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Trivia
- Season ticket prices for 2000-01 were held at the same level. The papers were quick to point out that Rangers had cut their season ticket prices by £15.
- Celtic played their cards very close to their chests following the release of Hiddink from Real Betis. If information was tight before it was blood from a stone territory with Hiddink’s increased availability. Needless to say the ‘leak’ stories, fiction content and pressure from the media increased if anything. Hiddink had yet to be formally interviewed and to go through the vetting process now in place to avoid the previous situations on top appointments. The feeling was, though, that Hiddink was on his way.
- The people that would be doing the vetting and appointing were:- executive directors Allan MacDonald and Eric Riley and non-execs Frank O'Callaghan (chairman), Brian Quinn (vice), Sir Patrick Sheehy, Dermot Desmond and Kevin Sweeney. They were in an unenviable position – not wanting to rush the appointment which previously had seen Jansen , Venglos and Barnes appointed, and not wanting to overly delay and not give the new coach sufficient time tio assess.
- The Record splashed with tales of MacDonald and Hiddink meeting in Berne whilst proceeding with a character assassination of Kenny Dalglish and his time wit Celtic.
- There did, however, appear to be a few hesitations on the part of the Appointments Committee. The £1.4million that Hiddink was asking as salary was more than Alex Ferguson was being paid at Manchester Utd.
- The pre-match Press Conference was held at the CSA premises again. This was the infamous Press conference where ‘Saint’ Hugh Keevins was barred by alleged CSA vice president Finbar O’Brannigan who was supporter Willie Graham.
- Newly arrived Paul Shields made his first team debut in this game coming on as a sub for Burchill in the 60th minute.
Review
Yet another over-running of a poor Aberdeen side who were to face Rangers in the Scottish Cup Final. The match atmosphere was helped by the Aberdeen fans support for their team.
Teams
Celtic:
Kerr, Riseth, Crainey (Kennedy 53), Stubbs, Lambert, Mahe (Petta 77), Healy, Moravcik, Berkovic, Burchill (Shields 60), Johnson.
Subs Not Used: Gould, Smith.
Goals: Johnson 25, Moravcik 34, 43, Johnson 50, 53.
Booked: Riseth (Celtic)
Aberdeen:
Leighton, Whyte, McAllister, Solberg, Dow, Bernard, Guntveit (D. Young 16), Stavrum (Zerouali 46), Perry, Winters, Rowson (Belabed 77).
Subs Not Used: Preece, Lilley.
Goals: Winters 64
Booked: Whyte.(Aberdeen)
Referee: Kenny Clark.
Attendance: 41,786
Articles
- Match Report (see below)
Pictures
Stats
| Celtic | Aberdeen | |
| Bookings | 1 | 1 |
| Red Cards | 0 | 0 |
| Fouls | 10 | 11 |
| Shots on Target | 12 | 6 |
| Corners | 12 | 3 |
| Offside | 4 | 1 |
Articles
Green light for Celtic but Aberdeen still stuck at red
Scotland on Sunday 07/05/2000
By Andrew Smith AT CELTIC PARK
Celtic5 Aberdeen1
THERE are few things in life you can rely on, runs the ad. For Celtic this is not some fancy-dan car: it is Aberdeen. And, normally, not any old Aberdeen either but a feckless, spineless football outfit of toe-curling awfulness. However grim life looks for those of a green-and-white disposition, a meeting with the Pittodrie men serves as a reminder that there is another club so much worse off than themselves.
This latest rout was underpinned by a hat-trick from Tommy Johnson, but, much more than that, an appallingly lax attitude from a team supposedly playing for Scottish Cup final places. Perhaps these Aberdeen players are keen to play their way out of contention for fear of what humiliation the May 27 date against Rangers could force on them. Ebbe Skovdahl's side made Celtic look decent, unlike every other opponent the hosts have faced in this past month.
Hardly a surprise as they have become past-masters at this in conceding 25 goals to Celtic in five encounters this term. Robbie Winters' counter for the visitors yesterday, to reduce the deficit to a mere 5-1, at least dragged the Dons' strike tally for these self-same confrontations up to the magical one mark. Failure to have broken their duck for the four Premier clashes between the clubs would have meant an unwanted Premier first for Aberdeen. They have already set a new low in finishing bottom of the table, currently seven points adrift of ninth-placed Kilmarnock. Aberdeen stink: they have won only once in the past three months and their appearances in two cup finals cannot disguise the fact they are in worse shape than when Skovdahl arrived last summer. The only difference is that now they have even more players clearly inept when it comes to making their team one that will do anything but flirt with disaster.
Likewise, Celtic. They have back-pedalled at a furious rate in the past 12 months, despite interim coach Kenny Dalglish's assertion that capturing the CIS Cup means they have improved on last term. A worthless bauble, if for no other reason than for who it was won against. You may recall it was those good, old whipping boys from the Granite City. Dalglish paid no heed to the Aberdeen factor in claiming that "a few players improved their career prospects with that performance" in his assessment of yesterday's win.
Doubtful if Guus Hiddink would agree. The cliche runs that the SPL is a league within a league: there is the Old Firm and then there is the rest. But the way Celtic and Aberdeen have slipped suggests there are really four leagues in this country's top-flight with Rangers in one, Celtic the other, seven teams in a third tier and Aberdeen down there in the bowels division on their own. During the early stages yesterday it appeared that the visitors might escape their obligatory league thumping. The football was mind-numbing, save for a couple of efforts directed over the bar by Mark Burchill, and the audible hum around the stadium, housing a respectable 41,786, was created by the home legions talking among themselves. Aberdeen's travelling support was more boisterous, in song tearing strips off the SFA and, indeed, anyone else based in the Glasgow area. As the goals rattled in, they continued to be vocal, gallows humour reaching its zenith when, at 5-0, they mocking launched into a chat of 'bring on the Rangers'. Their team may be utter pants, but the much-maligned Pittodrie faithful deserve commendation. Tarring and feathering them would have been more merciful than forcing them to bear witness to events at Celtic Park.
The basics of closing opponents down, challenging for the ball and clearing their lines were anathema to those in red shirts. And so it was with Celtic's 24th-minute opener, an individual effort from Johnson. Midway into Aberdeen's half, the Celtic striker tenaciously dispossessed the weak Rowson, carved his way round another pathetic challenge and slashed towards goal a low shot that was dribbling by the time it sneaked inside Jim Leighton's right-hand post. The ageing goalkeeper was at his rabbit-in-the-headlights worst and guilty of a calamitous error for Celtic's second goal eight minutes later that was not a kick in the tail off Jonathan Gould's recent chucking-the-ball-into-the-net gaffe between the self-same posts. Leighton attempted to catch a Lubo Moravcik drive from 25 yards and, as if it were a trout splattered with axle-oil, let it shoot over his shoulder and bounce into the net.
It was mortifying and at least when the Slovakian made it 3-0 just before the interval it was ability rather than inability that marked out the strike. From just outside the box the little schemer tip-toed through several tackles with balletic grace before switching to brute strength to unleash a shot that left his foot like a bullet from a gun to billow the rigging. In the 51st minute Johnson added his second when he cut in from the right flank and sent an effort across the bows of Leighton that clipped the keeper's far post on the way in. He completed his second hat-trick of a term truncated by injury when Mark Perry made a hash of clearing a Burchill cross and the Geordie met it on the volley and smashed it high into the net.
Skovdahl's men improved thereafter and Rowson finished confidently after being sent clear by a slide-pass from Darren Young in the 64th minute. "We have fallen back a bit," Skovdhal confessed. "If we play like we did today in the cup final we have no chance."
Tell us something we don't know, Ebbe.
- Manager Interview
Kenny Dalglish post match:
"I've said before that everyone is playing for their future and a few of them have improved their career prospects with that performance.
"Tommy has done very well considering what he's been through. He's had a lot of bad luck with injuries but his goals record in recent months has been excellent."
Celtic 5 Aberdeen 1
By Simon Buckland, PA Sport
After an uneven and often miserable season, the one constant for Celtic has been reserving their best form for Aberdeen and today was no different at Parkhead.
Tommy Johnson led the way for the home side with a hat-trick as after a series of shoddy displays in the past month they finally put on an exhibition for their beleaguered support.
Certainly the Aberdeen defence was again to Celtic's liking as, with yet another emphatic win, they extended the aggregate scoreline in this season's five meetings with the Dons to a remarkable 25-1.
Johnson put Celtic in front after 25 minutes and that lead was doubled courtesy of a howler from Jim Leighton in the Aberdeen goal who fumbled a long distance Lubomir Moravcik effort.
Moravcik then produced the goal of the game a minute before the break before Johnson, beset by injuries since joining Celtic, again showed what he can do when fully fit.
In only seven starts this season, Johnson has managed 11 goals, including two strikes in four second-half minutes today to inflict more suffering on Scottish Premier League bottom club Aberdeen.
The Dons had the kind of afternoon which started badly then got worse, but at least they finally managed a goal in response to their maulings through Robbie Winters' 64th-minute consolation.
Johnson was returning for Celtic to replace the injured Mark Viduka, who twisted an ankle in training on Friday, while Stewart Kerr retained his place in goal ahead of Jonathan Gould.
Mark Burchill made a lively start to the game and could have claimed a personal hat-trick within the first 10 minutes with more assured finishing.
Firstly he drilled a low shot into the side-netting after a neat Eyal Berkovic pass then, moments later, blazed over from close range when well-placed.
On 10 minutes, Burchill was perhaps more unfortunate when he saw a flicked header from a Moravcik corner cleared off the line by Aberdeen's Andy Dow.
The Dons were forced into an early switch when Cato Guntveit, only just back from injury, was taken off with a knock to be replaced by Derek Young after 17 minutes.
It was Johnson who put Celtic in front with a goal out of virtually nothing, cutting inside with purpose before netting with a fierce strike from the edge of the area for 1-0.
That lead was almost doubled in an instant when Burchill dashed onto a through ball from Moravcik, but, for once, the Aberdeen backline held firm against the pressure.
Celtic were gifted a second goal after 34 minutes after a dreadful error from veteran keeper Leighton who misjudged a long-range effort from Moravcik and paid the price.
The Slovakian's 20-yard shot hit Leighton on the chest and then looped over the keeper and in the net in freakish fashion – and that was the cue for Celtic to turn on the style.
At once their football was more flowing, first Leighton denying an onrushing Burchill, then, from the resulting Moravcik corner, Stubbs seeing a header drift just over the bar.
Johnson fired over a shot on 39 minutes, before a weaving Healy run almost saw the youngster claim a Celtic third only to be denied by Leighton.
Celtic did make it 3-0 before half-time, however, when Moravcik teased his way past Thomas Solberg before crashing the ball into the roof of the net with Leighton powerless.
Aberdeen pulled off Arild Stavrum at the break, the Norwegian forward barely getting a kick in the first 45 minutes, and brought on Hicham Zerouali in his place.
The Dons spurned a clear opening within two minutes of the restart when Paul Bernard's pass released David Rowson, but the midfielder's finish was too casual, Kerr saving a weak chip.
That was to be punished after 51 minutes when Celtic extended the scoreline to 4-0, Johnson this time surging in from the right before rifling a low shot into the bottom corner.
Another sharp finish saw Johnson claim his second hat-trick of the season, after an earlier trio against Dundee, when he seized on a Whyte error to score with a low volley after a Burchill cross.
Celtic gave a debut to #100,000 recruit from Raith, Paul Shields, as a 61st minute substitute for Burchill and he could hardly have picked a more relaxing moment for a debut.
After 63 minutes, Moravcik could and should have claimed his hat-trick but when played in by Berkovic sidefooted badly wide when 6-0 looked a virtual certainty.
Instead the scoreline was to become 5-1 as Aberdeen finally broke their duck against Celtic this term when Winters beat the offside trap, rounded Kerr and slid the ball into an empty net.
Moments later, Winters fired an angled drive inches wide of the mark to prompt the visiting support to issue a chorus of `easy, easy' followed by `we're going to win 6-5'.
Kerr ensured there would be no further consolation for the visitors when he produced a fine one-handed stop to deny substitute Young pulling another goal back.
After 73 minutes, Leighton in part redeemed his earlier mistake by saving magnificently from a swerving Moravcik effort which looked goalward bound from the moment it was struck.
Zerouali then conspired to send the ball over from close range, but Celtic, though a distant second to Rangers for the title, had done enough to again leave Aberdeen outclassed.
Teams:
Celtic:
Kerr, Riseth, Crainey (Kennedy 53), Stubbs, Lambert, Mahe (Petta 77), Healy, Moravcik, Berkovic,Burchill (Shields 60), Johnson.
Subs Not Used: Gould, Smith.
Booked: Riseth.
Goals: Johnson 25, Moravcik 34, 43, Johnson 50, 53.
Aberdeen:
Leighton, Whyte, McAllister, Solberg, Dow, Bernard, Guntveit (D. Young 16), Stavrum (Zerouali 46), Perry, Winters, Rowson (Belabed 77).
Subs Not Used: Preece, Lilley.
Booked: Whyte.
Goals: Winters 64.
Att: 41,786
Referee: Kenny Clark.