johnreid 
Ian MacNicol/Getty Images Sport
Celtic‘s Premiership campaign in season 2014/15 started slowly but ended in victory for manager Ronny Deila, who captured a league and cup double in his first season as Hoops boss. There are moments that can change a season, and one of those was Celtic’s 2-1 win over Aberdeen at Pittodrie in November 2014.
Not only did the win put the Bhoys top of the table for the first time – a position the team would stay in – the victory was also achieved with 10 men against the closest challengers for the title. It was the type of win that teams that go on to be league champions achieve.
The game didn’t start promisingly for the Bhoys as the Hoops fell behind. Poor defending in the penalty box allowed Adam Rooney to score at the second attempt, after his initial effort had been saved by Łukasz Załuska, who probably could have done better with Rooney’s attempt.
Thankfully the Hoops weren’t behind for long, as Stefan Johansen grabbed the equaliser. It was a goal that was typical of Johansen’s performances in this particular season.
He broke from midfield to get on the end of a ball in the penalty box and despite being challenged by the goalkeeper and a defender he managed to manoeuvre the ball into the net. A goal that a goal scoring midfielder loves to score.
Celtic’s chances of claiming the three points looked to be remote when Scott Brown was sent-off for a second yellow card offence. Aberdeen then piled on the pressure, with Celtic getting respite in injury time when the Hoops were awarded a corner.
The ball was swung in and missed by everyone…except Virgil van Dijk who was on hand to bundle the ball home from a few yards, as the Bhoys went top of the league with a huge victory.
YouTube: Van Dijk scores dramatic last-minute winner!
Then came the moment that fans will remember most about the game. Deila and the players celebrated wildly in front of the travelling Hoops support. It could be said that this game was the beginning of the ‘Ronny roar’ which the Celtic boss did with the support after every victory.
YouTube: Amazing celebrations as Celts go top with late win
It is easy why Deila was so enthusiastic after the game, as it was arguably the biggest victory of his time at Celtic. The win gave the Hoops lots of confidence, and the team didn’t look back, going on to win the league title.
Ronny might not have been at Celtic for long, but he did win two titles, and his recent success in America has shown that he is a good manager, who knows how to win trophies.
