Aberdeen 3 – 3 Celtic

Celtic were denied a win at Pittodrie in dramatic circumstances when Lewis Ferguson’s injury-time penalty took away some of Aberdeen’s loot in the Scottish Premiership.

Aberdeen made a difficult week worse for Celtic when they took the lead before the break with Ferguson’s first penalty (43) after Olivier Ntcham fouled the midfielder.

Neil Lennon’s side, which came into the game following the losses to Rangers and AC Milan, responded through Callum McGregor (52), but fell behind 13 minutes later when Ryan Hedges converted from close range (65).

The champions never gave up and were tied again when substitute Leigh Griffiths chose the top corner (76) before Ryan Christie completed a quick change two minutes later from the spot after Mohamed Elyounoussi was fouled by Tommie Hoban.

Celtic appeared to be headed for victory, but there was a pain in the tail as McGregor dropped Connor McLennan as Ferguson (90 + 2) scored his second penalty of the game to deny the visitors a much-needed victory.

Lennon’s team is now six points behind leading Rangers, who beat Livingston 2-0, and could find themselves nine points off the pace, albeit with two games in hand, next weekend as they meet again. Aberdeen in the reshuffled Scottish Cup 2020 semi-final. -Final at Hampden Park next Sunday.

How an exciting contest unfolded at Pittodrie

Celtic were inches from taking the lead in the 17th minute when Ntcham’s shot from 30 yards hit the outside of the post.

The visitors dominated possession, but opportunities were hard to come by as Aberdeen, who lost Dylan McGeouch to injury with McLennan replacing him, protected goalkeeper Joe Lewis well.

However, it was the hosts who made their way when referee Willie Collum pointed out the spot after Ntcham shoved Ferguson into the area. The Dons midfielder got up and sent Scott Bain down the wrong track with his penalty to put Celtic under pressure again.

However, Celtic responded in good style, as McGregor teamed up with Tom Rogic before driving the ball under Lewis from eight yards.

The momentum was with the champions and moments later, Rogic tested Lewis with a drive before Aberdeen replaced Marley Watkins and Ryan Edmondson with Scott Wright and Sam Cosgrove, making his first appearance of the season after recovering from an injury from knee.

When Bain couldn’t deal with a Cosgrove unit, after Celtic defender Shane Duffy’s mistake allowed Wright to enter from the left, Hedges was available to hit the rebound from close range.

Brown and Griffiths then replaced Ntcham and Albian Ajeti as Celtic looked for another answer and it was Griffiths who gave it to them, taking a pass from Rogic before swinging the ball over Lewis and into the top corner.

There was more drama two minutes later when Hoban caught Mohamed Elyounoussi in the penalty area and Christie confidently scored from the penalty spot to give the visitors the lead for the first time.

However, in added time, after McGregor dropped McLennan and Cosgrove hit the ball against the crossbar, Collum signaled the spot again and Ferguson scored another well-executed penalty to level the score.

What the managers said …

Aberdeen Chief Derek McInnes: “I’m glad we got something out of this, it wasn’t more than we deserved. Celtic dominated the ball but we kept the chances to a minimum. But they wanted us to be more involved in the game. I’m disappointed with a couple of goals we have. fit in, we have to be calmer in those situations. But I’m delighted with the team spirit. “

Celtic chief Neil lennon: “I’m disappointed that we didn’t win it. We showed the character to come back twice and then we lose that late goal. Defensively, we were poor but attacking was good, particularly in the second half. It’s too sloppy defensively though.”

Man of the match – Lewis Ferguson

Speaking in Sky sports, former Celtic and Aberdeen midfielder Paul hartley: Scoring with practically the last kick of the game was a great reassurance for Ferguson. He has it in abundance after seeing his first penalty and then the second. It is a class act.

How can Celtic make things click again?

Kris Boyd from Sky Sports:

“You work hard. There is no way around it. Any way you look at it, the only way to change the results is by working hard with your opponents, and things will happen.”

“I know Neil Lennon mentioned some players, but there were many others, and you can include Tom Rogic in this, he was walking in stages here, and for Celtic right now, they don’t need that. They need players that go to work well. from the first minute to the last minute.

“There is no magic wand in soccer. You work harder than opponents and nine times out of 10 you will get results.

“When you look at Celtic, and Neil has said it himself, they have better quality than everyone else in the league. When you have that and the talent works hard, you will win football games.

“But as it is now, it is not happening and when you add the mistakes that are happening defensively. When you make mistakes in this league, you will be punished, and that is what is happening now.”

Whats Next?

The two teams will meet in the semi-final of the reorganized 2020 William Hill Scottish Cup at Hampden Park next Sunday; Start 2.30pm.

But before that, Celtic will return to Europa League action on Thursday when they travel to Lille from Ligue 1; It starts at 5.55pm.