Gogic condemns abuse of goalkeeper Ryan Mullen following Scottish Cup semi-final
St Mirren defender Alex Gogic has strongly criticized the abuse goalkeeper Ryan Mullen received from some of the club's own supporters after their 6-2 defeat to Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final on Sunday.
Mullen, who was starting due to first-choice keeper Shamal George being sidelined with an injury sustained in training, made a crucial error that led to Celtic's opening goal within the first minute at Hampden. The 24-year-old then had to leave the match after 15 minutes due to injury.
This forced interim manager Craig McLeish to introduce 17-year-old Grant Tamosevicius, who made his first-team debut under challenging circumstances.
"I have seen some disgraceful tweets about Ryan Mullen after the game yesterday," 32-year-old Cyprus international Gogic said on X.
Following a chargedown by Daizen Maeda on Mullen's attempted clearance, Celtic took the lead early. Anthony Ralston then doubled Celtic's advantage shortly before halftime.
St Mirren's Mikael Mandron scored twice to force extra time, but Celtic responded by scoring four goals in six minutes to secure their place in the final against second-tier Dunfermline Athletic.
Despite the heavy defeat, some of the criticism directed at Mullen, a former Celtic youth player who joined St Mirren from Greenock Morton last summer, was notably harsh.
"Ryan is a top goalkeeper and gives everything on and off the pitch and by no means did he want to leave the pitch yesterday. Every player makes mistakes. It comes with the job and I've made plenty," Gogic added.
"Unfortunately for Ryan yesterday, he was unable to play on despite persevering at first. He does not deserve any of the negativity or accusations he is getting. It's disgusting. I'm so disappointed that [the] majority is from our own fans. As a club, we win together and lose together."
Partick Thistle forward Tony Watt, also a former Celtic player, voiced support for Mullen on social media.
"The boy for St Mirren makes a mistake (natural thing when asked to play from the back)," Watt said on X. "Ends up getting injured (fact) then proceeds to get abuse on Twitter? Are people genuinely ok? Add in the fact he's the second choice who won't be match fit. Mistakes happen."
Chairman praises young debutant Tamosevicius
St Mirren chairman John Needham commended Tamosevicius for his composure during the match.
"He should very proud of how he handled the occasion," Needham said on X. "What an experience for him. Made some key saves and couldn't have prevented the Celtic goals."
Injury concerns may prompt emergency goalkeeper signing
Manager Craig McLeish acknowledged that Mullen's injury might necessitate signing an emergency goalkeeper on loan as St Mirren approach the final five games of the Premiership season, currently two points clear of the relegation play-off zone.
The club is awaiting the results of a scan on a pulled muscle Mullen felt during his clearance attempt. With George also injured and Peter Urminsky on loan to Glentoran, Tamosevicius could become St Mirren's only available goalkeeper.
Match summary
Celtic dominated the match, scoring six goals to St Mirren's two after extra time. The early goal came from a mistake by Mullen, followed by Ralston's strike before halftime. Mandron's two goals kept St Mirren in contention, but Celtic's late surge sealed their victory.
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