'Don and Dusted'

Don and Dusted: Celtic defeat second placed Aberdeen to secure 5 in a Row

3 vs 2

Celtic Park
Glasgow
Scottish Premiership
Sunday 8th May 2016

Patrick Roberts once again stole the show for Celtic as his brace helped the Hoops to a 3-2 win against nearest rivals Aberdeen. The win saw Ronny Deila's men confirm their status as champions of Scotland for the 5th season in a row and the celebrations will no doubt be in full swing next week in the final game of the season against Motherwell. However, despite the title being wrapped up mathematically, today's game could easily be used as a prime example of why Ronny Deila will no longer be Celtic manager heading into the 2016/17 season.

The first half was without doubt the better of the two for Celtic. It could very well have started differently however had Niall McGinn managed to convert Hayes' brilliant cross into the box within the opening five minutes. Similar to their last visit to the East End of Glasgow however, the Dons would be made to rue this missed chance.

Patrick Roberts is really beginning to make a name for himself here in Scotland with that at times 'magical', left peg of his. The diminutive winger once again showed his class today with a clinical double, the first of which coming just a couple of minutes after McGinn had spurned his opportunity to open the scoring for the visitors.

After driving inside in his now typically positive and aggressive fashion, the 19 year old let rip from 25 yards with a driven strike which rose into the right hand corner of the Aberdeen net, leaving the keeper with absolutely no chance. The early goal was no doubt exactly what Ronny Deila was looking for on a day where a marker had to be laid down to the nearest challengers to the championship crown.



Let it rip: Roberts drives the ball home with a spectacular opener

The second did not take long to come either, and once again two familiar faces were at the centre of it for Celtic. In a move which worked from left to right, Tom Rogic fed the ball into top goalscorer Leigh Griffiths, who at first seemed to have lost control of the ball. Never one to give up however, he managed to slip the ball through to Roberts who had timed his run to perfection in order to beat the offside trap. Everyone inside Celtic Park could see what was coming next as he opened up his body and stroked the ball home with his left foot, putting the Hoops into a comfortable 2-0 lead inside 20 minutes. The remainder of the first half was controlled by Celtic, with Aberdeen offering very little going forward, especially after main striker Simon Church was forced off with an injury.



2 up and cruising: Roberts curls in his second of the game

As the 2nd half began, Celtic once again looked eager to grab more goals and after 4 minutes had passed, they did exactly that. Efe Ambrose, who had replaced Mulgrew at half time, uncharacteristically played a fantastic ball over the top to Callum McGregor, who then drove at the Aberdeen defence from the right wing. After a terrific piece of footwork which saw him bamboozle Graeme Shinnie, he had the composure to pick out the marauding Mikael Lustig in the box, who finished like a seasoned striker to put the Hoops 3-0 up. At this point it seemed as though the fans inside Celtic Park were going to be treated to a cricket score in the sun.

It wasn't to be however and unfortunately they were instead given a second half showing which has become all too familiar under the stewardship of Ronny Deila. A slackness began to creep into the Celts play as they seemed to sit back slightly after scoring the third, allowing McInnes' men to sneak back into the game. Ambrose, despite his great contribution to the third, went on to show why the vast majority of Celtic fans would not be too heartbroken if he was to be shipped off in the summer. He arguably contributed to both Aberdeen goals after already giving away a great chance which Johnny Hayes couldn't capitalise on.

The Dons' first reply came from a poor Nir Biton pass in the centre of the park and as they broke into the Celtic half, the defence was split severely. This allowed Niall McGinn to find space and slide the ball past Craig Gordon, making up for his miss early in the first half. At this stage it was still 3-1 of course, and as long as Celtic remained calm, there was no great reason to worry. It is at times like this however, that the mentality of Deila's squad comes into question and they unsurprisingly began to crumble somewhat. You could almost sense a second Aberdeen goal was coming and Efe Ambrose was the man to help them get it. After giving away a foul not too far from the edge of the Celtic box, the resulting free-kick saw Andy Considine power a header past Gordon to give the Dons' even more hope of getting something from the game. A combination of a mis-timed jump from Ambrose and poor marking from Sviatchenko allowed the goal to come about.



Squeaky * time: Considine rises highest to make it 3-2.

The remaining 25 minutes was not all that impressive as Celtic struggled to regain control of a game which had looked over after only 50 minutes. In fact, Aberdeen had the best chance to score next but Shay Logan was unable to convert his header at the back post after slack defending from the Hoops backline. Set pieces once again proving to be Celtic's achilles heel.

Despite the second half being a slight anti-climax, the Hoops held on and at the final whistle could celebrate as they were officially crowned champions after a long and often frustrating season. There were muted celebrations at full time with the main party and trophy presentation coming next week when the season ends once and for all against Motherwell at home.

Despite Ronny Deila's obvious failings, he can still leave Celtic Park and Scotland with his head held high, knowing he has helped contribute to two league titles in what will hopefully be a historic 10 in-a-row run.



5 down, 5 to go: The Celtic squad celebrate after finally securing a fifth successive title