Celtic suffered a third straight defeat under new manager Wilfried Nancy on Sunday as St Mirren beat them in the League Cup final on another painful day for the boss
Former Liverpool academy man Shamal George was one of the stars of the show as St Mirren stunned Celtic to lift the Scottish League Cup. The Birkenhead-born keeper made several saves at Hampden Park as the underdogs claimed a 3-1 win to pile more pain onto Bhoys boss Wilfried Nancy.
French manager Nancy joined Celtic after impressing with Major League Soccer outfit Columbus Crew, but has lost his first three games in charge. A league loss against Hearts was a blow in the league title race, while Roma’s 3-0 win at Parkhead left Nancy’s men in danger of Europa League elimination.
The cup final loss might be the worst of the lot, though. Reo Hatate brought Celtic level at the break after Marcus Fraser’s early opener, only for Jonah Ayunga to score twice in the second period.
Nancy is now the first Celtic boss in history to lose his first three games in charge. It was an afternoon to remember for George and his team-mates, though.
The goalkeeper was on Liverpool’s books in 2019/20 when they won the league under Jurgen Klopp. While team-mates from that era have stepped up to the Reds’ first-team or played Premier League football with other clubs, he has largely split his time between the Scottish Premiership and English lower leagues.
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George’s team-mates for Liverpool’s Under-21 side included current first-teamer Curtis Jones, Fulham winger Harry Wilson and Wolves defender Ki-Jana Hoever. He also kept goal in 2016/17 matches against an Arsenal side including future England internationals Eddie Nketiah and Ainsley Maitland-Niles and against a Manchester United selection including Scott McTominay.
He joined St Mirren on loan from Wycombe over the summer and has seized his chance. On Sunday, he made a big stop from Kelechi Iheanacho at 1-0 and another stop from Colby Donovan at 3-1 prevented a tense final few minutes.
Not only was Nancy handed a defeat, but he was dealt a fresh injury blow. Iheanacho returned against Roma on Thursday after a hamstring problem, but only lasted 35 minutes on Sunday after another setback.
St Mirren’s two-goal hero Ayunga emphasised after the game just how much the victory meant to him and his team. “To get the chance to play in this, let alone win it and score, I couldn’t imagine it any better. Not a bad day’s work, eh?” the Kenyan international told BBC Sport Scotland.
“This is once in a lifetime. I’ve been playing since I was 17, I’m nearly 30, this was the first time I had a chance to win anything. The manager deserves it. You see what he’s done year upon year at St Mirren. This is the icing on the cake.”
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