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Late goals from Kieran Tierney and James Forrest gave under-critic Wilfred Nancy his first win as Celtic boss with a 3-1 victory over 10-man Aberdeen at Parkhead.
The Frenchman was under immense pressure after starting his tenure with four consecutive defeats.
But the former Columbus Crew head coach finally got the break as midfielder Benjamin Nygren fired the ball in from eight yards out in the 39th minute of the game, which should have won even more easily.
The Dons’ 20-year-old defender Dylan Lobban was shown a straight red card just before the break for fouling Hoops striker Dezan Maeda after a mistake by Pittodrie goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov, whose good performance otherwise prevented defeat.
Dons substitute Kenan Bilalovic stunned Parkhead by scoring an equalizer in the 74th minute, but Tierney restored Celtic’s lead from a few yards in the 87th, before fellow replacement Forrest scored the third in stoppage time.
It was some relief for Nancy as Celtic moved to within six points of William Hill Premiership leaders Hearts, having beaten Rangers 2-1 at Tynecastle earlier in the day, and the Hoops have a game in hand on the Jambos.
It was a positive end to a week where Peter Lovell revealed he would be stepping down as chairman at the end of the year, citing “abuse” and “bullying” amid ongoing fan protests against the board.
Indeed, several thousand Celtic fans took part in an anti-board protest outside the main stand before the game. Nancy’s men quickly took control and missed several chances amid an awkward, subdued atmosphere.
Hoops striker Jonny Kenny missed Maeda’s cross by inches in the seventh minute, before midfielder Arne Engels fired home from the edge of the box.
Maeda somehow crossed the target from close range after Mitov spilled Engel’s corner in the 27th minute, the Dons keeper saved Engel’s angled drive for a corner, and then Kenny narrowly missed from 14 yards.
The first great excitement of the game came when Nygren headed in a cutback from Maeda and as Celtic maintained their threat, Mitov nodded Luke McCowan’s ball over the bar.
However when Mitov’s poor pass, while he was well outside his box, went to Maeda, he ran towards goal and was pulled back by Lobban, leaving referee David Dickinson no option but to send the defender off.
Celtic’s pressure continued at the beginning of the second half. Mitov made two more good saves, first from an Auston Trusty header and then from a McCowan drive.
The Dons keeper was beaten by a chip from Nygren from a tight angle but the ball hit the far post and bounced back into his arms.
Mitov made another impressive save from a long-range piledriver from Celtic defender Anthony Ralston before Engels fired a looping cross from the left into the goal frame and the Granite City team again escaped, as they did when Engels crashed a header off the post.
Aberdeen’s leveler was against the progress of the game.
Substitute Kjartan Kjartansson sent 20-year-old Bilalovic on a run down the middle and he beat Hoops keeper Kasper Schmeichel with a drive.
There was panic among the disbelieving home fans, but with three minutes remaining Tierney turned in at the back post to convert a cross from substitute Colby Donovan, before fellow substitute Forrest slotted in a third from close range, which meant he had scored at least once in 17 consecutive seasons.