Dons bow down to defiant Brown

Dons bow down to defiant Brown​

Aberdeen 0-1 Celtic: Champions win at 2nd place Aberdeen

Celtic produced a gutsy performance at Pittodrie to complete a clean sweep of victories over second place Aberdeen and , thanks to a superb counter-attacking goal started and finished by their skipper, Scott Brown.

The hosts started the game far better than Ronny Deila's side who, at times, had the look of a team who had been enjoying their status as Champions over the past week, and The Dons played with great intensity in the opening exchanges. A Barry Robson effort from distance had Craig Gordon scrambling across his goal, and Mark Reynolds saw his headed effort go wide of the target .

Celtic took their time settling into the game and played without any real tempo, and Leigh Griffiths seemed to permanently be in an offside position. However, The Hoops had arguably the best chance of the half as Stefan Johansen burst through on goal after Emlio Izaguirre slid him through, only to see his tame chipped effort clawed wide by Scott Brown in the Aberdeen goal.

But after the break, Celtic showed exactly why they are Champions. Scott Brown made a terrific tackle to stop Robson in the edge of his own box, before charging the entire length of the field to put his side ahead after good work from Stuart Armstrong.

​

The rest of the match would epitomise why Brown is so crucial to his team. The Celtic skipper is not the best player in the team (he's probably not even the best in his position) but he is by far the most important player in the team. There were misplaced passes, sure, but he almost single-handedly ensures that his team matches the intensity of their opponents.
When Jonny Hayes brought down Jason Denayer, there was Brown making sure the winger knew his card was marked. Moments later, he could be seen barking orders at his troops.
When is on the park, no team will ever 'want it more' than the one Scott Brown represents.

As the game drew to a close, it was another Scott Brown who came to the fore. With McInnes' side pushing for an equaliser, Brown was forced into a smart double save to stop goal-bound efforts from Leigh Griffiths and Kris Commons.
Aberdeen did eventually create an opening as a result of their pressure, when Hayes' delicious cross was nodded wide by young substitute, Lawrence Shankland.
Celtic should have doubled their lead and put the game out of sight in the closing stages, with Brown producing another double-save, this time stopping Player of the Year Johansen and James Forrest.

It's this type of performance that is the mark of Champions, they say, and Celtic have shown their mettle every time they have met Aberdeen this season, brushing aside the second best team in the country four times as they made it 4-in-a-row. Who says three is the magic number?