Ralston's rocket was a Hampden highlight of semi-final win

Ralston's rocket was a Hampden highlight of semi-final win

The voting for this season’s Celtic Goal of the Season is already well underway, so Anthony Ralston’s stunning Scottish Cup semi-final strike on Sunday has come too late to be considered for the award.

But it is a goal which certainly merits praise and stands alongside any that Celtic have scored in this campaign.

It put Celtic 2-0 ahead going into half-time and though St Mirren scored twice after the break to take the game into extra-time, a blistering first period saw the Hoops score four goals without reply to book their place in next month’s Scottish Cup final.

Speaking to Celtic TV after the game, Anthony Ralston said: “I felt we started the game strong. Everything we set out to do was going well and obviously getting the early goal was massive for us.

“And in the end the boys showed terrific character which we’ve shown all through the years and that’s why we’ve been successful.”

As for the goal – Ralston’s first of the this campaign and his 10th overall as a Celt – he said: “It’s my first goal here at Hampden for Celtic so it’s a special moment for me and I can look back on an amazing moment and be happy we were on the end of a win, so I’m delighted with it.

“We know we’re in a title race and we’ve got a cup final now, which is in the back of our minds.

“The front of our minds now is next week and we’ll go into each game now with the same attitude that we did there, going after teams and picking up as many points as we can and hopefully win the league.”

MORE ON THE MATCH

• Celtic extra special in extra-time to book Scottish Cup final spot - match report
• Manager's post-match reaction to Scottish Cup semi-final win - read more
• Kelechi Iheanacho: We worked hard and blew St Mirren away in extra-time - post-match interview

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