EDOUARD’S AS COOL AS ICE
But Cosgrove fails Dons with his hot-headed act after goal
ICE triumphed over fire as the composure of Odsonne Edouard settled a game which drifted from Aberdeen’s reach the moment Sam Cosgrove lost his head.
Although Edouard’s calm finish had already fired Celtic into their 2-1 lead, there were still 20 minutes of the game remaining when his opposite number Cosgrove charged after Kristoffer Ajer and launched into a challenge that cleaned out the ball and sent the defender skyward as he tried to avoid impact.
The moment was redolent of the rash lunge enacted by Hibernian’s Ryan Porteous in the Friday night game against Rangers and the outcome was the same, referee Euan Anderson reaching into his pocket to show the red card.
It was an inglorious end to the day for a player who had earlier hauled his team back into contention after the concession of Christopher Jullien’s opener.
Cosgrove’s fine header, his 20th goal of the season, showcased why he remains one of the most potent strikers in the country. Ultimately, Edouard remains a cut above, as his latest match-winning contribution preserved Celtic’s five-point lead at the top of the Premiership table.
Yet, for an hour of this match, it seemed the Frenchman was destined not to find the net. Perhaps a half-time pep talk from his compatriot Jullien helped prepare him for the game’s big moment.
Jullien explained: ‘I said to him: “Don’t worry, man, you’re going to score”.
‘We know that he is a threat and he is calm. If he keeps having chances, a goal is going to come. I told him at the end that he should have had five or six but he knows his strengths and we really trust in him.
‘He is just Odsonne. He is like this in real life and on the field. He is one of the best strikers I have played with in the final 10 metres. To finish like that with the left foot after all the chances he had missed, to keep that strength of mind and say he is going to score. He is just good for us.’
Although Edouard remains the jewel in Celtic’s crown, others such as Jullien and Ryan Christie have treated manager Neil Lennon to big goals this season.
Before the opener, the pair combined as Jullien deflected a corner onto the goal frame with his shoulder.
That warning wasn’t heeded by the Aberdeen defence as the Frenchman turned another Christie set-piece towards goal.
This finish was just as unconventional, a mis-hit left-foot volley sending the ball into the ground from where it kicked up high and away to Joe Lewis’s left. The Dons captain has a long reach but he couldn’t adjust his feet in time to make the necessary leap and the ball glided into the corner.
The game then entered a period of sustained pressure and invention from Celtic, with the quick feet of Edouard at the heart of most of the good play.
Yet when the chances to shoot arrived, he was not quite at his sharpest. Lewis saved well from his first effort, Edouard saw another attempt deflected and then had the ball nipped away from his toes by Shay Logan as he prepared to shoot.
Aberdeen’s equaliser arrived as Niall McGinn crossed from the right and his hanging, back-post ball was matched by the leap of Cosgrove.
If not quite in the class of Cristiano Ronaldo’s midweek header for Juventus against Sampdoria, Cosgrove’s ability to stay high and plant the ball beyond Fraser Forster was still an impressive sight.
Celtic upped the tempo in response but they became distracted through a growing grievance towards Anderson, who first booked Christie for throwing himself to the ground and then refused an Edouard claim for a penalty. Both decisions looked sound.
The hosts’ efforts to conjure the perfect goal continued after the break with James Forrest wasteful as he side-footed straight at Lewis before hacking another shot wide.
Eventually the call went out to Mikey Johnston, who replaced Olivier Ntcham.
With Ntcham off, Lennon could move Christie and Forrest to their natural roles and the outlook brightened.
Johnston and Christie drew saves from Lewis before the breakthrough arrived.
Ajer parted the red wall with a surging run from the back and Christie was there to accept the ball and find Edouard with a swift dispatch. Finally, the 21-year-old found one of his cool, trademark finishes, sliding the ball inside Lewis’s left-hand post.
‘It’s a lovely weighted pass from Christie and touch from Edouard — sometimes that quality can do you,’ said Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes. ‘We applaud the finish and Edouard’s a special player.’
Aberdeen’s chances vaporised at the end of their best move of the second half. The counter-attack started when a Lewis Ferguson pass sent Jon Gallagher haring in behind Ajer. As the substitute raised his head to try to pick out Cosgrove at the back post, the Norwegian defender slid in.
The tackle had to be inch perfect and it was. As Ajer galloped towards the goal line to retrieve, a clearly frustrated Cosgrove came steaming towards him, clearing out ball and man.
Anderson adjudged the lunge to have endangered the defender and produced the red card. As Celtic captain Scott Brown ushered Cosgrove down the touchline, suddenly it was the visitors who felt wronged by the referee.