Celtic pushed all the way up in Aberdeen to put another three points on the board and keep that slender lead at the top of the cinch Premiership league table. Not content with finishing Aberdeen off in the second-half, the Hoops conceded twice from set-plays in a dramatic encounter in the north east of Scotland.
A quick reply from our on-loan Portuguese star Jota saved the blushes of the defence, which turned out to be a tense and nerve wracking experience for the last twenty minutes or so in the Granite City. After coasting for so long in the game it was disappointing to concede two sloppy goals over the piece despite a rapid retort from the team after losing a second to Lewis Ferguson on the night. It has served as a stern warning of the pitfalls of thinking the war has been won and it is basically all down to formalities now in the SPFL this year.
Ange was giving his thoughts after the game tonight and mentioned the need to improve at set plays into the penalty area. Speaking to Celtic TV, he said: “From our perspective, the first half we controlled the game. We played really well, controlled the game. We should have been further ahead. There were still opportunities there for us to score more. Kind of said at half-time we expected a reaction from them.
“They’re a good side, especially at home. They’re hard to beat. And again I thought, you know we were ok. But set-pieces, they’re obviously a threat. They’re a big, physical team with good delivery. We didn’t handle the set-piece situation well, which is something we need to improve on. We lost our composure a bit.”
However, the boss did recognise the experience the recruits needed to have in the cauldron which threatened to boil over at times at a tough away venue tonight. He added: “Days like today I think will be good for guys like Matty, Reo, Daizen, to experience that kind of atmosphere away from home. You know, that will keep them in good stead in understanding the battle that you have to go through every week here in the Premiership.”
Watch Ange’s post-match thoughts with Celtic TV below…
Paul Gillespie
