GETTING THEIR HIGH IN EARLY
Celtic hammer Dons with 11-minute salvo to lay down marker for Scottish Cup final
FOOT firmly on the accelerator, Celtic are speeding towards the finish line. The historic prizes at the end of this road loom ever clearer into view.
They simply refuse to slow down or veer off course on a turbulent evening such as this. Brendan Rodgers has plotted the route. His players clearly still have fuel to burn.
After 11 quite remarkable minutes here, Aberdeen were left choking on their dust. Goals from Dedryck Boyata, Stuart Armstrong and Leigh Griffiths flashed into the home net at a manic rate.
In little more time than it takes to hard-boil an egg, game No 44 of an unbeaten domestic season had effectively been secured. The already slender odds on a Treble being completed were further trimmed.
Aberdeen could yet test Celtic in the Scottish Cup final in a fortnight’s time. The defiant, skilful response they delivered to that horrendous opening was certainly not one of lambs to the slaughter. Witness the positive response of the home crowd come full-time.
But the facts are blunt. This was the fifth time these clubs have met this season — and a fifth win for the Parkhead club. The aggregate scoreline stands at 12-2. Every available indicator points towards Rodgers becoming only the third Celtic manager to complete a clean sweep of Scotland’s trophies.
His side have two games to clear before then to attain the tag of Premiership Invincibles, the first of the modern area. For Derek McInnes, the interlude prior to Hampden provides valuable thinking time.
A repeat of their start here and Aberdeen would be as well staying on the team bus. They can, however, grasp some encouragement from how things unfolded thereafter.
Jonny Hayes produced a sublime strike to quickly trim the deficit. Other chances were not taken amid sustained spells of attacking.
They dominated possession and territory. And they also had a grievance to nurse. A second-half penalty claim — for Craig Gordon taking out Graeme Shinnie — was ignored by referee Steven McLean. These are all points to which they can cling.
Ultimately, though, it was Celtic’s evening. Again. Scoring 12 goals in three post-split fixtures tells a tale of its own.
With Ryan Christie ineligible against his parent club and Ryan Jack and Peter Pawlett injured, the limited options available to McInnes were clear.
As expected, Dean Campbell, a 16-year-old schoolboy from Hazlehead Academy, was named among the substitutes. Three more teenagers — Scott Wright, Frank Ross and Seb Ross — sat beside him on the bench.
Celtic’s squad depth is in a different league. Being shorn of the suspended Scott Brown and injured Moussa Dembele could be absorbed without calling upon academy players.
As it was, Rodgers named his strongest available side. The fulsome respect expressed for McInnes pre-match was backed up by the decision not to run the risk of resting any key performers.
The merits of that call were made extraordinarily clear extraordinarily quickly. In a feeding frenzy to match anything witnessed this season, Celtic blitzed their hosts with three goals in the opening 11 minutes.
Even then, that was only part of the story of an utterly compelling first half. Caution wasn’t so much thrown to the wind as blown out of a cannon.
It all began with Armstrong supplying Callum McGregor to feed a lovely weight of pass for Patrick Roberts. The winger was crowded out but the resulting corner supplied the third-minute opener.
Griffiths whipped it deep to the back post, where clever movement enabled Boyata to escape any hint of a marker. His downward header from close range thudded into the turf before beating Joe Lewis.
Remarkably, Celtic’s advantage was doubled just five minutes later. McInnes looked on aghast. Again, Griffiths was a key contributor with a smart pirouette and run that foxed Mark Reynolds and took him towards the penalty area.
Ash Taylor’s outstretched boot prevented his cross reaching Tom Rogic, but it broke back for McGregor. The midfielder drove in hard and low, with Shay Logan blocking right in front of Lewis. Whether or not that denied the goalkeeper a chance to smother the ball became more pertinent when Armstrong lashed home the rebound. Celtic were rampant.
For the Dons fans who had braved the dreich conditions on an unseasonably cold May evening, it was shaping up to be an utterly miserable experience.
That feeling only intensified when Lewis was then unable to keep out a Griffiths drive from 20 yards. Whatever had been anticipated, it wasn’t this — a game seemingly done and dusted in its infancy.
If nothing else, Aberdeen had to refuse to let that narrative unfold without resistance. They silenced the ringing in their ears, reclaimed some composure and delivered a counter-punch after 13 minutes.
The goal came from their outstanding performer in the opening period. Hayes opened his body to curl a magnificent finish beyond Gordon. In that instant, spirits were lifted, hope renewed.
They very nearly had another moments later. When Logan arced in a cross from the right, both Gordon and Jozo Simunovic thought the other would assume control. Neither did and Jayden Stockley nipped into the gap. His header should have punished the outbreak of defensive hesitancy but it crept wide.
As the tempo dropped from hurricane to gale force, the phenomenal chance-rate faded with it. But neither penalty box was about to become a zone of tranquillity.
For Celtic, Rogic saw an angled drive saved before Scott Sinclair hared towards goal. But Hayes made an expertly timed tackle.
At the opposite end, Kenny McLean’s thwarted strike spun favourably towards Niall McGinn. Gordon had to act smartly to push over the winger’s shot. McLean’s half-time whistle finally stilled the storm.
Inevitably, it didn’t attain the same intensity after the break, but there were still sporadic gusts.
Four minutes into the second period, Shinnie was first to a lofted ball as Gordon advanced. The Dons midfielder got a touch on the ball before he was sent tumbling. McInnes bolted from his technical area to claim a penalty, but it was not forthcoming.
McLean then blazed a fine chance over the top before McGinn came somewhat closer. But the second goal wouldn’t come. Celtic had steered their way through the pressure. They motor on.