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Trivia
- Chris Sutton grabbed the goal that sent Celtic back to the top of the SPL.
Review
Juninho came close to making an impact after only seven minutes, latching on to a John Hartson through ball but failed to get enough of a touch on the ball at the front post and the ball drifted just wide of the far upright.
The Brazilian midfielder was instrumental as Celtic made the breakthrough after 24 minutes. His low cross was deflected into the path of Sutton, whose own shot struck an Aberdeen defender before deceiving Ryan Esson and nestling in the far corner of the net.
The Aberdeen defence were under pressure and Esson struggled to reach a Stilian Petrov free kick only for Hartson's header to drop on to the roof of the net.
Diamond cleared off the line after a drive from the back by Ulrik Laursen gave Sutton the chance to fire into what looked like an unguarded net until the defender's late lunge.
Neither goalkeeper had a save to make after the break and the tiring Juninho was replaced with Henri Camara after 76 minutes.
Teams
Aberdeen team:-
Esson, Anderson, Diamond, McGuire (Tosh 52), Hart, Adams (Winter 52), Heikkinen, McNaughton, Clark (Kristjansson 75), Mackie, Wheelen.
Subs Not Used:- Ilic, Stewart, Foster, O'Leary.
Booked:- Anderson.
Celtic team:-
Douglas, Laursen, Balde, McManus, McNamara, Juninho (Camara 75), Petrov, Lennon, McGeady (Wallace 89), Sutton, Hartson.
Subs Not Used:- Marshall, Lambert, Lawson, ??, ??.
Goal:- Sutton 24.
Booked:- Balde.
Att:- 17,051
Ref:- K Clark.
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
Pictures
Articles
Aberdeen 0-1 Celtic
BBC
Chris Sutton grabbed the goal that sent Celtic back to the top of the Scottish Premier League with a hard-fought win over Aberdeen at Pittodrie.
The Dons had been looking for their third victory in a row over the champions, but Sutton's low, deflected, first-half drive thwarted their hopes.
Juninho, making his first start since November, was involved in the build up but was replaced after the break.
Zander Diamond also cleared off the Dons line in a game with few chances.
Juninho had not started a Celtic game since the CIS Insurance Cup defeat to Rangers.
But, with Alan Thompson, Stanislav Varga and Didier Agathe all out, the Brazilian, Neil Lennon and Stephen McManus were brought into the starting line-up .
Juninho came close to making an impact after only seven minutes, latching on to a John Hartson through ball but failed to get enough of a touch on the ball at the front post and the ball drifted just wide of the far upright.
The Brazilian midfielder was instrumental as Celtic made the breakthrough after 24 minutes.
His low cross was deflected into the path of Sutton, whose own shot struck an Aberdeen defender before deceiving Ryan Esson and nestling in the far corner of the net.
The highly-rated defender, Diamond, had returned to the Dons starting line-up along with Noel Whelan, with Steve Tosh and John Stewart dropping out.
But the home defence were under pressure and Esson struggled to reach a Stilian Petrov free kick only for Hartson's header to drop on to the roof of the net.
Diamond cleared off the line after a drive from the back by Ulrik Laursen gave Sutton the chance to fire into what looked like an unguarded net until the defender's late lunge.
Aberdeen had claims for a penalty denied early in the second half when Chris Clark turned a couple of defenders but saw his goalbound shot strike Laursen's shoulder.
The Dons pushed forward more than in the first 45 minutes after bringing on new signing Jamie Winter and Steve Tosh for Phil McGuire and Derek Adams and shifting from 3-4-3 to 4-4-2.
But neither goalkeeper had a save to make after the break and the tiring Juninho was replaced with Henri Camara after 76 minutes.
Aberdeen: Esson, Anderson, Diamond, McGuire (Winter 52), Hart, McNaughton, Adams (Tosh 52), Heikkinen, Clark (Kristjansson 75), Whelan, Mackie.
Subs Not Used: Ilic, Stewart, Foster, O'Leary.
Booked: Anderson.
Celtic: Douglas, McNamara, Balde, Laursen, McManus, Juninho Paulista (Camara 76), Petrov, Lennon, McGeady (Wallace 90), Hartson, Sutton.
Subs Not Used: Marshall, Lambert, Lawson.
Booked: Balde.
Goal: Sutton 24.
Att: 17,051
Ref: K Clark
O'Neill just happy to beat Dons
BBC
Aberdeen 0-1 Celtic
Celtic manager Martin O'Neill was more satisfied with the points than the manner of the victory over Aberdeen.
"I thought we played very well in the first half, but the pitch was a bit sticky and Aberdeen made it more difficult for us after that," he said.
"But I am just happy with the win as it is a difficult place to come."
O'Neill was pleased with Juninho's performance before being replaced, adding: "I thought he looked fit and fresh in the first half but tired."