Celtic 2 - 1 Aberdeen: Mulgrew to rescue once more as captain secures a vital win

FOR the first time in four weeks and five attempts, Celtic enjoyed the taste of victory yesterday but only after flirting dangerously with further damage to their pursuit of the SPL title.

They required captain Charlie Mulgrew to prevent the gap between themselves and champions Rangers being extended, the defender netting a winner with 18 minutes remaining after Ryan Jack’s dramatic solo effort had seen Aberdeen cancel out the interval lead Ki Sung Yueng had provided for Celtic.

For the second successive weekend, Mulgrew was Celtic’s saviour, having grabbed the equaliser in the 3-3 draw at Kilmarnock the previous Saturday. For manager Neil Lennon, fortified by his team’s midweek Europa League draw in France, this win over Aberdeen was simply imperative, irrespective of how it was achieved.

Much of it was scrambled and jittery but the level of tension in the closing stages was eased for Lennon’s men by the dismissal of Jack – already booked for excessively celebrating his goal – ten minutes from time when he collected a second yellow card for a foul on Gary Hooper.

Celtic remain ten points adrift of leaders Rangers, with a game in hand, and still find themselves third in the table behind Motherwell. They will hope a return to winning ways can finally provide the momentum they need to re-ignite their championship challenge.

Defensive frailty continues to dog them, however, and reared its head again yesterday with their sloppy work in failing to prevent Jack’s goal which was the 12th they have conceded in their last eight matches.

Aberdeen must have regarded it as almost an achievement in itself to reach half-time trailing by just a solitary goal and with a full complement of players, given the trauma they suffered in the corresponding fixture last season. On that occasion, they were reduced to ten men midway through the first half, were 4-0 adrift at the interval and on their way to a club record 9-0 defeat.

There was a far more robust and resilient look to the visitors yesterday, although they would still feel a degree of frustration at the manner in which they fell behind to Ki’s 17th-minute strike. It was a superbly-crafted goal from Celtic’s viewpoint, the most cohesive passage of play produced by either side in a generally tepid first half. Anthony Stokes, Beram Kayal and Hooper were all involved in an intricate passing move on the edge of the Aberdeen penalty area, the ball eventually threaded into the path of Ki. The South Korean’s low left-foot shot from around 14 yards was firmly struck, but Aberdeen goalkeeper David Gonzalez looked at fault as the ball squirmed under his body.

Celtic enjoyed territorial dominance for most of the opening period without posing any other significant problems for Gonzalez. The Colombian comfortably held a low shot from James Forrest who operated in an advanced central midfield role in support of strike duo Stokes and Hooper.

The return from injury of Hooper, at the expense of Cha Du Ri, was the only change to the Celtic starting line-up which earned a 1-1 draw in Rennes on Thursday night. But no sooner had Lennon declared that Mulgrew and Glenn Loovens were his first choice central defensive pairing than he was forced to change it again. Immediately after Celtic went in front, Loovens limped off injured and Daniel Majstorovic received an early reprieve from his relegation to the bench.

It did not take long for the big Swede to cause a few flutters for the home support. He clumsily conceded a free kick in a dangerous position with a foul from behind on Rory Fallon. When Rob Milsom floated the ball into the area, Majstorovic found himself on the wrong side of Scott Vernon. The striker appeared to be nudged in the back by Majstorovic before going down, but his vociferous appeal for a penalty left referee Stevie O’Reilly unmoved.

Ki squandered a good opportunity to double Celtic’s lead four minutes into the second half, blazing over from about 12 yards after being picked out by Adam Matthews’ cross from the right.

Aberdeen, ambitious enough to play with two strikers in Vernon and Fallon, sensed the possibility to take something from the contest. Playing with confidence after back to back victories coming into this match, Craig Brown’s men drew level in the 59th minute. It was a memorable moment for Jack, the Scotland under-21 international full-back waltzing his way beyond Joe Ledley, Victor Wanyama and Kayal into the penalty area before planting a low left foot shot from 14 yards beyond the static Fraser Forster.

Celtic responded briskly, Matthews forcing a decent save from Gonzalez with a long-range effort. Lennon introduced Paddy McCourt for Wanyama, whose ball retention had been poor, just before Celtic regained the lead.

Ki slung over a free-kick from the left which Majstorovic rose to head down towards the six yard box. It appeared harmless enough until the ball struck Youl Mawene, rebounding from Aberdeen’s French defender and into the path of Mulgrew who thrashed a right foot shot high into the net from close range.

Aberdeen’s hopes of rescuing a point effectively vanished along with Jack when the youngster made his way up the tunnel, earning his second booking with a rash and unnecessary foul on Hooper near the touchline.

There were still a couple of heart–in–the–mouth moments for Celtic in stoppage time, as their defence made hard work of dealing with Aberdeen set pieces, and the final whistle was greeted with more relief than delight.