Aberdeen made a positive start and won the opening corner in the third minute when a Zdrilic first time effort was deflected wide. This was quickly followed by a second corner, which Celtic cleared comfortably. Celtic struck back in the 6th minute when Buckley conceded a free kick. The Dons defence also coped well with the threat and cleared their lines. The home side then settled into their stride and started to exert some pressure as the Dons were put on the back foot. At this stage the Dons defence was being pulled all over the place as Larsson and Sylla combined well.

The pressure paid off for the home side in the 15th minute when Larsson ran on to the ball and as Preece delayed the Celtic striker smashed the ball past him to open the scoring. Aberdeen tried to hit back and won a corner in the 18th minute but Muirhead's effort went well over the bar as he was leaning back as he hit the ball. The Dons ventures forward were few and far between as they worked hard to keep Celtic out. Muirhead did break in the 23rd minute and beat Agathe before delivering a decent cross that Foster just failed to connect with.

Heikkinen was immense in the middle of the park and was creating chances for his front men when the opportunity arose. The big plus for the Dons was the work rate throughout the team. Celtic were never allowed too much room and the Dons were defending well. This was illustrated in the 39th minute when Morrison threw himself in font of a Sylla strike to deny the Celtic forward. A minute later Larsson was released again and this time Preece was off his line quickly to deny the striker. At the other end Heikkinen hit a low shot from 25 yards out which he pulled wide of the target. The Dons were still hitting Celtic on the break and as the half time whistle went the Dons could feel proud of their opening 45 minutes despite the loss of the Larsson goal.

As happened in the first half Aberdeen won the first two corners of the half in the 50th minute. A Zdrilic shot was turned round the post and after a decent delivery from Morrison, Lennon cleared the ball for a second corner. The home side easily dealt with the second delivery. Aberdeen then grabbed a sensational equaliser in the 55th minute when Muirhead drilled the ball across the face of the goal where Prunty was on hand to grab the equaliser. The goal stunned the home side and they immediately stepped up a gear as they looked to regain the lead as the small band of Reds pumped up the volume.

Larsson went close again in the 75th minute when his snap shot was deflected wide of the target. Not surprisingly the Dons were getting forced further back and Liam Miller had another shot deflected wide a minute later. The corner count was mounting now for the home side, but the Dons were standing firm against the onslaught. Muirhead gave the Dons some relief in the 83rd minute when he won a corner from Neil Lennon. A Zdrilic header looked to have been deflected over, but a goal kick was the decision. With five minutes remaining Celtic won another corner as Foster cleared the danger. The resulting set play found Varga, but Preece easily saved his header although he did undo the good work when his clearance went straight out of play.

The final minutes saw the home side lay siege to the Aberdeen goal as they sent Varga up front to try and grab the winner. Then with a minute remaining Foster broke and set up Muirhead who watched in agony as his shot sailed over the bar. It was joy a couple of minutes later as Zdrilic grabbed an even more sensational second goal for the Dons after striding through and beating Marshall. Sheerin almost grabbed a third in the closing seconds but was denied by Marshall. The whistle went and the tiny band of Dons fans erupted. This will be one trip back from Glasgow that they will enjoy.

Audio: (Bryan Prunty goal Commentary),(David Zdrilic goal Commentary)
Soundclips courtesy of Northsound Radio