The home side took the lead in the 6th minute when Paul Lawson shrugged off Jamie Winter to knock the ball past Greg Kelly. Aberdeen were by no means out of it though and the crossbar came to Celtic's rescue from a Steven Craig header, following good work from Winter and Thorarinn Kristjansson.
After 52 minutes, Celtic doubled their advantage when Tony McParland, who had replaced Lawson, shot home from close range. Again the Dons responded and Ricky Foster fired a half-chance over the bar before the same player found John Stewart, whose shot was deflected wide.
Gary Dempsey, one of two Dons to be booked along with Winter, played the full ninety minutes in his first match since January.