| Match Pictures | Matches: 1996 – 1997 | 1996-1997 Pictures |
Trivia
- Boxing Day match kicking off at 19:45
- Andy Thom was injured, McNamara and Van Hooijdonk had recovered from injuries and Di Canio was back from suspension.
- Andy Ritchie was away scouting Eoin Jess at Coventry with Coventry boss Gordon Strachan willing to let him go.
- Di Canio scores the famous goal and auctioned his golden boots for charity
Review
Asked to start fighting for wins the team responded with spirit and determination after going a goal behind.
Teams
Aberdeen: Walker, Kiriakov, Tzvetanov, Rowson, Irvine, Kombouare, Miller, Dodds (Booth, 81), Bernard (Shearer, 87), Windass, Glass (Young, 75).
Scorers: Dodds (14)
Celtic: Kerr, Boyd, McKinlay, McNamara, Stubbs, Grant, di Canio, O'Donnell, Donnelly (Hay, 89), Wieghorst, Cadete,
Non-Used Subs: O'Neil, Van Hooijdonk
Scorers: Cadete (41), Di Canio (82)
Bookings: Windass (Aberdeen)
Referee: W Young (Clarkston)
Attendance: 19,000
Articles
- Match Report(see below)
Pictures
Stats
| Aberdeen | Celtic | |
| Bookings | 1 | 0 |
| Fouls | 13 | 19 |
| Shots on Target | 4 | 10 |
| Corners | 5 | 15 |
| Offside | 5 | 7 |
Match Reports
Di Canio strikes gold
The Scotsman 27/12/1996
Aberdeen 1 Dodds (14)
Celtic 2 Cadete (40), di Canio (83)
Celtic's championship aspirations, which seemed to be receding into the distance, were salvaged by Paolo di Canio at Pittodrie last night.
A gap of 14 points still separates one half of the Old Firm from the other in the Premier Division. It remains an imposing distance but is one psychologically shortened by the fact that Celtic have three games in hand.
The Parkhead side may have failed to show the same level of conviction Rangers had demonstrated while beating Aberdeen convincingly at Pittodrie on the first day of December, but there was no questioning their spirit. There was enough determination to level the goal which gave Aberdeen an early lead, and enough flair to produce a breathtaking winner courtesy of the mercurial Italian.
There were only seven minutes left when a long free kick from Tosh McKinlay found an errant Aberdeen defence posted missing. Di Canio took control of the ball, flicked it over the head of Nicky Walker, the advancing goalkeeper, and delicately touched it over the line.
It was an uplifting end to what had, at one stage, threatened to be an unrewarding night for Celtic. Aberdeen had taken the lead in the 14th minute with a simple goal from Billy Dodds. A corner kick delivered by Stephen Glass saw the forward take a couple of steps away from his marker and beat Stuart Kerr in the Celtic goal with a well-executed header.
The strain on Tommy Burns' side, which had been increased by Rangers' win earlier in the day, was therefore intensified on the night when the manager was deprived of Andreas Thom, because of a back injury. Pierre van Hooijdonk was left on the substitutes' bench.
It could have been an even more oppressive atmosphere for Celtic if Dodds had not squandered a reasonable opportunity midway through the first half. Dodds was once again left unattended when Dean Windass swept a pass across the penalty area but the forward's finish was hurried and went past the post.
Celtic's response was, up until the 40th minute, unconvincing. The side's brightest feature was di Canio's choice of footwear. The Italian wore gold boots but his first-half performance tended to be leaden footed. When the first audible chant for Van Hooijdonk to be introduced was heard seven minutes before the interval, it seemed to be a sign of justifiable concern. The supporters' cries died on their lips two minutes later, however, when Jorge Cadete equalised.
Morten Wieghorst's cross seemed to be under control but the Portuguese striker darted in front of Aberdeen's defence to direct a powerful header home.
Celtic, through di Canio, had the last say but the victory will come at a cost. Jackie McNamara, Alan Stubbs and Tom Boyd played for most of last night's game while suffering from hamstring injuries.
"I have to praise the players for the performance they gave at a time when confidence had been low," Burns said. "It was a big result for this club." The manager also confirmed that an approach had been made for Hibs' Darren Jackson. "We were given no encouragement, though, and that is the end of the matter," he said.
- Manager Interview
Tommy Burns, Pre-Match:
"We have to get away from the theory that it is Celtic who always have to play the pretty football – and the players are beginning to realise that.
"We are working harder than ever to get results and that's the way it has to be."
Burns admits he might leave out Andy Thom tonight if he's not fully recovered from a back injury.
He said: "We've got another big game against Dunfermline on Saturday, then the Old Firm game next Thursday, so if Andreas isn't fit, we'll keep him back."
On Van Hooijdonk:
"The Celtic supporters will make up their own minds about Pierre. They can't be kidded – they see through things and understand the game.
"But I would hope that when Pierre is playing for us they'd support him – he's still a Celtic player."
"He's trained the past two days, doing a lot of running, and I've no doubts about him being ready for Thursday.
"Once he's out on the pitch he'll give of his best for the club. He's certainly done that this season when he's played."
"I've spoken to Pierre two or three times in the past and he knows my thoughts on it.
"One thing I didn’t want this season was obstacles like this being put in our way.
"We've had no offers for him and I think this could have been all sorted out at the end of the season. Instead it has disillusioned our supporters and left them feeling disenchanted.
"Our loyalty should be 100 per cent directed towards them – anything else like contract talks or wage rises should discussed at the end of the season."