MacLean’s lucky day has Aberdeen smiling
The striker worked hard and got the breaks
Lee Miller hadn’t been in the best of form this season but his loss would have worried Aberdeen fans, particularly in games against the big teams. Miller could always be relied upon to rough up centre halfs and let them know they have been in a game.
If there were any concerns about new signing Steven MacLean, they would have been blown away after his starring role in the 4-4 draw with Celtic. The Celtic defence doesn’t need a lot of pressure to force them into errors but MacLean never gave them a moment’s peace and was deserving of his moment of glory at the end.
Like all good strikers, he took the chances that came his way…and he was the recipient of a lot of luck.
Although the penalty was struck at a reasonable height for Boruc, it had plenty of pace on it which powered it behind the Polish stopper. As for the equaliser, Darren Mackie’s shot was well off target but MacLean was in the right place and buried the ball without any hesitation.
We’d like to see the Artur Boruc collision with MacLean again before commenting further on it, so the player could have earned a penalty with the score being 2-2 but it would be fair to say that MacLean dived twice in the Celtic penalty box late on in the game. The player also escaped unpunished for running into the crowd, removing his shirt and kicking the ball away, all after his equalising strike.
When you consider that Aiden McGeady was booked for kicking the ball away and Ian Brines has never shied away from booking players for over exuberant celebrations, there is no doubt that MacLean should have seen red before the end of the game.
Sometimes that is the breaks in football so MacLean will need to take advantage of the good fortune he received in the match and press on from here. It sounds silly but sometimes it can be easier for players to perform against the big teams than against the smaller teams.
Steven MacLean now has to go out and harass and punish the defenders of other clubs the way he punished the Celtic defence but for now, he and the Aberdeen fans should enjoy their moment.
Can MacLean fire the Dons to Cup glory?
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