Aaron Donnelly addresses THAT Celtic 'celebration' head on as he reveals real reason why he held hands up
Aaron Donnelly has claimed his Dundee goal celebration was muted because he had forgotten what to do.
The big defender scored the Dark Blues third goal in their 3-3 draw with Celtic and stopped short of whooping it up. Donnelly has copped a fair bit of flak for his lack of celebration but insisted it was due to being out of practice after going two years without a goal. The Northern Irish international admitted: “When I scored I didn’t really know what to do, to be honest. It has been over two years since I last got a goal! The boys really just got around me which was a great moment for myself and my family watching back home.”
The only disappointment for Donnelly was that his goal wasn’t a famous winner. Celtic came back and salvaged a 93rd minute equaliser through an Arne Engels’ penalty. It denied them their first home win over Celtic since 1988. Donnelly claimed: “Throughout the whole game it was another really resilient performance and I thought we were going to win it right until the last minute. We set out with a game plan and we really stuck to it. Without the ball we knew we’d be camped in our own half for long periods but the boys were really resilient, especially after losing the first goal so early. Celtic shifted us from side to side but we did the dirty work and showed we’re a real threat on the counter attack.
“Our fans really got behind us and we quietened the Celtic fans. Coming off the Rangers game there was a real bounce in our step. The manager told us it was 37 years since the last time a Dundee team beat Celtic at home, which was music to our ears because we wanted to go out there and make history. The performance just goes to show where this team has come from if we’re disappointed to draw against Celtic and Rangers, big clubs who play in European competitions.”
Dundee will look to back up their recent draws against Celtic and Rangers with a win in the Scottish Cup on Monday night in the derby. United come across the road and Dundee want revenge for losing on their home patch in the league. Donnelly wasn’t involved but wants to turn the tables.
The former Nottingham Forest player stated: “I haven’t played in the derby before but watched the last one wishing I’d get the move up here done in January so I could experience it. That’s happened now, I’m here and can’t wait for Monday night now.
“It’s going to be a great occasion, we’re the home team and there’s a place in the next round of the cup at stake so everyone is looking forward to it.”
Donnelly had a loan at Dundee last season and it was there they picked up a heart defect, which required surgery and has seen him make a full recovery. He returned to Dundee earlier this month after they signed him from Nottingham Forest on a permanent basis.
The 21-year-old stated: “Last season when I came up it was really stop-start, with getting an injury to begin with and then needing to have heart surgery. With the heart thing, I worked closely with Dr McCormack here at the club. He was great, he got me booked in several times to get tests and had me down at Hampden for scans and stuff as well to find out how serious it was. It came back that I was low risk so every time I trained or played the paramedics were aware and there was a defibrillator handy.
“The doc was great, he got me in for the surgery and since then I have been all clear. I’ve had three tests since then to make sure everything is okay, it’s all fine so I’m good to go. So it was really towards the end of last season that I slotted back in and really got going. I’ve come back, fitted in again straight away because there are a lot of familiar faces around here which has helped as well. I am really enjoying being back here and looking forward to more big games.”