Celtic save face late on

Gretna 1 Celtic 2:   Another late strike by Scott McDonald gave Celtic three points against Gretna at Fir Park and took the …

Gretna 1 Celtic 2:  Another late strike by Scott McDonald gave Celtic three points against Gretna at Fir Park and took the champions back top of the Premier League.

Fabian Yantorno's 30-yard free-kick after 36 minutes gave the Border side a shock half-time lead.

Chris Killen headed Celtic level with five minutes remaining with his first goal for the club and a point looked secure for the Parkhead side.

But as the match edged towards three minutes of injury time, McDonald, who had fired in a late winner against AC Milan in the Champions League in midweek, drove home from 12 yards out after a wayward Aiden McGeady shot had landed at his feet.

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It was another dramatic end to a Celtic match which looked to be slipping away from them as it entered the latter stages and they move a point ahead of Hibernian.

The shattered Gretna players sloped off knowing an historic victory had been taken from their grasp and realising that for all their efforts, they are still bottom of the table.

Elsewhere, Aberdeen rounded off a terrific week with a convincing 4-0 win over St Mirren at Pittodrie.

The Dons' 1-1 draw against Dnipro booked their passage to the Uefa Cup group stage and they returned to domestic action in style.

Scott Severin scored a penalty in either half, both of which were won by Jeffrey de Visscher, while in between those spot-kicks Lee Miller capitalised on a short attempted pass-back from John Potter to round goalkeeper Chris Smith and score.

Miller then slotted in from a great pass by substitute Jackie McNamara with three minutes remaining to score Aberdeen's fourth, which was slightly harsh on a St Mirren side who played well in spells.