Celtic registered another five-goal haul in the Scottish Premiership, beating Aberdeen 5-1 as Johnny Kenny scored on his first start for the club.
The Hoops have now netted five goals in three of their last five league outings – also doing so against Kilmarnock and Dundee United – making for perfect preparation for when they face the Dons in the Scottish Cup final on May 24.
And it was a night to remember for 21-year-old Kenny. He was one of eight changes made by Brendan Rodgers from the weekend’s win against Hibernian, and he flicked home a header for Celtic’s fourth.
There had been two fine headers in the first half too. The first saw Maik Nawrocki power home a fine effort from a Celtic corner, joining Kenny in scoring his first goal for the club.
Despite the scoreline, Aberdeen were hardly run over, and equalised shortly before the break. This time it was Kevin Nisbet – well ahead of his marker, Jeff Schlupp – who rose up to nod home.
But in the eighth minute of first-half stoppage time – added because of a medical emergency in the crowd that saw the game briefly paused – Hyun-Jun Yang volleyed home from close range to see Celtic back ahead.
Celtic’s Hyun-Jun Yang celebrates with team-mates after scoring against Aberdeen
The visitors picked up where they had left off in the second half. It took just three minutes to extend their lead further, Luke McCowan shifting his weight in plenty of space before firing into the top corner. It was a superb cross in from James Forrest in the build-up too.
Aberdeen’s evening went from bad to worse as Alfie Dorrington was sent off in the 78th minute. He had been booked inside two minutes for a foul on Yang and faced an uphill battle not to receive another. It eventually came late on when a clip on Adam Idah saw him with a second yellow, and an early return to the dressing room.
Maik Nawrocki nodded home the opener in the first half
Celtic too ended the game with 10 players after an injury to Reo Hatate, but that did not stop them from claiming a fifth on the stroke of full-time when Idah pounced on a loose ball after Nicolas Kuhn’s shot was blocked, slotting home for another impressive haul.
All the goals – and the red card
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Nawrocki’s header made it 1-0 to Celtic
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Aberdeen’s Kevin Nisbet made it 1-1
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Yang was at the back post to knock in Celtic’s second goal
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Luke McCowan extended Celtic’s lead over Aberdeen to 3-1
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Kenny scored on his first Celtic start to make it 4-1
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Aberdeen’s Alfie Dorrington is shown a second yellow card
