Source: Team_Talk
McDonald: Hoops deserved win
Australia striker McDonald helped himself to a brace after Gary Caldwell's fortunate equaliser had cancelled out Chris Maguire's opener on the stroke of half-time.
McDonald told Setanta Sports 1: "Aberdeen are always a tough team to play against and, when you come to Pittodrie, you know you're going to get a hard game.
"You know the first 20 minutes, half an hour, they're really going to come at you and it's how you deal with that.
"I thought we dealt with it okay and we gave away a stupid free-kick and, as we saw the last time we were up here, that was our Achilles heel.
"But, thankfully enough, maybe a bit of fortune getting back into it before half-time and I thought we played excellently in the second half."
Celtic conceded four goals from crosses on their last visit to Pittodrie and McDonald added: "I think it was well-documented the last time we were up here and I think that's where we had most problems.
"Charlie Mulgrew's got a great delivery and has proven that once again today.
"You're going to get goals against you in the season.
"Everyone highlights the Old Firm goals because they're the most important teams in the league.
"We believe in the way we defend and it's good balls that beat us."
McDonald, who felt he could have had a hat-trick on Saturday, is now looking forward to next Saturday's Old Firm derby, which Celtic will go into on top of the table regardless of Rangers' result against Hearts on Sunday.
He said: "We'll wait and see what their result is.
"If it's only one point, it's one point.
"It's game on and still would have been whether we won lost or drew."
Hoops boss Gordon Strachan could not speak highly enough of McDonald's contribution.
"That is as a good as I've seen a striker playing for a long, long time - he did everything right," Strachan said.
"That was the complete striking performance."
Strachan excused his team's defending for Aberdeen's goal but was critical of their overall first-half display.
"First half, we were a bit insipid," he said.
"After the second half started, I thought we were right at it again."
It was not all good news for Celtic, with captain Stephen McManus forced to leave the field due to injury.
Strachan revealed it was different to the ankle problem that has dogged the defender recently.
He said: "It was his ankle last time; now it's his knee."
The Hoops boss refused to look ahead to next Saturday's derby, joking he was only thinking about getting back to Glasgow in time for television show Britain's Got Talent.
He said: "It's absolutely fantastic - the funniest thing on television. I can't wait to get home!"
Aberdeen boss Jimmy Calderwood insisted his injury-hit side should have been out of sight by the interval.
"We could have been 3-0 up at half-time," he said.
"I thought we did really, really well in the first half. We were on the front foot and we created chances, deservedly went ahead."
He added: "Second half, we gave them too much room.
"Scott McDonald got a wonderful goal from nothing.
"You heard in the dressing room how much it meant to them."
However, Calderwood felt Caldwell's equaliser should not have been allowed to stand.
He said: "I thought it was a shoulder charge. I thought there were some strange decisions all day for both teams."
