If you were expecting to Aberdeen and Celtic to take some time to feel each other out on the pitch Friday night, you were sadly mistaken. A crazy opening 12 minutes saw four goals fly in as Celtic took down the Dons 3-1.
Earlier this week we wondered if Celtic’s goal of 100 points and an unbeaten domestic season would be in jeopardy. It took three minutes to get the answer — and it was a resounding NO.
Celtic were on the front foot straight away and earned a corner 90 seconds in to the match. A beautiful run by defender Dedryck Boyata was only equaled by Leigh Griffiths floating corner. Boyata was left open on the back door and slammed home the header for a 1-0 lead in the third minute.
Just five minutes later, Callum McGregor unleashed a low shot from outside the box that caught Aberdeen keeper Joe Lewis unable to gather it in. The rebound went right to a waiting Stuart Armstrong, who made quick work of it and a 2-0 lead in the 8th minute.
Celtic’s lead would triple just three minutes later as Griffiths fought off the Dons defense and unleashed a left-footed effort high. It caught Lewis off-guard and he couldn’t stop the shot.
However, the craziness of the fist 15 minutes wasn’t over. Celtic’s three-goal lead was cut to two as Jonny Hayes ripped a cracking effort across the box and left Craig Gordon with no hope in the 12th minute.
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Things settled down on the goal-scoring front for the rest of the first half, but the action was end-to-end between the top squads in Scottish football. Celtic had eight shots, six on target, in the half, while Aberdeen countered with seven total shots (three on target).
Aberdeen had much of the better possession to end the first half, and that continued through much of the second half. However, it didn’t amount to much, as Celtic buckled down defensively in the second 45 minutes of the match.
Celtic saw little of the attack, with Leigh Griffiths getting loose just once before coming off in the 71st minute for James Forrest. He let plenty of frustration go on the pitch, letting the ref have it after getting hit with the ball in the back of the head in a deliberate act that saw no punishment from the ref.
His slow walk and taking his shinguards out one at a time led to a retrospective yellow card as he reached the bench.
Celtic were able to hang on the rest of the way and secure their spot in the record books once again. Three point in the bag also meant hitting the 100-point mark and with two matches left in the SPFL season there’s a chance to hit a record 106 points.
Let the fun of breaking even more incredible club and Scottish records begin.