Martin O’Neill admitted he feared the worst before Benjamin Nygren’s winning goal was finally confirmed following a lengthy VAR check…
The Swedish midfielder came off the bench to score his 19th goal of the campaign, helping Celtic secure a vital 2-1 victory at Pittodrie and maintain their push in the title race.
Nygren turned home a cross from fellow substitute James Forrest with 25 minutes to play, though the celebrations were briefly halted while officials reviewed a potential offside. Replays later indicated that Aberdeen defender Gavin Molloy had played Nygren onside, allowing the goal to stand.
Reflecting on the goal, O’Neill acknowledged his relief after the decision stood. The Celtic boss also felt his side had a strong case for a penalty in the first-half, arguing that Jack Milne handled Sebastian Tounekti’s cross inside the box.
O’Neill said at his post-match media conference at Pittodrie: “Absolutely. It took a long time. Then the fourth official is telling me they are looking at two pictures. You’re worried but we saw it through. I don’t know about you, but I thought we should’ve had a penalty in the first-half. His hand was in an unnatural position, but it was a tough game and it keeps us going.”
“The subs in recent weeks have made big contributions, that’s important for us. Our third game in six days, that was tough. We knew it was going to be tough, but we saw it through anyway.”
“This was going to be difficult. I’ve thought about this game since Sunday. It’s a third game in six days. We’re asking a lot and using the subs. Sometimes it’s great when the subs come on and the impact is good, sometimes it doesn’t.”
Celtic went ahead early in the game when Kieran Tierney headed home from a corner flicked on by Liam Scales. However, Aberdeen drew level after Kevin Nisbet finished from the penalty spot, awarded when Scales brought down Toyosi Olusanya inside the box with a mistimed challenge.
O’Neill revealed he began to worry that his side might struggle to find the decisive winner. The Celtic boss said: “No. It’s hard to score goals. When we scored the first goal early on, I thought that was the time to push forward and try and get the second.”
“It was a tough old second-half. We had to take risks, create chances but at the same time try not to concede a goal. That was possible but Nygren comes up with the goods. James did very well. He’s ready. He made the goal or the penalty for us on Sunday and he can make an impact.”
“I think he looks at me and thinks ‘I think you think I’m too old here’. It was a big win. It certainly helps and keeps us at least for a little while in the race.”
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Had huge concerns over the run of 3 tough away games, in under a week.
So to come through all 3, undefeated in totally different circumstances involved in all 3 games?
Would rank up there, as one of our biggest achievements to date, this season imo?
MoN is spot on, with indication of the impact our subs and supposedly back up players are currently making at present.
This was an area within our squad, that we struggled very badly earlier within this season.
Still gaining winning results, despite not having 6 potential starting players available.
With more players making bigger contributions, leaves ourselves in a fairly decent position, for the remainder of this season imo?