Celtic v Aberdeen

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CELTIC v ABERDEEN / WILLIAM HILL SCOTTISH CUP SEMI-FINAL LAST TIME WE MET The sides are gearing up for their second consecutive Sunday clash. Neither club need look too far back to the last time they met, although living up to last weekend’s 3-3 draw at Pittodrie might take some doing today in their William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final. A thrilling Premiership encounter in the Granite City produced six goals, three penalties and a last-gasp equaliser and, ultimately, left today’s protagonists with a point apiece. Celtic had the better of the first-half without troubling Dons ‘keeper Joe Lewis too much, but it was Aberdeen who took a lead into the interval when midfielder Lewis Ferguson slotted in a penalty two minutes before the break after being brought down in the box by Olivier Ntcham. An expected Celtic surge in the second-half saw stand-in skipper Callum McGregor level in the 52nd minute, after working a one-two with fellow midfielder Tom Rogic. But the home side restored their lead through attacker Ryan Hedges when he bundled in from close range. Back came the champions and substitute Leigh Griffiths curled in an equaliser in the 75th minute and, when midfielder Ryan Christie put Celtic ahead with a penalty two minutes later, it looked like Neil Lennon’s side would return to Glasgow with all three points. However, in added time, referee Willie Collum pointed to the spot again when McGregor tripped Aberdeen substitute Connor McLennan inside the box, with Ferguson beating stand-in Celtic ‘keeper Scott Bain from 12 yards for the second time. After losing out to Celtic in the latter stages of matches on several occasions in recent years, McInnes was glad to see his side take something from the game. He said: “We found ourselves behind in the dying embers of the game but if we hadn’t got something from that game it would have been an absolute travesty. “We were so good in the second-half for long spells. We have had late winners against us on a couple of 12 HAMPDEN PARK / SUNDAY, 1 NOVEMBER 2020
CELTIC v ABERDEEN / WILLIAM HILL SCOTTISH CUP SEMI-FINAL occasions, not just here but at Celtic Park as well against Celtic. “You get a few pats on the back and plaudits for your efforts and putting up a good show and all that sort of nonsense, and I couldn’t have been doing with that today. “We needed to get something from that game and I was glad we got something from the game, no more than we deserved.” After previous defeats to Rangers and AC Milan, Hoops boss Lennon spoke about a “fragility” within his side that he hopes will not resurface today. He said: “I was disappointed not to come away with all three points. When you score three goals away from home, you think you are going to win the game. “I think there is a little bit of fragility with a few of them, not playing with a major amount of confidence, but again plenty of positives. “The response second-half was tremendous but we need to tidy up defensively. That’s eight goals in three games, it’s not good enough. “In the main I was satisfied, particularly with the secondhalf performance, but defensively we need to do a lot better.” The Northern Irishman remained confident that there will be improvement from his side, who are looking to take another step towards a record-breaking fourth successive Scottish Cup Final win with a victory today against Aberdeen. He said: “We will galvanise ourselves and keep doing the right things and we will turn it around. There is still a long way to go. The players had a tough week and we could have played better. “We will improve, there is no question of that. I’m confident of that and we will get players back from Covid and injuries. So there is a long way to go. “Defensively we are making too many individual mistakes and collective mistakes. But there was a lot of positives to come from the game.” HAMPDEN PARK / SUNDAY, 1 NOVEMBER 2020 13
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Celtic v Aberdeen

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