St Johnstone came agonisingly close to pulling off a footballing great escape in a five-goal cup thriller at McDiarmid Park.
Celtic showed they had suffered no Old Firm derby defeat hangover by banging in three goals in an amazing opening 13-minute blitzkrieg.
Saints looked dead and buried, but dug deep to pull themselves out of a large hole to snatch a goal back before half time.
They scored again in a rollercoaster second half and right at the death could have taken the game into extra time, but were denied by a superlative save by Celtic stopper Fraser Forster.
St Johnstone boss Derek McInnes said, “At 3-0 down nobody would have given us a chance. We did not respond well to the first goal or the second and I think there was a sense of astonishment about the team.
“But credit to the players for their second-half efforts and I believe if the game had lasted another five minutes we would have taken it into extra time.
“It is disappointing as I feel this squad is good enough to be in a cup final. The players and myself will probably toss and turn all night at a lost opportunity.
“I just wish we could start that game all over again.”ReliefA relieved Celtic manager Neil Lennon said, “We got off to a breathtaking start. Some of our football in the first 20 or 25 minutes was fantastic, but again we have conceded two poor goals from our point of view.
“But credit to St Johnstone, they put us under a fair bit of pressure. It will be a learning curve for a lot of our players as well as they have not seen that physicality and that kind of football.
“It is a brand of football they have to get used to, particularly away from home,but I am thrilled to be in the semi-final.
“We have to come back here in the league on Saturday and hopefully they will be better prepared for the challenge.”
It was Celtic who were straight on the attack with Georgios Samaras warming Graeme Smith’s hands with a crisp shot from the edge of Saints box with just two minutes on the clock.
However, the big keeper was picking the ball out of the back of his net just five minutes later when Sung Yueng Ki cut back a great ball from the right which was fired home from 18 yards by Anthony Stokes.
Four minutes later, Celtic’s early barrage continued when Ki hit a sizzling free-kick which Smith parried, however Niall McGinn was on hand to tap in the rebound.
The Hoops were on fire now and Stokes doubled his tally for the night in the unlucky 13th minute for Saints when he swept home from close range another McGinn cross from the right.Shell-shockedA shell-shocked St Johnstone side finally managed to steady the ship and having weathered the early storm managed to pull one back on the half-hour mark.
Smith’s long kick out was headed on by Danny Grainger towards Sam Parkin who outmuscled Glenn Loovens before showing great composure to control a diagonal half-volley into the bottom left corner of Forster’s net from 15 yards.
Saints looked to capitalise on their lifeline, and five minutes before the break Liam Craig found himself with time and space 22 yards out, but his fierce shot sailed well over.
Shortly after, Smith had to look sharp as Samaras cut in from the left and hit a dipping shot, which the former Rangers stopper did well to palm over.
Then, just before the break, Parkin came agonisingly near to netting his second when Grainger directed another header towards him inside the Celtic penalty area but Forster kept his nerve to block his close-range effort.
There was almost a sensation seconds into the second half when Celtic centre-half Daniel Majstorovic made a mess of a clearing header with the ball falling to Collin Samuel, but the striker pulled his shot just wide of Forster’s right post when he really should have tested the on-loan Newcastle keeper.
However, Celtic were soon back on the attack and in the 50th minute the dangerous McGinn hit another searching ball in from the right.
Saints looked to have the threat covered but Alan Maybury made a hash of his attempted clearance and the ball fell into the path of Joe Ledley who blasted a shot just past Smith’s post.
Four minutes later, Saints sensationally pulled the score back to 3-2 when Murray Davidson rose unmarked 10 yards out to power a Grainger corner past the despairing Forster.Ding-dongThe game continued to be a real ding-dong affair and just seconds later Celtic could have regained their two-goal advantage when Gary Hooper latched on to a long delivery from the right by Stokes, but he lifted his shot over Smith’s bar, to the exasperation of the Celtic support behind the goal.
Just after the hour mark, Saints were presented with another excellent opportunity when Samuel played a pass down the right to Davidson.
The Scotland under-21 player cut the ball back across the penalty box to Parkin but Forster pulled off an outstanding diving save to his right to deny the big Englishman.
It was Celtic’s turn next with Hooper capitalising on a mistake by Grainger in midfield to power in on Smith’s goal, but the striker slipped on the sodden surface at the crucial moment and the chance was lost.
With 10 minutes left Forster had to look lively to punch away another whipped-in Grainger free-kick from Saints right.
As the game entered its closing stages, the home side poured forward in search of an equaliser that would take the game into extra time.
They looked to have succeeded right at the death when sub Jeno Myrie-Williams cracked in a shot from the edge of the Celtic area.
The ball went through the legs of Hoops substitute Charlie Mulgrew but the unsighted Forster pulled off an outstanding diving save to his right to secure the Glasgow giant’s place in the semi-final draw.
Attendance 5151St Johnstone Smith, Maybury, Anderson (Myrie-Willams 45), Mackay, Grainger, Duberry, Millar, Davidson, Craig (MacDonald 82), Parkin, Samuel (Haber 67). Subs not used Enckelman, Rutkiewicz.Celtic Forster, Izaguirre (Mulgrew 85), Majstorovic, Samaras, Stokes, Cha, McGinn, Ledley, Ki, Loovens, Hooper. Subs not used Juarez, Crosas, McCourt, Zaluska.Referee Craig Thomson.