| Match Pictures | Matches: 2006 – 2007 | 2006-2007 Pictures |
Trivia
- Thomas Gravesen made his debut.
Teams
Aberdeen:-
Langfield, Hart (Daal 84), Diamond, Anderson, Clark, Nicholson, Severin, Dempsey (Daniel Smith 62), Foster, Miller (Maguire 75), Mackie.
Subs not used:- Soutar, Winter, Considine, Donald.
Booked:- Diamond, Daal.
Celtic:-
Boruc, Wilson, Caldwell, McManus, Naylor, Nakamura, Lennon, Gravesen, McGeady, Zurawski (Miller 57), Vennegoor of Hesselink (Pearson 90).
Subs not used:- Marshall, Riordan, Sno, Jarosik, Cuthbert.
Booked:- McGeady, Gravesen, Naylor.
Goals:- Vennegoor of Hesselink 79.
Att:- 15,304
Ref:- M McCurry.
KStreet
Pictures
Match Report
Aberdeen 0 / Celtic 1
Michael Grant at Pittodrie
Sunday Herald
JAN Vennegoor of Hesselink is quite a handle to crowbar into the newspaper headlines every week, yet he seems to have a knack for managing it.
Pittodrie was invaded by a contingent of Danish journalists who had crossed the north Atlantic to cover the Celtic debut of their countryman, Thomas Gravesen, and the native media was equally geared up for how the former Real Madrid man would take to the SPL. But Gravesen’s satisfying, unremarkable debut was being submerged amid the mediocrity of an underwhelming overall Celtic display until Vennegoor of Hesselink hauled some of the attention back on to himself by bundling home the only goal 12 minutes from time.
That gave Celtic their first away win in the league this season – and inflicted upon Aberdeen their first defeat at Pittodrie since December. Now the champions face a more celebrated set of reds, Manchester United, at Old Trafford on Wednesday. After alluding to the rustiness of his side’s performance Gordon Strachan was asked whether he would have preferred to work with his evolving team for a little longer before the cauldron of Old Trafford. His response was wry: “I wouldn’t mind the game being put back a few months, to be honest. It would have been nice to have more time to put some points across to the players.”
Celtic extended their excellent record at Pittodrie but United’s scouts would not have felt jumpy. Strachan’s side laboured to break down Aberdeen’s stuffy tactics, had several players off colour and seemed surprisingly jittery when the home side ran at them like a herd of buffalos at the end. “If there was one place in the SPL we didn’t want to come today it was here,” said Strachan. “Aberdeen were unbeaten in the league and trying to come back from a shock result at Queen’s Park. Fair play to my players for digging out a result.”
In the away section there was a banner in Danish for Gravesen – “Velkommen Celtic, Tommy” – and he captivated the 4000 travelling supporters as they got themselves accustomed to his size, presence and influence. Gravesen was the central midfield partner for Neil Lennon but operated several yards in front of the captain, roaming in the final third and clearly eager to impose himself by closing down and harassing Aberdeen players.
“Aberdeen made it very, very difficult for us,” he said later, having clearly enjoyed the competitiveness. “What a fantastic reception we all got from our fans. I was just pleased the fans liked what they saw. The game over here has not changed since I left England. That is what it is all about here and in England: the game, the challenges, the fans. I like the style here.”
The first of his SPL bookings, though surely not the last, came 64 minutes into his debut for leading with his elbow in a challenge on Chris Clark. Only a couple of outstanding saving tackles denied him the drama of a debut goal or two. Both were delivered by Russell Anderson, the first denying Gravesen as he burst through on the right of the Aberdeen penalty area in the opening minutes; the second a flawless sliding tackle which stopped him in his tracks after he was put through by an Aiden McGeady pass.
Aberdeen have lost by five, six and even seven to Celtic in recent years and it was a sign of their gradual recovery from those dark days that they were confident enough to invite the champions to attack them virtually from the first minute to the last. Their manager, Jimmy Calderwood, claimed later that he had not instructed the side to play so negatively but that sounded like he was trying to have his cake and eat it.
Aberdeen tormented themselves with the thought that if they had attacked like they did after falling behind they might have won, but that seemed simplistic. They offered next to nothing in attack – Lee Miller could be forgiven for an anonymous debut given the lack of supply – but may have been picked off far earlier had they given Celtic’s forwards more room to play from the start.
Instead, Zander Diamond, Scott Severin and particularly Anderson formed a defensive spine Celtic were unable to penetrate. At times it was hairy for the home support to tolerate, as Celtic controlled huge spells of possession and Aberdeen simply sat back, but neither Maciej Zurawski or Vennegoor of Hesselink were able to impose themselves on the play, although the latter had a header cleared off the line by Miller. Gravesen snapped in an angled drive which brought Jamie Langfield’s only notable save of the day before the late breakthrough.
Kenny Miller had to settle for a place on the substitutes’ bench despite ending his long goal drought against the Faroe Islands and Lithuania. “I said to our strikers that none of them had grasped the nettle and made it impossible for me to leave them out,” said Strachan. But he made it on early in the second half and while he has still to score a club goal since April, it was his willingness to run at the Aberdeen defence which resulted in Celtic’s goal.
Miller dragged defenders to the touchline and his lay-off found Vennegoor of Hesselink in space to strike a low shot from the edge of the area which took a deflection off Michael Hart and trundled past a wrong-footed Langfield. The goalscorer has a knee-knock but is not likely to miss the game at Old Trafford. Only at the death did Artur Boruc have more to do than glance at the “Blessing Yourself is not a Crime” banner among the Celtic support, a reference to his recent brush with the law for a range of gestures at an Old Firm game.
Aberdeen sounded the bugles – Calderwood’s phrase – in an attempt to snatch an equaliser and had Celtic scrambling when Anderson’s header struck the crossbar and had to be lashed clear. At full-time, the Celtic fans singing a taunt about Manchester United were a lot brasher than their team had been.