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Celtic 4
(AET)
Celtic won the game against the ten-man Dons 4-3 after a pulsating game of football including perhaps the most exciting extra-time period ever witnessed at Pittodrie.
Dons Edged Out In Youth Cup Cracker
Celtic 4
(AET)
Celtic won the game against the ten-man Dons 4-3 after a pulsating game of football including perhaps the most exciting extra-time period ever witnessed at Pittodrie.
The two sides have met several times in recent Scottish Youth Cup competitions, and the games always provide some form of entertainment.
Recently, 2001 saw the Dons beat Celtic 2-0 at Hampden in the final, with the Hoops gaining revenge in the final two years later.
Recently, 2001 saw the Dons beat Celtic 2-0 at Hampden in the final, with the Hoops gaining revenge in the final two years later.
The youth league match this season ended in a 4-1 defeat for the Dons after going a goal up, and the kids were desperate to prove that was a one-off.
The Dons reached the semi-final after making it past Clyde, Elgin City and Ross County, and faced the team they beat in the final of season 2000/01 to collect the trophy.
A fairly quiet and cagey first-half saw Celtic have most of the possession without carving out many clear-cut chances. Bjarnasson shot weakly wide for Celtic after 10 minutes, and Chris Maguire hit a similarly weak effort on target a couple of minutes later for the Dons.
Celtic took control and piled pressure on Greg Kelly's goal before finally taking the lead three minutes before half time with an O'Carroll header.
A fairly quiet and cagey first-half saw Celtic have most of the possession without carving out many clear-cut chances. Bjarnasson shot weakly wide for Celtic after 10 minutes, and Chris Maguire hit a similarly weak effort on target a couple of minutes later for the Dons.
Celtic took control and piled pressure on Greg Kelly's goal before finally taking the lead three minutes before half time with an O'Carroll header.
These games never stay quiet for long. The second half saw Celtic come flying out of the traps, dominating the possession as much as they did in the first half but being far more direct. Greg Kelly's hands were kept as warm as Satan's Breville as the Celts' youths looked to add to their lead.
A moment of sheer magic from Aberdeen's Chris Maguire levelled the tie. The young striker picked up the ball and floated a perfect shot over Celtic's stranded keeper from fully 30 yards out.
Celtic came straight back at the Dons, camping themselves in the young Reds' half without really troubling Kelly in goal before the full-time whistle.
The last time the two sides met in the Youth Cup in the 2003 final, the game went to extra time after Ricky Foster made the game 1-1. That game ended 3-1 with Celtic's superior fitness winning the day for them in a disappointing extra time display.
This time, the extra period had as much action as Pittodrie has seen all season. Celtic went 2-1 up five minutes into the first half but the Dons equalised five minutes later when young Ashley McInnes struck.
Only a minute later Celtic went back into the lead thanks to a bewildering penalty decision, converted by O'Carroll. Referee Morag Pirie was at the centre of the controversy, and compounded her mistake by mysteriously sending off the Dons' Brian Neill who had appeared to do nothing at all.
The Dons thought they had taken the match to penalty kicks when Chris Maguire scored his second with only two minutes to go to make the game 3-3, but the scenes of joy turned to tears as Celtic scored the winner in the final minute of the game through McGowan.
The Dons thought they had taken the match to penalty kicks when Chris Maguire scored his second with only two minutes to go to make the game 3-3, but the scenes of joy turned to tears as Celtic scored the winner in the final minute of the game through McGowan.
Aberdeen: Kelly, Thomson, Donald, Neill, Skinner, Thomas, Considine, McInnes, Kiely, Bagshaw, Maguire.
Celtic: Fox, Caddis, Richardson, Grant, Hutchison, McCafferty, McGlinchey, Ferry, O'Carroll, McGowan, Bjarnasson.
CMS1903
Picture courtesy of www.afc.co.uk