Celtic vs St Johnstone: 3 things we learned as final beckons

James Forrest still has a huge role to play

James Forrest has had a difficult few years. He has struggled with a series of injuries that have kept him out on the sidelines for long stretches of time.

He spent the majority of the previous campaign out of action and the story has been pretty similar this time around as well. There are multiple times that he has made his return to the pitch only to pick up another injury and return to the sidelines.

This was a huge boost for the Celtic veteran though as his goal sent the Hoops to the League Cup final.

With the arrival and quick rise of Jota, on a season-long loan, and Liel Abada, questions have been raised about Forrest’s future at Celtic. He has been one of the club’s key players for years but considering his recent struggles, it is very possible that he could end up getting lost in the first-team shuffle.

The goal against St Johnstone proved though that he still has a huge role to play for Celtic. One thing that Forrest has been for years is effective. And his goals and assists cannot be replaced.

Celtic need to be more clinical

If there was one negative from this game, it is that Celtic were not clinical enough once again. That has been the case often in recent times.

The Hoops have the majority of the possession but fail to either break down their opposition at the back or take their chances when they have them.

It results in games being much closer than they should be and this was a good example of that. Ange Postecoglou’s side had around 80% of the possession and more than twice the shots of St Johnstone. But the scoreline of 1-0 meant that one or two moments could have ended up swinging the game in the opposite direction.