Martin O’Neill confessed to holding his breath as Celtic’s decisive goal against Aberdeen faced scrutiny, but ultimately, the team secured a vital win, climbing to second place in the Premiership standings.
Starting strong, Celtic took an early lead with a goal from Kieran Tierney. Aberdeen, however, equalized midway through the first half when Kevin Nisbet successfully converted a penalty.
The match’s turning point came when Benjamin Nygren, introduced as a substitute, netted his 19th goal of the season just six minutes after stepping onto the pitch, propelling Celtic past Rangers in the league table.
“Heart in mouth? Absolutely,” O’Neill admitted. “It felt like an eternity. The fourth official mentioned they were reviewing two images.”
Despite his concerns, O’Neill was relieved as the match concluded in Celtic’s favor. “It was a challenging match, but we managed to pull through and keep our momentum going,” he remarked.
When asked about his confidence in securing the winning goal, O’Neill candidly replied, “No. Scoring goals is always tough.”
Benjamin Nygren grabs the winning goal for Celtic at Pittodrie – his 19th of the season
‘When we scored the first goal early on, I thought that was the time to push forward and try and get the second.
‘It was a tough old second half. We had to take risks, create chances but at the same time try not to concede a goal.
‘That was possible, but Nygren comes up with the goods. James (Forrest) did very well. He made the penalty for us on Sunday and he can make an impact. I think he looks at me and thinks: “I think you think I’m too old here”.
‘The subs in recent weeks have made big contributions, that’s important for us. Our third game in six days, that was tough. We knew it was going to be tough, but we saw it through anyway.’
O’Neill heaped praise on Nygren, who’s now scored in his first two visits to Aberdeen.
‘He’s doing something that’s the most difficult thing in the game,’ he said.
‘He’s popped up again with the winning goal. It was a big win. It certainly helps and keeps us at least for a little while in the race.
‘(Our) goalkeeper’s (Viljami Sinisalo) has made a great save and has absolutely done fine in the matches that he’s played.
‘This was always going to be difficult. I’ve thought about this game since Sunday. It’s a third game in six days. We’re asking a lot and using the subs. Sometimes it’s great when the subs come on and the impact is good, sometimes it doesn’t.’
Aberdeen interim manager Peter Leven was bemused at why Celtic’s winning goal was allowed to stand.
‘It looks offside but why is there not two lines drawn?’ he asked. ‘There was only one drawn. But listen, right now it’s not going for us, these decisions in the game.
‘Players need to be a bit more streetwise. Lyall (Cameron) needs to ask the question late on when (Reo) Hatate goes in.
‘I think Lyall was too honest and stayed on his feet. (Graham) Shinnie had a hand in the back and could have gone down.
‘We need to start picking up points. I thought second half we started really well and kept pressure on Celtic but we need to sustain that.
‘I thought the players worked really hard today. We started the second half really well, but listen, it’s just not going for us.
‘They worked really hard, but it’s zero points which is frustrating because I thought they put in a good shift tonight. They are a quality team, Celtic, but I’m proud of the players tonight.’
The Dons’ top-six ambitions are now over but they will focus on defending the Scottish Cup when they travel to Dunfermline on Saturday.
‘It’s the next game, a huge game at the weekend,’ he added. ‘We want to retain the title. The boys will rest and recover and will go again in the later part of the week.
‘I think you saw tonight the quality we have. We just need a longer period of time in games to control the game and create more chances.’
