Aberdeen 3-3 Celtic – Scottish Premiership rivals share six goals in thriller

Lewis Ferguson’s late penalty earned Aberdeen a dramatic draw with second-placed Celtic, while Neil Lennon’s side went a third game without a win.

Ryan Hedges included Aberdeen’s second only for Leigh Griffiths to shoot home and make it 2-2.

Ryan Christie’s penalty put Celtic ahead for the first time, but Ferguson tied it in a gripping final.

The two sides will meet again in the reorganized semi-final of the Scottish Cup next Sunday of the 2019-20 campaign.

Celtic are three points behind leading Rangers, who host Livingston later, while Aberdeen, who beat Hamilton in the middle of the week, are one point behind third-placed Hibernian.

The wet and windy conditions did not lend themselves to fluid football and the Aberdeen players claimed unsuccessfully after Ross McCrorie’s header hit Diego Laxalt’s shoulder.

Olivier Ntcham unleashed a long-range shot that bounced just over the left post of Aberdeen goalkeeper Joe Lewis before the hosts’ Dylan McGeouch took a hit and was replaced by Connor McLennan.

Celtic dominated possession for most of the first half but were unable to turn that into chances, and when Ferguson was attacked after getting the wrong side of Ntcham into the box, Aberdeen had a chance to take a lead at halftime. . .

Scott Bain had replaced Vasilis Barkas in Celtic’s goal and the Scottish international went to the right as Ferguson drove to the left to record Aberdeen’s 16th consecutive penalty.

The home team would have been waiting for a response from Celtic and came early in the second period when McGregor, their captain with Scott Brown on the bench, took matters into his own hands.

The midfielder started the play from deep, slipped the ball to Tom Rogic, received the pass back, and walked away from his defender before finishing with a low drive.

The Dons lost Marley Watkins and Ryan Edmondson to punches and Scott Wright and Sam Cosgrove came in to give the hosts new momentum in attack.

And it proved vital as Cosgrove held off Shane Duffy to turn and shoot in the area with Hedges in hand for the rebound after Bain blocked.

Brown and Griffiths took over from Ntcham and Albian Ajeti and Griffiths received a pass from Rogic inside the box for Celtic’s second draw, his upward shot flying over the defenseless Lewis.

Celtic smelled victory and Mohamed Elyounoussi hit a cross from Kristoffer Ajer before Tommie Hoban was brought down, leaving Christie tasked with throwing the ball from 12 yards.

But the drama didn’t end when Hedges took on Connor McLennan, who was brought down by McGregor, and Cosgrove fired at the bar only for referee Willie Collum to regain the game for the foul. Ferguson stepped forward again and scored his third goal of the week.

Man of the Match – Ryan Hedges

What did we learn?

Substitutions were key for Pittodrie, as Cosgrove made his first appearance of the season after a knee injury that proved timely for Aberdeen’s second goal and in preparation for next week’s semi-final.

Griffiths again staked his claim with his second substitute goal this season which, in the absence of Odsonne Edouard, drives Lennon off.

Celtic had gone from three in the back to four during their midweek loss to AC Milan and continued with the latter at Pittodrie.

But the defense continually struggled to cope with Aberdeen as Derek McInnes’s team slipped into the final third, as the loss of two penalties proved. Lennon’s team has conceded eight goals in three games, after losing to the Rangers last weekend.

What did they say?

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes: “I’m glad we got something out of this because it wasn’t more than we deserved. We said at halftime that we knew Celtic wouldn’t go to bed. I’m disappointed with a couple of goals.”

“Penalty decisions, the referee got them right. Big decisions were right. The players never gave up and they wholeheartedly deserve their point.”

Celtic coach Neil Lennon: “I’m disappointed that I didn’t win it. Defensively it’s poor from our point of view. We can’t except the goals we’re giving away right now. It’s too careless.

“I will need to watch the penalties again. I thought the referee had a very poor game: the decision making, the influence of his assistants and some of the decisions were puzzling. That is not an excuse why we lost points, but it didn’t add to what was a great soccer game. I thought it was poor for a referee of his level. “

Whats Next?

Celtic will visit Lille in their second Europa League group match on Thursday before taking on Aberdeen again in Hampden next weekend.