Celtic 1-2 Aberdeen
- Published
Aberdeen came from behind to shock Celtic and reach the quarter-final of the Scottish Cup.
The hosts led through Anthony Stokes's cool finish, but Russell Anderson's acrobatic effort and Peter Pawlett's angled drive gave the Dons victory.
Celtic pushed for a leveller, but the visitors came closest when Adam Rooney blasted over in injury time.
Derek McInnes's side had not won at Celtic Park since a quarter-final victory in the Cup in 2008.
Celtic took the lead with their first chance of the game. A beautifully flighted ball from Georgios Samaras found Stokes who took one touch and finished through the legs of Aberdeen goalkeeper Jamie Langfield.
The home side almost doubled their advantage shortly after when defender Virgil Van Dijk's free-kick was deflected into the side-netting.
Celtic's forwards kept pressuring the Aberdeen backline in an effort to force mistakes but chances were few and far between in the opening 20 minutes.
Neil Lennon's side had not conceded a goal in 12 domestic matches, a run which began in their last Scottish Cup match against Hearts at the start of December.
Aberdeen's first opportunity to end that run came after almost 30 minutes with Pawlett swinging in a teasing cross but neither Niall McGinn nor Rooney were able to connect.
That gave McInnes's side confidence and they began to grow into the game as Scott Brown was booked for a crude challenge on Jonny Hayes.
Rooney came close to levelling the scores on the half-hour mark but his effort deflected off Emilio Izaguirre and over the crossbar.
Celtic's defensive record ended in the 38th minute as Aberdeen drew level. The home side were unable to clear the ball after a corner and Anderson acrobatically hooked the ball home.
Aberdeen started the second half as they ended the first. Barry Robson flicked through to Pawlett who angled the ball past Fraser Forster in the Celtic goal to put the Dons ahead.
The visitors' lead should have been short-lived but Van Dijk headed over from inside the six-yard box.
With Celtic pushing for an equaliser they were almost left exposed at the back, Pawlett was once again the catalyst but it was cleared to safety after rebounding off the post.
Shortly after the hour Celtic introduced new £1m signing, Leigh Griffiths, but there was no immediate impact from the former Hibernian and Wolves striker and the next chance fell to the League Cup finalists but Hayes dragged his shot wide.
Celtic were creating little and they were almost caught on the break following a corner, but good work from another of Lennon's January signings, Stefan Johansen, saved the day.
With seven minutes to go James Forrest found Griffiths who squandered the chance to be an instant hero by dragging his shot wide of the upright.
Aberdeen had the final chance when Rooney blazed over deep into injury time.
The miss made no difference as Aberdeen held on to triumph and progress to the quarter-final.
- Published8 February 2014
- Published8 February 2014