GORDON Strachan did not let himself be fooled by what he saw on Saturday, no matter the drama involved. By the time he met with reporters after another breathless win for his side the Celtic manager had already composed himself.
Yes Aiden McGeady played well he agreed, pointing out also that fellow substitute Scott McDonald had earned his wages. But no it would not impact on his thoughts for tomorrow's night visit to El Madrigal, where Celtic continue their quest for a mai
den Champions League victory on the road.
He had, he claimed, already selected his team for Villarreal, who also warmed up for tomorrow's Group E clash with a hard-fought 1-0 victory at Sporting Gijon. "I had already picked two teams, one for today and one for Tuesday," Strachan said.
He is probably wise to discount the evidence presented during Saturday's game, thrilling though McGeady and McDonald's contribution was alongside Georgios Samaras and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink in a four-pronged attack. Aberdeen, tormented by loss of confidence and always more liable to concede than score, are no Villarreal. Indeed, the Spanish side, helped by Giuseppe Rossi's winning goal on Saturday night, have made their best ever start to a Primera Liga season.
It might be that McGeady, whose relationship with Strachan has endured more twists and turns than one of his own often dazzling runs, will start tomorrow. If he does, it will likely be wide on the left, in a five-man midfield, and with a single target man at which to aim his devastating deliveries. But McGeady's involvement is not a given, even after his stylish cameo on Saturday, where he set up two of Celtic's three goals.
Shaun Maloney, for one, will have been relieved to hear that Strachan will not be basing his team on what occurred before his eyes on Saturday, although it is surely fanciful to suggest the manager won't have noted the performance of Marc Crosas, the former Barcelona player who looked calm and assured in a withdrawn midfield role. This is the type of position Strachan will need occupied in Spain, and all the better that someone with experience of playing in that country might fill it.
Maloney, too, could be useful in unlocking the Spanish side's defence, which has been breached only twice this season. But the winger was off-form against his hometown team on Saturday, and his withdrawal for McGeady was greeted favourably by the crowd. This came on the hour mark, with the score at 1-1, though the switch did not mark an immediate return to the dominance enjoyed by Celtic in the opening stages. Indeed, Charlie Mulgrew, sold by Celtic in 2006, was the substitute who continued hogging the limelight during this mid-way spell.
Having brought Aberdeen level 11 minutes after the interval with an angled drive, Mulgrew, who came on for Scott Severin in the first-half, slotted a beautifully struck free-kick past Artur Boruc in the 65th minute. The Aberdeen fans, who bobbed up and down in the cramped away corner at Parkhead, were not able to contain themselves, some spilling out onto the trackside. You could not deny them this delight, especially since it proved so short-lived.
The signal for panic came when McDonald replaced Crosas. The switch displayed Celtic's intent, with the Australian taking his place in what was effectively a four-man attack. Aberdeen have struggled against far less potent line-ups than Samaras, Vennegoor of Hesselink, McDonald and McGeady. Indeed, they contrived to lose a match nine days ago at Pittodrie when the opponents, Dundee United, had barely a shot on goal.
The reflex action in the Aberdeen end on McDonald's introduction was to examine watches. 18 minutes left. Can we hold out? Given the loss of four goals against Kilmarnock in the opening 26 minutes in midweek, combined with Celtic's habitual ability to score at the fag-end of games, there can't have been many away fans who imagined it would be a finale free of angst. By the same token, can there really remain some in the home stands who doubt Celtic's ability to turn around a two-goal deficit? Remarkably, it seems that there are, with many seats being evacuated, even after McDonald had begun the rescue mission with an equaliser on 77 minutes.
The striker had required only five minutes to nudge in his second goal of the season, after McGeady had provided one of his difficult-to-defend angled crosses into the box. McGeady did it again in the final minute of regulation time after having chased down Mulgrew's attempted pass deep in the Celtic half. From there the home side mounted another attempt to win the match, and the winger's near post ball was back-heeled into the net by Vennegoor of Hesselink, who had also set his team on the way with a smart finish in the first-half.
As the players regrouped, the fourth official signalled that a further three minutes of stoppage time would be played. Impressively, given the mental toll of Aberdeen's week, Jimmy Calderwood's team still found it within themselves to create one further chance to salvage something from the game. Substitute Sone Aluko threaded a ball through to Darren Mackie, who looked like he was second best in the chase with Boruc. While Mackie's pace won this private battle, his finish was skewed just wide of the post, as anguished spasms contorted the bodies of the Aberdeen fans to his right.
"I had my mortgage on it (going in]," said Pittodrie midfielder Stuart Duff. Given Aberdeen's luck earlier, it's probably with the Bradford & Bingley.
The full article contains 953 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
