Celtic emerged 6-5 penalty kick winners against Aberdeen after a pulsating 3-3 draw in the first Scottish Cup semi-final of this season.
There was an early setback for the Hoops as Bojan Miovski left Cameron Carter-Vickers in no man’s land before dispatching past Joe Hart to send the Dons fans wild. And the North Macedonian international was almost in again before he and Carter-Vickers tumbled to the ground.
Yang missed a point-blank header to restore parity as Celtic struggled to find any sort of control in the game against an Aberdeen side who’ve endured a beleaguered season. Signs of the poor performances that have dogged their campaign would appear as Angus MacDonald got caught on the ball nears his own box, with Kyogo pouncing to dispossess him and Nicolas Kuhn eventually tapping home beyond Kelle Roos.
Control of play was soon assumed by Celtic but there wasn’t much happening in terms of clear cut openings after a fast start. The biggest before half-time fell to Stefan Gartenmann, after a Dons free-kick evaded Hoops attention and required a Hart intervention.
There were hearts in Celtic mouths when Liam Scales appeared to handle the ball but VAR ruled contact was made outside the box. After half-time it was one-way traffic and Yang had a good opening blocked, but as he was hooked on the hour-mark, replacement James Forrest came on to curl a shot into the bottom corner.
He could have had another a few minutes later but his effort was well blocked by the Aberdeen defence. The Dons soon started piling bodies forward and Junior Hoilett had a big chance go wide after a mix-up at the back for Celtic, before Carter-Vickers made a huge goal-line block as the former QPR winger’s shot headed towards the net.
Luis Palma’s only contribution to the game in four regular time minutes after coming off the bench was to give the ball away to Aberdeen, which the Dons punished as Ester Sokler headed home to send this to extra-time. Palma then watched a diving header trickle wide, agonisingly, in the dying embers as Celtic failed to prevent an additional 30 minutes.
Matt O’Riley stepped up to be the Hoops hero as he struck a 106th minute goal to again put Celtic ahead. Referee Don Robertson then opted not to give Aberdeen a penalty after Carter-Vickers fouled Hoilett in the box, spotting a foul on Alistair Johnston in the build-up.
But they couldn’t hold on as MacDonald completed a redemption arc, heading home a dramatic leveller to send this to penalties. As Hart saved a Ryan Duncan penalty, he shockingly stepped up to take the winner, but cannoned it off the most as dramatic scenes turned bonkers, with sudden death kicked in.
Hart would get his heroic moment in the end as he saved Cillian Phillips’ penalty to send Celtic through from a cup classic. Rangers or Hearts await in the final next month. Here is how Glasgow World rated Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic players at Hampden.
1. Joe Hart - 7/10
Not able to do much for early goal and made a good stop to deny Aberdeen a second. A calming presence and good distribution too, a side of his game that has been criticised. Saved a penalty then missed one. A bizarre end to the game and then saved a winning penalty.
2. Alistair Johnston - 6/10
Left exposed at the opener by those around him. A threat going forward and astute defensively, until late on where he was a bit out of position as Aberdeen crossed for their leveller. Big assist for O'Riley.
3. Cameron Carter-Vickers - 4/10
All over the place for the Miovski goal and had a couple other shaky first half moments, with Gartenmann also behind him. Recovered in the second half but again, positioning was poor as Aberdeen spurned a huge chance. Then made a massive block on the line, which spared his side's blushes. Followed by a foul in the build-up to a Dons attacking sparing him from giving away a penalty. Big up and big downs on a rare off day.
4. Liam Scales - 4/10
Fans showed some frustration over lack of speed when moving the ball forward at times. A tad more comfortable in the second half but played part in gifting Aberdeen in behind, then caught under the ball for their second and again for the third. Tough afternoon.