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Douglas, Balde and Petrov were the only regulars in the team for today's game, with Sylla and Maloney starting up front. Petrov was to pose the first serious threat to the Aberdeen goal, whipping in a free kick from the left that the keeper had to look sharp to catch. 2 minutes later Thornley tried his luck from a free kick 40 yards out, but curled it over the bar as Douglas appeared to have it covered. In 17 minutes Guppy sent in a beautiful cross from the left and Sylla rose to meet it with a powerful header, but the alert Essen made an instinctive save, diverting the ball for a corner. Thornley had a chance for Aberdeen as he cut inside to shoot after a poor Smith clearance had given away possession but Douglas's handling was good. Smith and Guppy swapped sides and Smith tried a curling shot from the left in an attempt to beat the keeper at his far post and was unlucky to see it go wide. A strange moment in the half was when Essen took a goal kick from the right and tried to find his defender on the left and ended up kicking the ball out of play near the corner flag. A mix-up in defence saw McNamara knock the ball away from Balde and into the path of Darren Young who ran into the box and laid on a chance for Mackie. Fortunately for Celts Boyd was quick to get in the way and the danger was cleared. Celtic had a great chance at the start of the second half. Maloney played a neat ball to Sylla, beating the offside trap. The keeper did well, however to block the shot. On 56 minutes Balde rose to get a touch on a corner with his head but saw the ball go just wide of the left hand post. Smith had switched back to the right and he went off on a pacy run going past 2 men before crossing in front of goal. Maloney was a few inches away from giving Celtic the lead. An altercation between Sylla and Thornley which led to them both getting booked gave Celtic a free kick 35 yards out in 70 minutes. Maloney lined up with Petrov and produced a beautiful dipping shot that cleared the wall and gave the keeper no chance. Another good move from Celtic saw Healey play the ball to Maloney inside the box. Shaun's cross was heading for Sylla and the defender's attempt to clear it narrowly missed producing an own goal. Fortunately for Aberdeen the ball went just past the post. After Maloney's superb free kick he looked sure to score when he was one on one with the keeper after beating the offside trap. Instead of the early chip, Shaun went for a bit of trickery to confuse the keeper but ended up losing the ball. Another victory sealed a great championship run. Only one defeat and 4 draws and a massive 103 points. Also the least number of goals ever achieved by Championship winning team. A tribute to Martin O'Neill and the players. Roll on next season. Aberdeen: Esson, Anderson, McGuire, Whyte, McAllister (Rutkiewicz 65), Derek Young (Tiernan 78), Darren Young, Bisconti (Clark 81), Thornley, Mackie, Mike.
Celtic: Douglas, McNamara, Balde, Boyd, Sylla, Wieghorst, Petrov, Guppy, Maloney, Smith, Healy.
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