A last-gasp strike from Tom
Rogic sealed an historic treble for Celtic as they won the Scottish Cup
with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Aberdeen.
Brendan Rodgers' side had already won the Scottish
Premiership and Scottish League Cup, where they also beat the Dons in
the final 3-0 back in November, ahead of the Hampden Park final.
Aberdeen
took the lead after nine minutes as Jonny Hayes slotted home but Stuart
Armstrong replied almost instantly to get Celtic l evel as the sides
traded equal blows for much of the game.
Derek
McInnes' side were close to taking the Hoops to extra time but Rogic
hit home on the tightest of angles with just a minute of injury time to
play to seal Celtic's first treble in 16 years.
They
have also finished the season unbeaten in domestic competition, a total
of 47 games without loss through the 2016/17 campaign.
Aberdeen
broke the deadlock in the ninth minute as Niall McGinn delivered a
corner, finding Hayes at the back post who strode away from Leigh
Griffiths and hammered home past Kieran Tierney on the goal line who
could do nothing to keep it out.
But
it took Celtic just two minutes to get themselves level as a loose ball
fell to Armstrong after Callum McGregor was fouled, with referee Bobby
Madden doing well to play the advantage, and the former took a few
strides before curling home.
Celtic were forced into a change in
the 27th minute after Tierney had received around five minutes of
medical attention after clattering into the elbow of Jayden Stockley,
leading to a serious mouth injury. He was replaced by Rogic and despite
taking a trip to hospital, he returned to lift the trophy at the end of
the game.
The
Dons arguably shaded the half from then on as Craig Gordon was called
into action with Ryan Jack and McGinn testing the Scotland international
from the top of the box before he pushed away a strong header from
Stockley.
Scott Sinclair could have put Celtic ahead on the stroke
of half time as Griffiths whipped a ball into him at the mouth of the
goal but his attempted tap home had too much on it and it somehow
squirmed over the crossbar.
The
second half began in a furious fashion with both sides having chances
to go ahead, but Aberdeen missed the most glorious of chances nine
minutes after the restart. Hayes burst away down the right-hand side and
squared a ball to an unmarked Kenny McLean in the middle but he just
took an extra step and could not latch onto the pass as it ran wide
through an empty area.
But
Celtic mostly dominated the game from the 65th minute as Dons
goalkeeper Joe Lewis kept his side in the tie, twice, keeping Patrick
Roberts at bay with the second pushed onto the post before Mikael Lustig
headed just wide from the resulting corner.
Dedryck Boyata went
close for the Hoops with just under 20 minutes to play but his powerful
header flew over the bar before Lewis was once again called into action,
getting down low at the back post to collect an attempted tap in from
Sinclair.
But
with extra time looming and Celtic camped around the Aberdeen area,
Rogic picked up the ball in the middle of the Dons half and strode
forward, getting away from Anthony O'Connor on the right-hand side
before hitting home on a tight angle. It sent the ball wriggling under
the body of Lewis to give Celtic their fourth treble-winning season in
the club's history.
Celtic 2-1 Aberdeen: Last-gasp Tom Rogic strike seals historic treble for Celtic
Reviewed by Unknown
on
Saturday, May 27, 2017
Rating: 5
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