Celtic 3 - 2 Aberdeen

Chances Missed in First Half,/p>

KEEN, THRILLING PLAY

Aberdeen, failed to come through the big test at Parkhead on Saturday. On play the Dons were every whit as good as Celtic, and had they possessed a little more thrust at inside forward they might have won or shared the points.

Although there were only occasional glimpses of the brilliant football one associates with a meeting between champions and League leaders, the game was keenly contested, and there was no lack of thrills.
Aberdeen made an encouraging start, and when they took the lead after two minutes' play victory seemed probable. The Dons had their chances during this first period, and had they turned them to advantage they would have led at the interval instead of being in arrears.

Opening Goal

Neither set of defenders was entirely reliable, and it was a defensive blunder that led to the opening goal. Thomson, after taking the ball upfield, slipped it out to the right. Morrison and Kennaway were left with plenty time to clear, but set about the matter in too leisurely a fashion, and Beynon came flying in from the wing to touch the ball away for Armstrong to send into an empty goal.
Within eight minutes Celtic were on level terms. This goal, too, could have been prevented. Falloon failed stop Delaney as he cut in, and the winger's shot rebounded off Smith's legs. Falloon started to follow up, but hesitated, and Buchan smashed the ball into the net.
McKenzie might have scored for Aberdeen when he cleverly beat Paterson, but he elected to shoot from long range instead of carrying on.
Armstrong, too, missed a chance when he dashed through to send past following a Strauss corner. Mills also sinned in this respect when he shot past an empty goal after Kennaway had saved brilliantly from Armstrong.
A Celtic raid, which started and finished in a matter of seconds, led to the homesters taking the lead three minutes from the interval. Geatons sent the ball through to McGrory, and the centre and Delaney dashed through together before the Aberdeen defence could close in. The winger took McGrory's slip in his stride and sent the ball flashing into the net.

Equality Regained

Aberdeen started the second half in business-like fashion, and within eight minutes had regained equality. Strauss gathered a pass from Mills and, despite the close attention of Hogg and Lyon, managed to get into the centre to beat Kennaway with a fierce drive.
Celtic regained the lead five minutes later when Smith left his charge but failed to punch clear a high ball, and Delaney rushed in to head into the net.
Both goals had remarkable escapes after this. Delaney dispossessed Dunlop and went flying down the middle to crash the ball against the upright, while at the other end a surprise shot by Beynon also crashed against the woodwork.
In the closing minutes Aberdeen strove hard get on level terms, but the narrowest escape was at their own end, where McGrory missed a great chance after Smith had failed to stop a Murphy cross.