In the 102nd minute, beyond five o’clock, time was called on an extraordinary encounter. The final act, fittingly, was an outstanding goal line block from Duk to deny Alistair Johnston.
Celtic huffed and puffed as they sought to snatch the odd goal in five and place daylight between themselves and Aberdeen at the summit of Scotland’s Premiership. That there was no winner felt appropriate, given Aberdeen’s contribution to this epic. Whether or not Jimmy Thelin’s rejuvenation of Aberdeen will result in major honours remains to be seen. What feels pretty clear is that this, as game of the season, is unlikely to be beaten. This took place in front of Sir Alex Ferguson, who made a specialism out of bringing Aberdeen teams to Glasgow and inflicting bloody noses. The great man must have approved.
Even Celtic’s followers should not begrudge Aberdeen their point. The same support should be fearful of what will transpire in Bergamo on Wednesday, should Celtic be so defensively generous against Atalanta. Without Cameron Carter-Vickers, who missed this game through injury, the Celtic back line is shaky. The unwillingness of Brendan Rodgers to speculate on Carter-Vickers’s situation with Atalanta in mind did not sound particularly hopeful. To his credit, Rodgers did not sugarcoat Celtic’s capitulation from 2-0 ahead here. “We got punished for being careless,” Rodgers said. The Celtic manager cut an irritated figure.
Thelin made attacking substitutions at half-time and totally altered the flow of the match. If that was not worthy of enough praise, Aberdeen’s refusal to wilt during 12 minutes of stoppage time was striking. Lesser teams would have folded. Thelin has a good thing going at Pittodrie. And still going it is, after the most stringent test of all.
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At the break, even the most optimistic of Aberdeen’s followers could not have envisaged what was to come. Dimitar Mitov, the Aberdeen keeper, was indecisive as Arne Engels played a through pass to Kyogo Furuhashi. The Japan forward seized his time and opportunity, pulling the ball back for Reo Hatate. Hatate gave Mitov no chance from 12 yards. Kyogo helped himself to Celtic’s second. Hatate’s shot was blocked by the arms of Gavin Molloy, meaning a penalty was likely heading Celtic’s way anyway. Furuhashi removed the need for a video assistant referee check by pouncing on the loose ball. Celtic Park celebrated in a manner which suggested Aberdeen’s heady days were over.
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Thelin rightly spotted that the best way to defend against Celtic is to attack. Enter Ester Sokler and Duk, who offered mobility in forward areas. Sokler’s maiden act was to latch onto Jamie McGrath’s through ball and slot beyond Kasper Schmeichel. Celtic failed to heed the warning. A Daizen Maeda error allowed Graeme Shinnie to fire in a shot, which flew past Schmeichel with the aid of a deflection. Shock rippled through the stands.
Aberdeen believed they had completed an astonishing comeback when Slobodan Rubezic’s header from a McGrath free-kick found the net via Duk. The problem was, Duk had used an elbow to deflect the ball. The goal was correctly ruled out.
The sight of 10 minutes on the fourth official’s board would have caused palpitations among the vociferous visiting support. James Forrest forced Mitov into a smart stop as Celtic rallied. Auston Trusty missed a glorious chance from a Paolo Bernardo corner. Adam Idah had the ball in the Aberdeen net but Mitov had been fouled. Luke McCowan won a Celtic free-kick just inches from the penalty area. Mitov saved brilliantly from Idah before Celtic claimed a spot-kick for handball from that incredible Duk intervention.
Thelin, who is calm by nature, smiled as he reflected on “crazy moments” as the clock ticked on, and on, and on. “The players sacrificed themselves,” added the Swede. “They tried with absolutely everything they had. I am proud of them.” He should be equally proud of himself. Aberdeen in this form are made of proper stuff.
Celtic have only a few days to rediscover their mettle.
