A classy goal from Socceroo Tom Rogic has given Celtic a 1-0 win over Aberdeen in the Scottish Championship.
Rogic’s half-volley in the 23rd minute at Pittodrie which took the Scottish champions 10 points clear of the Dons with a game in hand.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers hailed his team’s resilience as they held on for the victory.
“Any game I listened to over the years as a young supporter on the radio and watched here at Aberdeen, it’s always been a tough game and Celtic came here and lost twice last year. So a brilliant win for us in many aspects,” Rodgers said.
“I said to the players a few weeks ago, you have to learn to win 1-0 because you are not always going to score four or five or six goals.
“But if you have got that spirit and collective mentality to fight, then it gives you a great chance in any game.”
Celtic had chances to extend their lead either side of the break but Stuart Armstrong missed the best one and Joe Lewis pulled off good saves from Scott Sinclair, Rogic and Moussa Dembele.
That allowed Aberdeen to come back into it, with substitute James Maddison causing problems, and Celtic survived some difficult late moments.
Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes was full of praise for Celtic’s Australian goalscorer.
“I applaud them for winning the game and it was real quality from Rogic for the goal,” he said.
“I’m a bit disappointed he found that space at the edge. But I thought we deserved something from the game.”
Nemesis
Guest
Slow league? I'd rate the pace of the Scottish Premier League higher than most leagues on the Continent. It may not be technically the highest level, but physically it would be very strenuous. Sure, Rogic is not known for his engine. He is known for his technical ability.
AZ_RBB
Guest
I worship the bloke but just to play devils advocate. It seems like he struggles to play 90mins most of the time. SPL is a fairly slow league. Is it a worry that our best player can't play a full game even in a slow league?
Minz
Guest
What a cracking goal. That use of both feet... whoa.
The Phantom Commissioner
Roar Rookie
Watched the game and Rogic was fantastic, the goal was thing of beauty and there was some audacious bit of skill from him throughout. Seems he doesn't score the simple ones though, should have had 2 or possibly 3 more that were far more clear cut than the one he scored. Could say that for alot of games i've watched him play for Celtic this season, if he'd taken more of the chances that have fallen his way he'd be into double figures for goals already.