Celtic Strike Late to Deny County
After their midweek humiliation, Celtic bounced back to winning ways on Sunday, beating a dogged and determined County side who will feel disappointed not to come away with something from the game. County started the game as massive underdogs. However, it was them who would strike the first goal of the match. Ronan Hale’s first-half penalty was enough to give County an arguably deserved lead going into the second half. Celtic proved their champions-elect status, though, and late strikes from Alistair Johnston and Nicolas Kühn were enough to see them take all three points back down the road to Glasgow. Celtic started in their usual fashion, pinning County back and pressing the team up high, Celtic centre-backs Scales and Trusty were rarely in their half, taking a position in the County centre circle. Efforts on goal were hard to come by however, Ross County’s midfield block was working effectively against the Celtic attack, crowding out the midfield area whenever they tried to play the ball inside. Half chances would come for Daizen Maeda and Adam Idah, but none of them ever tested Ross Laidlaw in the County goal. County began to grow into the game, and they had the first shot on target. Ronan Hale has started his County career brilliantly and was a stand-out for County again today, his cross-goal shot was punched wide by Kasper Schmeichel and Noah Chilvers, on the rebound, could only fire wide. Then came the moment of the first half; a cross from Michee Efete into the Celtic area was met with the arm of Liam Scales. A quick check on the monitor from Kevin Clancy resulted in a penalty to the home side. Hale stood over the ball for an age, pushing and shoving around him, Schmeichel even scuffing the penalty spot whilst the referee’s back was turned. His initial effort was tame, and Schmeichel got down to his right to produce a comfortable save, but VAR determined him to be off his line. Retake. Hale made no mistake the second time around, hammering it into the right-hand corner of the goal to give County the lead going into the half. The Staggies had their tails up going into the second half, and Ronan Hale almost scored a spectacular second. A misplaced pass from Alistair Johnston found Hale spying Schmeichel off his line; his long-range lob sailed just inches over. Brendan Rodgers had seen enough at that point, and a triple change quickly followed, with Idah, Hatate and Engles all making way for Kyogo Bernardo and McCowan. The tempo of Celtic noticeably quickened, a lot more pace in their passes around the midfield and the County defence was beginning to get stretched. Still, Celtic were struggling to get any clear shots on goal, shooting towards their fans, they were getting restless. Every shot sailing wide was met with anger from the Celtic support. They were swiftly rewarded just fifteen minutes before time, though. A Celtic corner flicked on at the near post saw Ross Laidlaw make a fantastic reflex save however, the rebound from Callum McGregor was turned in off Johnston to draw Celtic level. County were starting to sink deeper and deeper into their half, and Celtic were pouring on the pressure, roared on from a sold-out away support. Trying to push bodies forward, County were caught out at the back; goal scorer turned playmaker, Johnston’s ball slipped into Kuhn on the right, he cut inside and slotted it past Laidlaw to cue wild celebrations in the away end. Speaking to the media after, Don Cowie expressed his “disappointment for the group” but maintained he was proud of the effort his side put in. Full time: Ross County 1-2 Celtic The Staggies will now look to regroup during the international break as they face a trip to St Johnstone on the 19th of October. Celtic, meanwhile, are at home to Aberdeen in a top-of-the-table clash between the two unbeaten teams in the league thus far.
Dons Dig Deep to Deny Hearts in 5 Goal Thriller at Pittodrie
Aberdeen had to show their resilience and then some as they scored a late winner in front of a packed-out Pittodrie to maintain their unbeaten winning run in the SPFL. In a topsy-turvy clash that featured both teams taking the lead and a red card for Jorge Grant, it was Aberdeen that emerged victorious. Ante Palaversa’s 88 th -minute strike proved to be the decisive goal after Frankie Kent and Blair Spittal and got Hearts back into the game. Topi Keskinen has been a stand-out for Aberdeen since he arrived from HJK in the summer, and he made the perfect start to this game, his deflected shot spun in, leaving Craig Gordon no chance in the Hearts goal. The Dons got complacent, though, and Hearts soon took control for large parts of the game. Shankland has been criticised by some in the Hearts support this season, and he missed a couple of chances that will have done little to quell the critics. Hearts soon got their reward as Frankie Kent’s close-ranged header found the back of the net on the 36 th -minute mark. Mitov has been highly praised for Aberdeen this season, but he made a meal of a Hearts corner, and Shankland provided a smart assist to find Kent towards the back post. Kenneth Vargas has long been a target for the Hearts support this season, but his inconsistency cost them again at the start of the second half. A mistake at the back from Gavin Molloy left him and Shankland one-on-one with Mitov, but with Shankland begging for the pass, Vargas went for a chipped finish only for the ball to sail over, leaving Shankland furious with his winger. Hearts were fully in the ascendancy by the hour mark, and it was the away fans making all the noise as they continued to urge their side forward. Blair Spittal then produced a moment of pure quality as he recovered the ball on the Hearts 18-yard line, and his curled strike into the bottom corner left Mitov with no chance after Aberdeen were slow to press the ball. That goal finally seemed to wake Aberdeen up; a sense of urgency came about their play, and a sold-out Pittodrie was finally starting to make their voice heard. Just minutes after Hearts took the lead, Aberdeen broke down the right. Keskinen’s cross was initially blocked, but Nicky Devlin conjured an instinctive volley into the far corner past Gordon to tie the game. It was during the madness that Dons boss Jimmy Thelin reintroduced wantaway Dons forward Duk back into the team, replacing Kevin Nisbet. Duk would be involved in the action just a little later as Jorge Grant pulled the forward down. The ref deemed it to b an intentional foul, and Grant was given his second yellow card, with Hearts being reduced to ten men. Hearts were starting to fade, their midweek trip to Azerbaijan slowly starting to seep into their legs with Aberdeen players starting to run off them. Duk was then involved again, beating his man and getting down the touchline, his cut-back found Ante Palaversa, who smashed that ball into the roof of the net, Pittodrie erupting in celebration. Full Time Aberdeen 3-2 Hearts Dons boss Thelin has now won all 13 of his games since arriving from Elfsborg in the summer but faces his toughest test after the international break when he takes the Dandies to face Celtic at Celtic Park. The clash between the two league leaders will see both sides put their unbeaten records on the line. For Hearts, it is another game that goes by without a win in the league. Interim Head Coach Liam Fox told the club media channel he was “frustrated” that the small margins went against them in a game he felt they dominated. The result sees Hearts rooted to the bottom of the league, and they face a St Mirren side after the international break as they look to pick up their first league win.