Celtic boss ends losing run with late victory over 10-man Aberdeen

Late goals from Kieran Tierney and James Forrest gave under-fire Wilfried Nancy his first win as Celtic boss in a 3-1 victory over 10-man Aberdeen at Parkhead.

The Frenchman was under intense pressure after starting his tenure with four straight defeats.

But the former Columbus Crew head coach caught a break at last as midfielder Benjamin Nygren knocked the ball in from eight yards in the 39th minute of a game they should have won even more comfortably.

The Dons' 20-year-old defender Dylan Lobban was shown a straight red card just before the break for fouling Hoops striker Daizen Maeda following a mistake by Pittodrie goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov , whose fine performance otherwise prevented a thrashing.

In the 74th minute Dons substitute Kenan Bilalovic stunned Parkhead with an equaliser but in the 87th minute Tierney restored Celtic's lead from a few yards out before fellow replacement Forrest added a third in stoppage time.

It was some welcome respite for Nancy as Celtic moved to within six points of William Hill Premiership leaders Hearts, who beat Rangers 2-1 at Tynecastle earlier in the day, and the Hoops have a game in hand over the Jambos.

It was a positive end to a week where Peter Lawwell revealed he would be stepping down as chairman at the end of the year citing "abuse" and "threats" amid ongoing protests by fans against the board.

Indeed, several thousand Celtic fans attended an anti-board protest outside the main stand before the game. Nancy's men took instant control and missed several chances amid a strange, subdued atmosphere.

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In the seventh minute Hoops striker Johnny Kenny missed a Maeda cross by inches before midfielder Arne Engels fired over from the edge of the box.

Maeda somehow fired wide of the target in the 27th minute from close range after Mitov spilled an Engels corner, the Dons keeper saved Engel's angled drive for a corner, and then Kenny missed the goal from 14 yards.

The first big cheer of the game came when Nygren slid in a cutback from Maeda and, as Celtic kept up their threat, Mitov tipped a drive from Luke McCowan over the bar.

However when Mitov's sloppy pass, when he was well out his box, went to Maeda, he raced towards goal and Lobban tugged him back, leaving referee David Dickinson will little option but to dismiss the defender.

Celtic's pressure at the start of the second half was relentless. Mitov made another two fine saves, first from an Auston Trusty header and then a McCowan drive.

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The Dons keeper was beaten by a chip from Nygren from a tight angle but the ball hit the far post and bounced back into his arms.

Mitov made yet another impressive save from Celtic defender Anthony Ralston's long-range piledriver before Engels looping cross from the left hit the goal frame and the Granite City side again escaped, as they did when Engels crashed a header off the post.

Aberdeen's leveller was against the run of play.

Substitute Kjartan Kjartansson sent 20-year-old Bilalovic racing through the middle and he beat Hoops keeper Kasper Schmeichel with a drive.

Nerves jangled among the disbelieving home fans but with three minutes remaining Tierney popped up at the back post to convert a cross from substitute Colby Donovan before fellow substitute Forrest slid in a third from close range, which meant he had scored at least once for 17 seasons in a row.