2009-12-05: Celtic 3-0 Aberdeen, SPL

Match Pictures | Matches: 2009 – 2010 | 2009-2010 Pictures

Trivia

  • Celtic stay 2pts in front but Huns have a game in hand and won 3-1 away to Kilmarnock.
  • Boruc back in goals after injury & surgery.
  • Samaras scored a double (!) with a peach of a hook goal that delighted the support big time.
  • Hearts on the next day had 5 players sent off (3 post match) and Hamilton 2 in a league game between the two!

Review

Our best performance this season by a mile so far. No complaints really, three great goals and all the players did well. Aberdeen were never at the races.

Samaras scored a double (!) with a peach of a hook goal that delighted the support big time.

Hopefully we can keep this sort of form going.

Teams

Celtic

  • 01Boruc
  • 02Hinkel
  • 05Caldwell
  • 11Fox
  • 22Loovens
  • 06N'Guemo
  • 17Crosas
  • 19Robson
  • 46McGeady (McGinn 79)
  • 07McDonald (Fortune 68)
  • 09Samaras (Zhi 79)

Substitutes

  • 24Zaluska,
  • 04McManus,
  • 52Caddis,
  • 14McGinn,
  • 27Zhi,
  • 36Carey,
  • 10Fortune

Goals

  • McDonald 39
  • Samaras 52
  • Samaras 76

Aberdeen

  • 01Langfield
  • 02Mulgrew; yellow card
  • 03Foster; yellow card
  • 06Considine
  • 17Ross
  • 22Ifil; red card
  • 04McDonald
  • 14Young; yellow card (Fyvie 54) (Grassi 90+2)
  • 19Pawlett
  • 09Miller
  • 24Paton (Maguire 61)

Substitutes

  • 21Nelson,
  • 18Grassi,
  • 16Duff,
  • 34Fyvie,
  • 07Maguire,
  • 10Mackie,
  • 15Wright
Ref: Tumilty
Att: 56,010

Articles

Pictures

KStreet

MOTM

Stats

Possession

  • Celtic 55%
  • Aberdeen 45%

Attempts on target

  • Celtic 13
  • Aberdeen 1

Attempts off target

  • Celtic 14
  • Aberdeen 2

Corners

  • Celtic 8
  • Aberdeen 1

Fouls

  • Celtic 7
  • Aberdeen 12

Articles

Celtic manager Tony Mowbray:

"We tried to control the game from the off, and generally did that – but Aberdeen made it hard for us, starting with five at the back.
"But we managed to get he breakthrough and got there in the end.
"Aberdeen have some very young and talented players, but we managed to get on top of them, which is important because they have a lot of legs and enthusiasm.
"Thankfully for us, we managed to use the quality we've got to keep the ball off them for long spells.
"At Celtic Park, we've got to be confident, and generally we are. Even through the periods where the results weren't going, that's why I say regardless of dropping points, the performance of the team was very high."

Aberdeen manager Mark McGhee:

"The only complaint I have with Jerel Ifil. Of all the red cards we've had, it's the first I felt was warranted.
"It was stupid, reckless and unnecessary.
"It cost us a chance of getting back into the game. It gave us no chance.
"He could lose his place in the team. It really was stupid.
"We didn't exactly have a mountain to climb, but we were having a difficult time – but after the sending off, we had no chance."

Celtic turning on the style; After their recent troubles, Mowbray's side finally hit top form, as Phil Gordon discovers

07 December 2009

Provided by: The Times

Celtic 3
McDonald 39, Samaras 52, 76
Aberdeen 0
Referee M Tumilty. Attendance 56,010
Aberdeen came to Glasgow on Saturday hoping to turn back the clock. They did, but not to the era they intended. Instead, time became the enemy of Mark McGhee and his team, with digital displays on Celtic Park's giant screens acting as their instruments of torture.
The last time Aberdeen had beaten Rangers and Celtic in consecutive weekends was 30 seasons ago as Sir Alex Ferguson led them to the title. McGhee played alongside Steve Archibald, who scored the winner at Celtic in the winter of 1979 as Aberdeen announced the shift in power in Scottish football.
After defeating Rangers a week earlier at Pittodrie, McGhee must have harboured hopes that the other half of the Old Firm could be overcome. However, the Aberdeen manager was stripped of that optimism by a vibrant Celtic performance that also seemed like a throwback to the past.
There was a hunger in Celtic's play that echoed the Martin O'Neill days when five and six goals a game were regular returns for the audience in the east end of Glasgow— and Aberdeen were usually on the receiving end. McGhee is clearly no Ebbe Skovdahl — his victory over Rangers proves that — but even he confessed to a feeling of insignificance as Tony Mowbray's team swept his aside.
"At the end, I was looking at the clock and wanting the game to finish," McGhee said. "It could have been four or five and it felt like four or five." Eight would have been a true reflection.
Jamie Langfield produced five topclass saves in a second-half siege and when the Aberdeen goalkeeper was beaten, the post came to his aid to deny Landry N'Guemo's solo run and then Ricky Foster conjured up a goalline clearance to keep out Niall McGinn's clever chip.
At the core of it all was Aiden McGeady. The winger tore Aberdeen to shreds with every run and created both second-half goals for Georgios Samaras, the latter coming from an audacious 30-yard pass over the visitors' defence, which was deprived of Jerel Ifil by that stage, after the centre-back was dismissed for a violent kick at Samaras.
Foster, who was Aberdeen's best outfield player, began the day at right-back, switched to the left to confront McGeady and ended it firefighting in Ifil's position. "It was hard enough with 11 players," the captain said. "When the red card came out, I looked up at the clock and it was 62 minutes. I knew we were in for a long half-hour. Celtic were already into their stride and it was even tougher for us with ten men."
Foster's pace saw him given a central marking role a week earlier at Pittodrie when he helped to frustrate Kris Boyd and Kenny Miller. The Aberdeen captain's close scrutiny of the Old Firm's title credentials left just one verdict. "I would say Celtic are favourites," he said. "They are the best team we've played this season."
The movement of Mowbray's players was central to the way Celtic played, especially the two full-backs, Andreas Hinkel and Danny Fox. In the first half, Mowbray habitually yelled at Hinkel if the right-back set foot in his own half and that demanding streak yielded a reward in the 40th minute when the Germany player was so advanced he was able to gather a diagonal pass from Marc Crosas and whip over a low cross that was swept into the net by the boot of Scott McDonald.
It was a moment when Mowbray's vision of the brand of football he wants from Celtic and the reality fell into perfect harmony. The Celtic manager, who is fed up with the sniping he has received from sections of the media, might have been entitled to fashion a response of "I told you so", but instead he stepped back from hyperbole.
"There have been times when the results have not gone for us but I have sat and talked about the performance of the team and the chances we create," Mowbray said. "You need to take chances and today we scored three but you are never totally satisfied as a coach."
Foster later defended his team from charges of ill-discipline after Ifil's red card saw him become the club's fifth player to be sent off in five weeks.
That escalating crime count could signal a fine from the SFA, whose mood towards Aberdeen is already coloured by criticism on the club's website this season towards referees, and a subsequent attack by Willie Miller, the director of football, on the standard of officials.
Foster does not believe that the flurry of red cards for McGhee's side is in response to Miller's comments and McGhee did not dispute Ifil's punishment, branding the defender's straight red card for kicking out at Samaras as "reckless and stupid".
"I do not think we have a disciplinary problem," Foster said. "The boys in our dressing room are not overly aggressive or lashing out. Jerel is not prone to doing something like that but it does look that way, I suppose, with five red cards in recent games. I am sure the manager will look at it himself and talk to us about it. We maybe need to cool things a little bit.
"I do not think the referees have paid any attention to what was said by the club or Willie Miller. They come into each game with a clean slate. I do not think they are holding grudges. Some of our cards might be soft but some are correct under the laws. Jerel says he didn't mean much by it but if he raised his feet, then the referee is entitled to send him off." Celtic ratings Aberdeen ratings 5-4-1 J Langfield 8 R Foster 0 7 J Ifil 0 4 A Considine 4 C Mulgrew 0 5 M Ross 4 P Pawlett 4 D Young 0 4 G McDonald 5 M Paton 4 L Miller 4 Substitutes F Fyvie 4 (for Young, 53min), C Maguire 4 (for Paton, 60), D Grassi (for Fyvie, 90). 4-4-2 A Boruc 6 A Hinkel 8 G Caldwell 7 G Loovens 7 D Fox 8 A McGeady 9 M Crosas 8 L N'Guemo 8 B Robson 8 G Samaras 8 S McDonald 8 Substitutes M-A Fortuné 4 (for McDonald, 67min), N McGinn (for McGeady, 79), Z Zeng (for Samaras, 79). Not used L Zaluska, S McManus, G Carey, P Caddis. Not used S Nelson, D Mackie, T Wright, S Duff.
(c) 2009 Times Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved
The Times

  • Final Result
  • Full Time
  • 90:00+2:23 The referee signals the end of the game.
  • 90:00+1:40 Substitution Davide Grassi on for Fraser Fyvie.
  • 90:00+1:23 Effort on goal by Niall McGinn from just outside the penalty area goes harmlessly over the target.
  • 90:00+0:35 Andreas Hinkel produces a right-footed shot from the edge of the box and misses to the right of the target.
  • 86:15 Zheng Zhi has an effort at goal from outside the box which goes wide left of the goal.
  • 84:55 Christopher Maguire gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Niall McGinn. Free kick crossed left-footed by Barry Robson, clearance made by Maurice Ross.
  • 83:45 Shot by Niall McGinn from inside the box bounces off the post.
  • 82:06 Lee Miller fouled by Gary Caldwell, the ref awards a free kick. Charlie Mulgrew restarts play with the free kick.
  • 80:28 Inswinging corner taken by Marc Crosas.
  • 79:39 Corner taken by Marc Crosas from the left by-line to the near post, Effort on goal by Marc Crosas from 12 yards.
  • 78:45 Substitution Aiden McGeady leaves the field to be replaced by Niall McGinn.
  • 78:32 Substitution Zheng Zhi joins the action as a substitute, replacing Georgios Samaras.
  • 78:18 Shot by Georgios Samaras from deep inside the penalty area misses wide to the left of the target.
  • 77:58 Effort from deep inside the penalty box by Landry N'Guemo hits the post.
  • 77:29 A cross is delivered by Andreas Hinkel, Barry Robson takes a shot. Jamie Langfield makes a brilliant save.
  • 76:39 Barry Robson crosses the ball from the free kick left-footed from left wing.
  • 76:39 Booking Richard Foster receives a yellow card for unsporting behaviour.
  • 76:25 Unfair challenge on Georgios Samaras by Richard Foster results in a free kick.
  • 75:10 Assist by Aiden McGeady.
  • 75:10 GOAL – Georgios Samaras:Celtic 3 – 0 Aberdeen Georgios Samaras grabs a goal from close in to the bottom right corner of the goal. Celtic 3-0 Aberdeen.
  • 74:22 Marc Crosas takes a shot. Save made by Jamie Langfield.
  • 73:18 Peter Pawlett fouled by Marc Crosas, the ref awards a free kick. Charlie Mulgrew restarts play with the free kick.
  • 69:50 Corner taken by Barry Robson played to the near post, Gary Caldwell takes a shot. Charlie Mulgrew gets a block in.
  • 69:35 Lee Miller concedes a free kick for a foul on Landry N'Guemo. Free kick taken by Gary Caldwell.
  • 67:12 Substitution (Celtic) makes a substitution, with Marc-Antoine Fortune coming on for Scott McDonald.
  • 67:00 Effort from outside the box by Aiden McGeady goes wide right of the target.
  • 65:37 Landry N'Guemo gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Christopher Maguire. Direct free kick taken by Maurice Ross.
  • 63:32 Aiden McGeady takes a fantastic shot. Jamie Langfield makes a brilliant save.
  • 63:03 Gary Caldwell fouled by Lee Miller, the ref awards a free kick. Gary Caldwell restarts play with the free kick.
  • 62:04 Christopher Maguire gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Barry Robson. Barry Robson delivers the ball, Headed effort from inside the box by Glenn Loovens misses to the right of the target.
  • 60:46 Substitution Michael Paton leaves the field to be replaced by Christopher Maguire.
  • 60:36 Close range header by Georgios Samaras misses to the right of the goal.
  • 59:53 Inswinging corner taken by Barry Robson.
  • 58:09 Marc Crosas produces a right-footed shot from just outside the box that misses to the right of the goal.
  • 57:43 Corner taken short by Barry Robson.
  • 57:25 Shot by Georgios Samaras from 20 yards. Fantastic save by Jamie Langfield.
  • 55:00 Free kick taken by Jamie Langfield.
  • 55:00 Sent off The referee red cards Jerel Ifil for violent conduct.
  • 54:15 Georgios Samaras concedes a free kick for a foul on Jerel Ifil.
  • 53:03 Substitution Derek Young leaves the field to be replaced by Fraser Fyvie.
  • 51:21 The assist for the goal came from Aiden McGeady.
  • 51:21 GOAL – Georgios Samaras:Celtic 2 – 0 Aberdeen Georgios Samaras scores a headed goal from close range. Celtic 2-0 Aberdeen.
  • 50:37 Peter Pawlett challenges Barry Robson unfairly and gives away a free kick. The ball is sent over by Barry Robson, Gary Caldwell takes a shot. Gary McDonald manages to make a clearance.
  • 50:01 Gary Caldwell restarts play with the free kick.
  • 50:01 Booking Booking for Derek Young for unsporting behaviour.
  • 49:51 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Aiden McGeady by Derek Young.
  • 47:49 Foul by Gary Caldwell on Lee Miller, free kick awarded. Charlie Mulgrew restarts play with the free kick.
  • 45:22 Jerel Ifil concedes a free kick for a foul on Georgios Samaras. Daniel Fox takes the free kick.
  • 45:01 The referee blows his whistle to start the second half.
  • Half Time
  • 45:00+1:02 The whistle is blown to end the first half.
  • 44:30 Marc Crosas takes a shot from a long way out which goes wide of the right-hand post.
  • 44:02 Barry Robson crosses the ball in from the free kick, save by Jamie Langfield.
  • 44:02 Booking The referee shows Charlie Mulgrew a yellow card for unsporting behaviour.
  • 43:41 Free kick awarded for a foul by Charlie Mulgrew on Aiden McGeady.
  • 39:47 Inswinging corner taken by Barry Robson from the right by-line, Headed effort from close range by Scott McDonald goes wide left of the goal.
  • 38:30 Assist on the goal came from Andreas Hinkel.
  • 38:30 GOAL – Scott McDonald:Celtic 1 – 0 Aberdeen Scott McDonald scores a goal from close range to the top left corner of the goal. Celtic 1-0 Aberdeen.
  • 38:10 Effort from 20 yards by Scott McDonald. Brilliant save by Jamie Langfield.
  • 36:11 Lee Miller gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Glenn Loovens. Artur Boruc takes the free kick.
  • 35:30 Aiden McGeady challenges Charlie Mulgrew unfairly and gives away a free kick. Charlie Mulgrew restarts play with the free kick.
  • 34:32 Scott McDonald takes a shot. Blocked by Andrew Considine.
  • 33:31 Barry Robson fouled by Peter Pawlett, the ref awards a free kick. Barry Robson restarts play with the free kick.
  • 28:42 Lee Miller produces a right-footed shot from outside the penalty box and misses left.
  • 28:04 Scott McDonald has an effort at goal from just inside the box that misses to the left of the goal.
  • 27:33 Richard Foster fouled by Daniel Fox, the ref awards a free kick. Maurice Ross restarts play with the free kick.
  • 25:47 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Scott McDonald by Jerel Ifil. Free kick crossed by Daniel Fox, clearance by Andrew Considine.
  • 23:14 Inswinging corner taken by Marc Crosas from the left by-line played to the near post, clearance made by Michael Paton.
  • 18:22 Effort from the edge of the penalty box by Aiden McGeady goes wide of the right-hand upright.
  • 17:56 Scott McDonald handles the ball and concedes a free kick. Free kick taken by Maurice Ross.
  • 17:32 Short corner worked by Peter Pawlett.
  • 17:12 Richard Foster takes a shot. Landry N'Guemo gets a block in.
  • 15:27 Daniel Fox takes a shot. Save made by Jamie Langfield.
  • 13:33 Charlie Mulgrew produces a right-footed shot from just outside the penalty box that goes wide left of the target.
  • 8:34 The offside flag is raised against Scott McDonald. Jamie Langfield takes the indirect free kick.
  • 5:23 Inswinging corner taken by Daniel Fox.
  • 0:00 The referee gets the game started.
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