 Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink saves Celtic's cup hopes at Pittodrie |
Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink netted in the last minute to keep Celtic in the Scottish Cup after Aberdeen had looked set for victory at Pittodrie. The Dons had taken the lead in the quarter-final tie when Jeffery de Visscher fired the ball under keeper Artur Boruc with 12 minutes remaining.
At the other end, Derek Soutar made saves from Vennegoor of Hesselink while Scott McDonald also hit the woodwork.
But Vennegoor of Hesselink swept home from six yards with just seconds left.
Celtic manager Gordon Strachan made four changes to the side that lost to Barcelona in the Champions League in midweek for the trip north.
Andreas Hinkel returned from suspension to replace right-back Mark Wilson and Darren O'Dea came in for left-back Lee Naylor.
Evander Sno replaced the suspended Scott Brown in midfield and top scorer McDonald came back into the side at the expense of Massimo Donati, who started on the bench.
Aberdeen midfielder Karim Touzani came in for the suspended Barry Nicholson while Jamie Smith returned after a hamstring injury to replace the injured Steve Lovell.
Jimmy Calderwood's men had reasons to be fearful, with a 5-1 SPL hammering by their opponents still fresh in the memory, as well as no wins in their last eight games.
But the Dons started brightly and had the ball in the net as early as the second minute when Lee Miller stabbed the ball beyond Boruc from six yards only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.
 Celtic's Shunsuke Nakamura holds off Karim Touzani |
McDonald - back in the Hoops starting line-up after being benched in Barcelona - also found the net from an Aiden McGeady cross, but he too was flagged offside.
The in-form Australian was denied by the woodwork in the 24th minute after Soutar had palmed away Vennegoor of Hesselink's powerful header.
As Celtic piled on the pressure, O'Dea put in a dangerous cross from the left and Vennegoor of Hesselink glanced a header off the post, with McDonald failing to capitalise on the rebound.
The SPL champions gathered momentum and were unfortunate to go into the interval still level.
McGeady got to the byline minutes after the break, supplying a tantalising cross which Vennegoor of Hesselink yet again spurned.
Despite their missed chances, Celtic continued to look the stronger.
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The increasingly busy Soutar thwarted them again, spreading himself in front of Shunsuke Nakamura to deny the Japanese midfielder from only eight yards.
The Aberdeen custodian was constantly protecting a porous defence, and his reaction stop after 58 minutes from a fierce Sno shot was excellent, as was his save from a 30-yard Nakamura free-kick.
At the other end, De Visscher managed to get on the end of a set-piece but saw his header was bundled off the line by the alert Hinkel.
Boruc then tipped over Sone Aluko's 20-yard blast, only to be beaten when De Visscher - signed last May from De Graafschap - put the home side ahead.
With time running out, the woodwork denied Celtic yet again, this time Paul Hartley hitting the post from distance.
Boruc then turned away a Scott Severin shot and a Miller header on the goalline as the game spun to an increasingly exciting climax.
And, dramatically, Vennegoor of Hesselink was on hand, sliding in to Celtic's rescue, meeting Giorgios Samaras's low cross from the right to earn a replay at Celtic Park.
Aberdeen: Soutar, Maybury, Considine, Diamond, Foster, De Visscher, Severin, Touzani, Jamie Smith (Aluko 31), Miller, Maguire. Subs Not Used: Langfield, Mair, Bus, Walker.
Goal: De Visscher 78.
Celtic: Boruc, Hinkel, Caldwell, McManus, O'Dea, Nakamura, Hartley, Sno (Donati 77), McGeady, McDonald (Samaras 72), Vennegoor of Hesselink. Subs Not Used: Mark Brown, Pressley, Riordan.
Booked: McManus.
Goal: Vennegoor of Hesselink 90.
Att: 10,909
Ref: Charlie Richmond
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