Ooh-Ah, Sensational Samaras, the day the Green Brigade were kettled

When Celtic open the scoring at home to Aberdeen after only 13 seconds, you’d tend to assume you’d be watching a stress free afternoon of footballing entertainment. It’s not the winning that counts it’s the taking apart after all.

What you wouldn’t be counting on is having to come back from a two goal deficit and require a 95th minute overhead kick to claim all three points.

That’s exactly what happened on this day in 2013 as Celtic played as host to an Aberdeen team under the management of Craig Brown.

16.03.2013. Neil Lennon and Craig Brown before the Scottish Premier League game between Celtic and Aberdeen from Celtic Park.

That opening goal game courtesy of Kris Commons via an assist from Anthony Stokes then it all went a little pear-shaped for a while.

Kris Commons and Joe Ledley celebrate the opening goal

A route one headed clearance from Aberdeen captain Russel Anderson wasn’t dealt with by Kelvin Wilson, ex goalkeeper turned striker Josh Magennis took advantage and crossed for Scott Vernon to score, a striker who could have been prosecuted under the trade descriptions act up to that point, having score once in 20 games.

Level one apiece at half-time you’d assume the Celts would come out all guns blazing, however it was Aberdeen who went 2-1 up at the start of the second half. Gavin Rae feeding Josh Magennis who drove a low shot past Fraser Forster, who didn’t cover himself in glory, going down in instalments. This wasn’t in the script against an Aberdeen side the Celts had beaten in 13 of their last 15 games, the others being draws. And worse was to come.

From a corner kick Celtic failed to clear their lines and Gavin Rae hit a drive from the edge of the box and Goalie turned predator Magennis once again scored, deflecting the ball past a wrong footed Fraser Forster.

Defeat now would have been Celtic’s third league defeat in a row, something no Celtic side had endured since 1994. Perhaps being compared to a Celtic side from 1994 actually spurred them on, as Celtic sprung into life.

Charlie Mulgrew salutes the Celtic fans

Charlie Mulgrew got Celtic back into the game with a deflected drive via his usually for balancing with only right foot, following an old fashioned stramash in the box. And Celtic weren’t finished there.

From another corner kick Efe Ambrose won the ball in the air and headed goalward, his effort was saved but Gary Hooper’s poaching instincts saw him react first and nod the ball over the line from a yard out for the equalising goal with only three minutes left to play.

Gary Hooper grabs the ball out of the net

Some teams may have settled for a draw but Celtic never do that do they?

The winner in the last minute of injury time was worthy of winning any game. Kris Commons delivered a perfect left footed free kick to the back post where Lassad headed the ball down. As the ball bounced up Samaras with his back to goal met the ball with a stunning overhead kick past Jamie Langfield to win the game 4-3. A touch of class to a wonderful comeback.

Georgios Samaras is booked for removing his top during his celebration during the Scottish Premier League game between Celtic and Aberdeen from Celtic Park.

The last thing many supporters would have expected was a seven goal thriller when playing a Craig Brown defensively inclined Aberdeen side but so it proved. The Dons would have left despairing at how a first league win at Celtic Park in nearly nine years escaped their grasp.

Celtic on the other hand Celtic were now unbeaten in their last 16 games with Aberdeen, and had scored 47 goals in the process.

That comeback underlined just why Celtic were going to be crowned league winners that season and why the players left the field to chants of ‘That’s why we’re champions.’

Russell Anderson slumps to the ground

Celtic lined up on the day in front of a crowd of 46,395:

Forster, Izaguirre, Ambrose, Wilson, Mulgrew, Lustig, Commons, Ledley, Kayal, Stokes and Hooper with the substitutes used, and who combined for the winning goal being Samaras and Lassad.

It was also the game where the Green Brigade suffered kettling at the hands of Strathclyde Police, at the Gallowgate prior to kick off. They had outlined their intent to protest and march “to raise awareness and show support for the growing list of Celtic supporters receiving and facing bans” from the procurator fiscal, under the Offensive Behaviour at Football Act that had come into force the year before. The Act was repealed on 20 April 2018.

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About Author

As a Bellshill Bhoy I was taken to my first Celtic game in the summer of 1987. It was Billy McNeill’s return to Celtic Park as manager and Celtic lost 5-1 to Arsenal . I thought I was a jinx, I think my Grandfather might have thought the same. It was the finest gift anyone ever gave me when he walked me through Parkhead's gates.

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