Aberdeen suffered a club record defeat on Saturday that leaves manager Mark McGhee perilously close to losing his job. The Dons were swept aside at Celtic Park by an unbelievable 9-0 scoreline. With club legend Henrik Larsson watching on from the stands, Celtic started brightly but the early signs were not pointing towards a record-breaking result. The home side were unable to create a really clear-cut chance in the opening moments and it started to look like McGhee was getting the reaction he had called for after losing to St Mirren last weekend.
Things then took a turn for the worse for Aberdeen just before the half hour as Paul Hartley was shown the red card for blocking Ki Sung-Yeung’s shot with his arm. Anthony Stokes converted the penalty and the scoring for the Celts began. Stokes’ strike partner Gary Hooper added two goals at the expense of Dons defender Zander Diamond before the Irishman added his second penalty of the half moments after Celtic defender Thomas Rovne had been sent off.
The half time score saw Celtic leading 4-0 but almost as soon as the game had restarted the Bhoys were pressing for more. Since losing the Old Firm derby two weeks ago, Neil Lennon’s side have played their best football of the season and that has been in no small part thanks to the form of the Celtic front men. Stokes and Hooper continued to trouble the Aberdeen backline and it was unsurprising that they both completed their hat-tricks in the second half. They were joined in scoring by Joe Ledley and Paddy McCourt, having been set on their way in the second half by Josh Magennis who headed past his own goalkeeper for Celtic’s fifth.
The emphatic win meant that Celtic went top of the Scottish Premier League but their two-point lead was cancelled out 24 hours later when Rangers defeated bottom-side St Mirren 3-1 in Sunday’s early kick-off. Buddies manager Danny Lennon opted to pack the midfield against the SPL champions and with the teams going in at half time goalless, it looked like his game plan was working. Rangers dominated possession and set the tempo of the game. Vladimir Weiss and even Steven Davis both had long distance efforts that nearly broke the deadlock. The latter’s shot crashed against the crossbar before Steven Naismith headed the ball home only for the effort to be ruled out for a foul.
At the break, Walter Smith replaced Weiss, who had been booked, with Kyle Lafferty and it was the Northern Ireland international that sparked his side into life. His flick-on was headed home by St Mirren defender Marc McAusland just two minutes into the second half and, ten minutes later, he crossed for Steven Naismith to apply the finish. Kenny Miller added the third when he pounced on a mistake by McAusland before Craig Higdon netted a consolation penalty. St Mirren did have a couple of chances to add a second but Higdon fluffed his lines when presented with a golden opportunity. The loss means that the Buddies remain bottom of the table on goal difference.
Just above them remain Colin Calderwood’s Hibernian after they went down 2-0 to Hearts in Sunday’s Edinburgh derby. The match was a scrappy affair with a lot of hustle and bustle. David Templeton glided through the Hibs defence to opening the scoring. While the comparisons of some reporters to liken the goal to skill produced by Lionel Messi may be a tad ridiculous, the goal was a moment of real quality from the Jambos winger as he stroked the away into the lead after 19 minutes. Despite the home support, Hibernian failed to be galvanised by going behind to their bitter rivals and it was Hearts that constantly looked like the more likely scorers. After 66 minutes Hearts doubled the lead when Templeton nudged Kevin Kyle’s knock-on into the path of Stephen Elliot. The derby debutant slammed the ball home and while Hibs huffed and puffed, Marian Kello was rarely tested. Late on Derek Riordan was shown a straight red card for a silly challenge as the frustrations of the home players boiled over.
On Saturday, Motherwell kept themselves in third place thanks to a 2-1 win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Craig Brown’s side raced into a 2-0 lead in the first half through Alan Gow and a deflected Nicholas Blackman effort. Blackman appeared to slip as he struck the ball and the shot looped over Ryan Esson in the Caley goal. The hosts battled back in the second half with a goal through Stuart Duff but time was not in their favour as they tried to grab an equaliser.
At New Douglas Park, Dundee United took advantage of Inverness’ defeat to move into fifth place with a 1-0 win over Hamilton. David Goodwillie started the game on the bench having been arrested in midweek, but was introduced by Peter Houston as the Arabs searched for a goal. With 15 minutes left on the clock, Goodwillie took advantage of a defensive mix-up to sweep the ball home and grab the headlines for the right reasons.
Elsewhere, Kilmarnock recorded their second 3-0 away win in as many weeks with a victory at St Johnstone. Having defeated Hearts last week, Mixu Paatelainen’s team were rarely troubled by Saints. Michael Duberry deflected Ben Gordon’s cross into the net to opening the scoring but it wasn’t until the last ten minutes that Killie scored again. Conor Sammon stroked a neat finish into the bottom corner before Liam Kelly wrapped up the win in injury time.
Results
Saturday
Celtic 9-0 Aberdeen, Hamilton 0-1 Dundee Utd, Inverness CT 1-2 Motherwell, St Johnstone 0-3 Kilmarnock
Sunday
Hibernian 0-2 Hearts, St Mirren 1-3 Rangers
twofootedtackle.com is trying to raise £1,000 for Cardiac Risk in the Young, which works to raise awareness of heart conditions that lead to sudden cardiac death and sudden death syndrome. You can help by donating just £2 at justgiving.com/twofootedtackle.
Tags: Aberdeen, Celtic, Dundee United, Hamilton, Hearts, Hibernian, Inverness Caley Thistle, Kilmarnock, Motherwell, Rangers, Scottish Premier League, St Johnstone, St Mirren
Obviously the result between Celtic and Aberdeen was massive but i think you have taken to much time describing this game. Kilmarnock have recorded their second 3-0 away victory in successive weeks and this does not get a mention until the end. Also a derby such as Hibs and Hearts should be reported more in depth.
[...] out a recap of the shocking games played during the Halloween weekend as well something on the most recent set of fixtures, including Celtic 9-0 victory over [...]