A light in the North; Dons prove champions can be beat as they take

ABERDEEN 2-0 CELTICSubs: Mackie for Dk Young 81.

Not used: Esson, Solberg, Zerouali, Thornley.

Booked: Whyte 18 & 84, Bisconti 45, Anderson 57, Dadi 75, McAllister 83.

Referee: S Dougal.

Subs: McNamara for Hartson 63, Petta for Lambert 73.

Not used: Gould, Maloney, Crainey.

Booked: Petrov 14, Sutton 45, Petta 83, Lennon 90.

Attendance: 18,610.

DECLARE a national holiday and issue commemorative stamps: Celtic have been beaten in an SPL match. Against a team they had lost to only once in 25 matches, the defending champions were subjugated for once, falling to Scottish opposition for the first time this season and the only time in a significant league or cup match since Martin O'Neill's first Old Firm game at Ibrox.

Pittodrie was a stirring sight at the end of a tousy, intense match won by second half goals from Robbie Winters and Darren Mackie. It would be fatuous to draw too many conclusions, but it was a game which suggested sporadic challenges to the Old Firm can still ignite in the SPL.

"It's the first meaningful defeat in the league for over a year," said O'Neill. "These things are going to happen. What we have to do is get back on track as soon as possible." O'Neill has won only one of three visits to Pittodrie; a calamitous record by his standards.

Aberdeen cared only about what the result meant for them. Victory extended extended their sequence to nine straight home league wins, their best run since 1983-84. Last night, fans were proud, in the heat of victory, to have a historic thread running from Sir Alex Ferguson's men to to Ebbe Skovdahl's current young crop. Even a the late dismissal of Derek Whyte, their captain, could not stem the resurgence. "The win gives everyone here a nice Christmas," said Skovdahl.

Heavy snow showers in the hour or so before kick-off had worried those supporters who had to negotiate their way to Pittodrie through treacherous conditions. Once at the stadium, the surface was slippy but playable.

Only when players came near to the touchline was the severity of the weather fully evident. Celtic's Stilian Petrov and Alan Thompson come under a barrage of hostile snowballs when they went to take a corner.

Players could have been for-given for producing a lukewarm match on such a dark winter's night, but the match gripped the attention of one of Pittodrie's largest attendances for years.

Livingston won easily in the CIS Cup at Pittodrie but grumbled about being muscled out of the tournament on Wednesday by an overly- physical Celtic. On paper, Aberdeen seemed inadequately equipped to slug it out with O'Neill's team, but their commitment was ferocious from first to last. They snapped into tackles with a fervour and the spiky competitiveness irritated Celtic. Events became more controversial the longer the night wore on. Aberdeen felt Chris Sutton felled Roberto Bisconti with an elbow in the centre circle; in fact, the Englishman had shrugged him off with his shoulder. It deteriorated from there.

Eugene Dadi and Bobo Balde were teammates at Toulouse before moving to Scotland, but their personal battle last night characterised the match. Hostilities began early. With an unusually delicate touch, Dadi spun clear of Balde to cross for Winters to hit a poor shot in Aberdeen's best chance of the first half. Dadi was relentless in his pursuit of the ball and was a dominant leader of the line.

Aberdeen had flooded the midfield and it was unusual to see Celtic seeming uncomfortable in the centre of the pitch as the home side grafted to win possession, then varied their passing to run at Balde and the defenders on either side of him. Later, Winters struck another tame shot which Douglas had in his arms only to inelegantly spill it and watch the ball spin wide for a corner. Douglas played like someone given new hands for Christmas.

Petrov was booked for diving in the box, then Derek Young made a loud appeal after his run ended with a Thompson tackle, but the midfielder had won the ball.

Dadi should have scored early in the second half, only to make poor contact with Winters' headed lay-off and direct a shot low into Douglas's body. Douglas was unimpressive, again, in failing to handle a Darren Young drive then bringing down Dadi as he scrambled for the rebound.

That had been a penalty which referee Dougal missed, but Pittodrie erupted when he awarded one five minutes later. Phil McGuire had taken a wild swipe at Winters' corner, but the ball bobbled then struck Hartson on the hand. Winters swept the ball low to Douglas's right for his 10th goal of the season.

Only when they fell behind did Celtic move up the gears. Earlier, Larsson, subdued, had a couple of shots and John Hartson threatened with a header, but after Winters' goal, Celtic unleashed an onslaught on Peter Kjaer's goal.

Their attacks were scrambled and frantic. Balde - playing up front in the closing minutes - cracked a close-range shot over the bar and Thompson had a shot cleared by McGuire, but otherwise a series of Howitzers were flung into the penalty area, every one of them spreading panic in the disorientated but determined Aberdeen defence.

Celtic seemed to claim a penalty with every delivery, and eventually tempers frayed to the point where a red card was waved. Bobby Petta went down injured, Aberdeen knocked the ball out of play but Celtic did not return possession as etiquette dictates. Whyte, booked for an early foul on Hartson, was at the heart of the ensuring furore and received a second caution. He walked off the field with his hands outstretched in apparent mystifi-cation over his offence, although Dougal revealed after full-time that his assistant had pointed out that Whyte was adopting "a threatening attitude".

Aberdeen fans feared a late goal, but ended up revelling in it. In a rare breather from Celtic pressure, Darren Mackie raced on to a long ball into space. Joos Valgaeren got there first and sent it safely to Douglas's feet, only for the goalkeeper to have a horrendous first touch. The mis-control knocked the ball far enough for Mackie to accelerate on to it and jab it through Douglas towards the line before smashing it into the net. "Most goalkeepers can make a ricket like that," said O'Neill.

Skovdahl has compared Mackie to Michael Owen. For a few moments last night, Aberdeen might not have swapped them.

Copyright 2001
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