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Former Liverpool academy player Shamal George was a standout performer as St Mirren shocked Celtic to clinch the Scottish League Cup. The Birkenhead-born shot-stopper made several key saves at Hampden Park, helping the underdogs secure a 3-1 victory and adding to the woes of Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy.
Nancy, who joined Celtic after a successful stint with Major League Soccer team Columbus Crew, has suffered defeats in his first three games at the helm. A league defeat against Hearts dealt a blow to their title aspirations, while a 3-0 loss at home to Roma put Celtic on the brink of Europa League exit.
The cup final defeat could be the most devastating yet. Reo Hatate equalized for Celtic before half-time following Marcus Fraser's early goal, but Jonah Ayunga netted twice in the second half to seal the win for St Mirren.
This makes Nancy the first Celtic manager in history to lose his opening three matches. However, it was a day to remember for George and his St Mirren teammates.
George was part of Liverpool's squad during the 2019/20 season when they clinched the league title under Jurgen Klopp. While some of his former teammates have either broken into Liverpool's first team or moved on to play Premier League football elsewhere, he has primarily divided his time between the Scottish Premiership and the lower tiers of English football.
George's teammates in Liverpool's Under-21 squad featured current first-team player Curtis Jones, Fulham winger Harry Wilson and Wolves defender Ki-Jana Hoever. He also stood between the posts during 2016/17 fixtures against an Arsenal team that included future England internationals Eddie Nketiah and Ainsley Maitland-Niles, as well as facing a Manchester United selection featuring Scott McTominay.
He moved to St Mirren on loan from Wycombe during the summer and has grasped his opportunity with both hands. On Sunday, he produced a crucial save from Kelechi Iheanacho at 1-0 and another vital stop from Colby Donovan at 3-1 that avoided a nervy conclusion.
Nancy wasn't just handed a loss, but also suffered another injury setback. Iheanacho had returned against Roma on Thursday following a hamstring issue, but managed just 35 minutes on Sunday before another problem struck.
St Mirren's two-goal hero Ayunga highlighted after the match just how significant the triumph was for him and his teammates. "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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