Three second-half goals saw Saints defeated 3-0 at Celtic Park.
After an even first 45 finished goalless, Reo Hatate, Kyogo Furuhashi and Adam Idah netted after the interval to secure the points for Brendan Rodgers' side.
There were two changes for the Buddies from the side that lost to Hearts last week. Captain Mark O'Hara returned to the midfield alongside Keanu Baccus who also started. Hyeokkyu Kwon was unable to play against his parent club so he dropped out of the squad while Mikael Mandron dropped to the bench. Toyosi Olusanya led the line with Greg Kiltie playing just off him.
Saints were forced into an early change when Elvis Bwomono has to be subbed off on 23 minutes. The wing-back had tried to play on after a clash with Hyunjun Yang but a few minutes afterwards realised he couldn't continue and was replaced by Ryan Strain. The Australian went into the book not long after his introduction following a foul on Yang.
The Buddies had a big opportunity to hit the front on 26 minutes when Olusanya played a dangerous low ball in from the right that found Kiltie. But the forward couldn't get the connection required to guide it beyond Joe Hart. The hosts then broke up the park with Matt O'Riley seeing an effort blocked inside the box.
Greg Kiltie couldn't get the connection required to take the ball beyond Joe Hart (Image: Allan Picken)
Baccus almost got himself on the end of a Tanser cross with 10 minutes of the first-half remaining, but Celtic goalkeeper Hart managed to get in ahead of the midfielder to punch clear. Two minutes later it was Baccus' countryman Strain who had a decent chance to put Saints in-front when Kiltie's cross from the left drifted all the way to the far end of box where Strain had time to take a touch and hit only for the effort to be cleared by Maik Nawrocki.
Saints made another change at the break as Jaden Brown came on for Tanser. Stephen Robinson was forced into a THIRD change on 50 minutes when Kiltie could no longer continue after colliding with Cameron Carter-Vickers and he was replaced by Lewis Jamieson.
The home side would take the lead on 52 minutes when Hatate fired them in front. The Japanese midfielder had too much space to run on to an Alastair Johnston pass and lashed a quality finish into the top corner with the outside of his foot to break the deadlock. The hosts had a good chance to double that advantage just two minutes later but Yang fluffed his lines from close range and Saints cleared.
After a period of pressure, Saints looked for a way back into the match with Baccus' low ball finding substitute Jamieson in the Celtic box but it was blocked by Nawrocki before Tomoki Iwata managed to launch clear. Just a minute later Kyogo made it 2-0 to Celtic when he got his head on to a Johnston cross and bulleted home from close range.
Celtic could have added a third before the eventually did in the closing stages. Hemming made a good block at his near post to deny Hatate on 66 minutes before a stunning save to turn substitute Luis Palma's effort over on 78 minutes.
But the hosts would round off the afternoon with a third in the closing minutes of normal time when substitute Adam Idah netted. Hemming saved O'Riley's low strike after the Denmark international had been teed up by Palma, but the ball spun up in the air for Idah to nod into the net despite Hemming's best efforts to keep the ball out.
Saints will return to league action in a fortnight - our opponents yet to be determined - with the top-six split fixtures due to be announced in the coming days.
Full-Time: Celtic 3-0 St Mirren
St Mirren: Hemming, Fraser, Gogic, Taylor (Dunne 83), Bwomono (Strain 23), O'Hara (c), Baccus (Scott 83), Boyd-Munce, Tanser (Brown 46), Kiltie (Jamieson 50), Olusanya (Mandron 72)
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, Bolton, McMenamin
Celtic: Hart, Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Nawrocki (Welsh 64), Taylor, Iwata (Bernardo 72), Hatate (McGregor 72), O'Riley, Yang (Palma 72), Kyogo (Idah 72), Kühn (Forrest 80)
Subs Not Used: Bain, Lagerbielke, Ralston
Referee: Steven McLean
Assistant Referee: Calum Spence
Assistant Referee: John McCrossan
Fourth Official: Peter Stuart
VAR: David Dickinson
