John Kennedy described Celtic’s 1-0 victory against Aberdeen as an important victory and praised the team for their defending late in the game.

Celtic made it five wins in their last five Scottish Premiership games tonight (Wednesday) thanks to David Turnbull’s fantastic long-range shot in the first half.

The Hoops capitalised on their strong start to the game with a goal in the 14^th minute but were unable to increase their advantage after half-time. Aberdeen threatened more in the latter stages of the game but a solid defensive display from Celtic ensured the visitors did not draw level.

Speaking to Celtic TV after the game, Celtic’s assistant manager John Kennedy said he was pleased with the result as he summarised his thoughts on the 90 minutes of football.

“It was a good win for us, good to add to the win we’ve been on,” he said. “We started the game well, had really good control and created some decent chances. In the second half, we got a bit ragged and when you don’t get the second goal you always expect a bit of pressure at the end of the game.

“We lost a bit of control and we gave the ball away cheaply and in areas where we shouldn’t. In the first half, we had a lot of possession, switched play and moved the ball up the pitch comfortably to pin Aberdeen in. In the second half, we didn’t do that enough. We were careless in the build-up and lost the ball in dangerous areas.

“With the play we had and the possession we had, we would have liked to have been a bit more comfortable towards the final whistle but the boys stood strong at the end and defended set plays really well. In the last 10 minutes, we had to really grind it out and prevent them from scoring goals.”

Kristoffer Ajer’s defensive display helped keep Aberdeen at bay in the closing stages and John Kennedy was full of praise for the Norwegian and goalscorer David Turnbull.

“David’s been great,” said John Kennedy. “He came in and had to bide his time and be patient. He’s got the quality and that’s why we brought him here. His awareness of the game is very good and he’s great at finding those little pockets. He’s got a really decent strike on him, and it was a really good team goal finished off with a bit of individual brilliance at the end.

“Kristoffer’s developed terrifically well since he’s been at the club and season on season he’s got better and better. He defends these moments instinctively and reacts to things that happen around him. He’s always wanted to learn and get better so credit to him and the way he works.”

John Kennedy applauds important win over Aberdeen