Aberdeen 1-3 Celtic: Title charge comes to a head

Aberdeen 1

Maguire 22

Celtic 3

Considine o.g. 45; McDonald 72, 93

THE numbers all added up for Celtic yesterday. Eventually. At sixes and sevens in the opening stages, Gordon Strachan's men prevailed in his 200th game in charge thanks to a late scoring one-two from the irrepressible Scott McDonald that put the squat Australian on to 50 goals for the club.

The victory means that Celtic are now four points ahead of Rangers. Irrespective of the outcome when Hearts visit Ibrox this afternoon, the champions will now go into next week's Old Firm derby as Premier League leaders – quintessential in the quartet of encounters that stand between them and a fourth straight title.

McDonald was universally acknowledged as the man who really counted in that quest yesterday; the figure pure and simply the difference between the two sides, as Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood ruefully accepted. "Two chances came his way and he put them away," said Chris Maguire of the Celtic striker. Two chances came the Aberdeen youngster's way in the opening half hour, and only one did he convert. It was why the home side, who conceded a potty Andrew Considine own goal on the stroke of half time, did not have a lead to protect after the interval.

Displaying a genuinely predatory instinct, McDonald preyed on that vulnerability as Celtic conquered theirs in an impressive second period. Yet, not until 17 minutes from time were the Pittodrie side pierced, McDonald effortless and artful in meeting first time an Andreas Hinkel pass delivered with pace to scoop the ball past Jamie Langfield. With Glen Loovens firm in Celtic's defence as a replacement for the fragile, and injured, Stephen McManus, the champions never looked like surrendering a lead it had taken them practically the whole afternoon to establish. McDonald pounced to make sure deep in stoppage time when he seized on a hopeful overhead kick from Shunsuke Nakamura and fired a low effort between the Aberdeen keeper's legs.

No one could begrudge Calderwood his belief that the margin of victory was ill-deserved. He now accepts a win over Dundee United on Thursday is a necessity if Aberdeen are to retain any chance of edging out the Tannadice side for the Europa League-earning fourth place. That might not be a lost cause if they burst to life as they did yesterday. From the off it was obvious Aberdeen were intent on making amends for their appalling showing in succumbing 2-0 at Celtic Park a fortnight earlier. At a glance appearing weakened by the injury absences of Zander Diamond, Darren Mackie and Derek Young and the loss of Lee Miller to suspension, instead the Pittodrie platform wrung from them pitbull-like bite and aggression. It was as if they were playing on the memory of the January jumping of Celtic, a 4-2 win earned by aiming high, in the form of crosses and deadballs hoisted into the area.

In the aftermath of that defeat, Strachan was forced to mount a belligerent defence of his zonal marking system – as he has been often. He tends to do a better job of that than his defenders do of playing it.

So it proved in the richly deserved opener for the hosts after 22 minutes. A sequence of events that suggested Celtic struggle to learn lessons, a free-kick needlessly given away by McManus on the left channel was predictably followed by Charlie Mulgrew whipping in a curling ball to the front post that only Maguire sprinted to meet, the ball crossing the line despite Artur Boruc getting his hands to it.

Maguire should have been celebrating a double by that point. Sent clear in five minutes, the striker attempted to be a little too clever with an angled lob from the right-hand edge of the box. He dropped it over the Polish keeper's head alright, but then had to watch in despair as it bounced the wrong side of the post. With Scott Severin failing to find the target with a free header from three yards after another poorly defended deadball, and Boruc forced to palm away a shot on the turn from Sone Aluko, Aberdeen were in the ascendancy.

Celtic seemed to be left panting by the intensity of their opponents' play in a first top-six game. It would have been in sharp contrast to their break last week in La Manga. Indeed, the frenzy of the encounter made it precisely the sort tailor-made for Scott Brown, unavailable for the first time in the league this season because of a two-match ban that will also render him a spectator for next week's Ibrox derby.

In something of a surprise move, Strachan ran with the untried pairing of Marc Crosas and Paul Hartley in central midfield, the duo initially struggling to get a toe-hold.

But the old forward-thrusting Hartley started to reappear as Celtic sought to restore parity with Langfield equal to a top-corner placed drive from the Scotland internationalist.

It didn't appear as if Celtic had the artillery to blow a real hole in the home side's backline at that stage and it turned out they didn't need to as Calderwood's side succumbed to friendly fire.

To Calderwood it was referee Dougie McDonald who really pulled the trigger. Lamenting "some strange decisions against both teams", he considered chief among these a foul awarded to Celtic in the 45th minute for a Richard Foster shoulder charge on McGeady. Nakamura flighted the free-kick across and, once it had been cleared by Severin and headed back in by Gary Caldwell, Considine, for reasons best known to himself, decided to back header he ball, diverting it out of reach of the despairing Langfield. A key moment in another championship becoming ever closer to Celtic's reach.

MAN OF THE MATCH

It is remarkable the number of occasions that a Scott McDonald goal wins points. He doesn't tend to be a third-goal-in-a-4-0 win-scorer, with every one of his strikes in the past three months decisive.

QUICK FACT

Celtic's second league away win of 2009 inflicted on Aberdeen a first home reverse since they lost to Hibernian at Pittodrie on October 4.

TALKING POINT

With Gordon Strachan trusting Marc Crosas with a difficult away game it will be interesting to see whether he is now willing to give the Spanish youngster a first Old Firm start.