Celtic 2-0 Aberdeen
Scottish Cup semi-final
01/11/20
Aberdeen limped out the Scottish Cup semi-final to Celtic 2-0 at a saturated Hampden Park.
Celtic scored two goals in the first half through Ryan Christie and Mohamed Elyounoussi in a far less hectic affair than when the sides met last week in the SPL.
Whilst Neil Lennon was still a little on edge defending his side from the recent criticism they’ve been receiving, Dons boss Derek McInnes was far more philosophical about the defeat to Celtic.
McInnes told the BBC post match: “The better team in the opening period won the game.
“I thought we were toe to toe with them in the second half.
“A moment of brilliance and a moment of being slack with the second goal has cost us today. It’s a hell of a strike by Ryan Christie, but we sink to deep. We need to confront that and be braver with our starting position.”
Marley Watkins was subbed off in the second half with a double injury blow.
On Watkins, McInnes said: “It’s a double whammy. He seems to have bust his nose and done his hamstring in at the same time.”
Special praise was reserved for Matty Kennedy who came in to replace the injured Jonny Hayes.
McInnes said of Kennedy: “Wee Matty Kennedy carried the fight and gave us the personality in the team. While it is a blow losing Jonny for a time, I think Matty coming in was very good.”
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Celtic boss Neil Lennon was delighted with his team’s performance and getting into another cup final, reserving special praise for Tom Rogic who set up both goals.
Lennon said of Rogic: “He’s a class player. We know what we’ve got with him. He’s had difficulty with injuries which has been very frustrating for him, but he’s a joy to watch at times.”
Despite the victory the Hoops boss was still a little on edge about the questions raised concerning his team’s performances so far this season.
When asked whether the players were reacting to criticism Lennon bluntly replied, “I don’t know what you mean,” before saying, “we know what we’ve got with the players and there’s a long way to go.
“It’s unfair to throw the book at them after a couple dodgy performances, if you want to call it that, against quality sides.”
Match recap- Team Selection: Hayes out the starting-11 for first time this season
Derek McInnes made three changes to the side that drew 3-3 with Celtic at Pittodrie in the SPL last weekend.
Sam Cosgrove was given his first start returning from long-term injury as Jonny Hayes missed out altogether having started every game for the Dons this season.
Cosgrove has been the Dons’ top goalscorer in the past two seasons scoring a combined forty-four goals in 2018/19 and 19/20 in all comps.
Hayes didn’t make the semi-final after injuring his groin in training during the week.
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Ryan Edmondson dropped to the bench after his recovery from concussion in the coming together with Shane Duffy last Sunday.
Scott Wright and Matty Kennedy were both drafted back into the starting eleven. Wright has been putting in good performances recently and was deserving of a starting birth. Kennedy returned from injury after good early season form.
Dylan McGeouch was the other player to drop out after injuring his groin in the draw with Celtic. The midfielder could be out for up to eight weeks.
For Celtic, Odsonne Edouard and Israeli international Nir Bitton were handed their first starts since returning to the squad.
Scott Brown was back in while Leigh Griffiths remained on the bench after his goalscoring substitute appearance last weekend.
Aberdeen line-up, 3-4-2-1 : Lewis (c), Hoban, Considine, Taylor, Hedges, Wright, McCrorie, Ferguson, Kennedy, Cosgrove, Watkins
Subs: Woods, Logan, Ojo, McLennan, McGinn, Devlin, Leigh, Main, Edmondson,
Celtic line-up, 4-2-3-1: Bain, Duffy, Bitton, Brown (c), Christie, Rogic, Edouard, Elyounoussi, Frimpong, McGregor, Laxalt
Subs: Barkasm, Taylor, Griffiths, Ajeti, Klimala, Soro, Turnbull, Ntcham, Elhamed
Celtic were supposed to be knackered, but had the bit between their teeth
Celtic playing Lille in the Europa League on Thursday was supposed to be a hindrance compared to Aberdeen who had a free week to prepare for the cup.
However, instead of putting weariness in the Celtic players, the game in France seemed to sharpen them up.
Particularly important for Celtic was the game time received by returning first team regulars Nir Bitton and Odsonne Edouard.
For Aberdeen, who had a free week to lay down intricate schemes to finally beat Celtic on the eleventh attempt, game plans were thrown out the window at the eleventh hour when it was revealed Jonny Hayes would miss the match after injuring himself in training.
The ex-Celtic player has been integral to McInnes being able to implement a three at the back system which is giving Aberdeen better potency up-front.
So bad was the loss of Hayes that, on the half-hour mark, McInnes reverted to a back four with McCrorie slotting in in defence.
Ryan Christie opened the scoring on eighteen minutes. The former Don was given space to open his body and execute a curling finishing from the edge of the box.
Five minutes later Mohamed Elyounoussi put daylight between the Dons and Celtic.
Elyounoussi kept up his fine form, netting his third goal in two matches after scoring both Celtic’s goals in France on Thursday.
The goal at Hampden was far simpler than the twenty yard curler scored in the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, with the Norwegian tapping-in at the back post off a Rogic cross.
Sam Cosgrove, after causing some early headaches for Celtic with his presence, had ran his race on the hour mark and was replaced by Connor McLennan.
Ash Taylor came off for Greg Leigh, McGinn got a ten minute run out for Kennedy, but most worryingly for the Dons was Marley Watkins, assisted off after a collision with Scott Brown.
Apart from last weekend’s thrilling 3-3 draw at Pittodrie, the last time the Dons put two past Celtic was seven games ago during a 4-3 home defeat in December 2018, and it never looked like that was going to happen today.
Controversy as Hearts beat Hibs in other semi-final
The Edinburgh derby was played in a storm both literally and metaphorically.
It was announced just before the game that former Hearts captain Marius Žaliūkas passed away at the age of 36.
It was probably fitting then that Hearts went through, although there was controversy around their progression to the final.
After remaining 1-1 in regular time through goals from Craig Wighton for Hearts and Christian Doidge for Hibs, extra-time brought a flurry of incidents.
First, Hibernian got a penalty after Joe Newell was fouled by Mihai Popescu, but Kevin Nisbet smacked his spot kick against the bar.
Minutes later Hearts got a penalty when Aidan White was fouled in the box by Paul McGinn. This time Liam Boyce buried his strike.
Both penalties were considered soft.
The result, largely down to a man-of-the-match performance by former Scotland keeper Craig Gordon, gave Hearts some early season joy after a turgid few years have seen the Edinburgh giants drop into the Championship.
The delayed 2019/20 Scottish Cup final is scheduled for 20th December at Hampden Park.
Aberdeen’s final match before the November international break is a big clash versus Hibs in the SPL at Pittodrie, Friday 6th October, KO 19:45.
Harry Jamshid Reporter Sports Pages 