a deflected McGeady shot over. But he had no chance three minutes later as Celts got back on level terms.
Riordan collected a diagonal pass from Sno and cut inside sub Ryan McCay before firing a left-foot strike past Smith.
But Buddies boss Gus MacPherson was pleased with a point and delighted for veteran defender Andy Millen.
The Paisley No.2was slaughtered for his performance last week and MacPherson said: "At 42 Andy is an easy target. He was my first signing and will always bemybest."
REF WATCH
CHARLIE RICHMOND should have played advantage more often and seemed reluctant to give St Mirren free-kicks in the final third. Decided to book just Celtic's Aiden McGeady. Rating: 5/10
