Celtic’s long winning run came to an end against Aberdeen yesterday as the Scottish Premier League leaders were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw at Pittodrie.

Neil Lennon’s side were on course for a 21st consecutive win in domestic competitions when Anthony Stokes opened the scoring in the first half.

Aberdeen equalised thanks to an own goal from Celtic debutant Andre Blackman just before half-time.

That was the first goal Celtic had conceded in six matches and Aberdeen held on to leave the Hoops 21 points ahead of second-placed Rangers who lost 2-1 at home to Hearts later in the afternoon.

Celtic had the first chance of a frantic opening period when Rory McArdle upended James Forrest on the edge of the area and Charlie Mulgrew hit the woodwork with a well-struck free-kick.

The visitors opened the scoring after 28 minutes when Mulgrew, who was enjoying a rare outing in the centre of midfield, threaded the ball to Kris Commons who in turn fed Stokes to round Brown before turning the ball home from an acute angle.

Aberdeen pushed hard for an equaliser and it arrived a minute before the break when Scott Vernon fed Gavin Rae, whose left-foot shot took a deflection off Blackman to leave Fraser Forster with no chance.

The hosts should have taken the lead when Rae played in Mitch Megginson, but the youngster dragged his shot wide.

That was Aberdeen’s best opportunity for a shock victory and it needed two fine stops from goalkeeper Jason Brown to hold on to the point.

Brown was equal to Stokes’s drilled effort and held a Gary Hooper header as Lennon’s side were denied yet another win.

Premier League
Aberdeen 1 - Celtic 1
Dunfermline 0 - Motherwell 2
Hibernian 0 - St Mirren 0
Kilmarnock 0 - St Johnstone 0
Rangers 1 - Hearts 2


P W D L F A Pts
Celtic 30 24 3 3 62 17 75
Rangers (-10) 29 20 4 5 56 19 54
Motherwell 29 15 6 8 40 33 51
St Johnstone 28 11 7 10 36 33 40
Hearts 29 11 6 12 33 29 39
Dundee Utd 28 9 10 9 44 39 37
Aberdeen 29 7 12 10 29 32 33
Kilmarnock 29 7 12 10 31 43 33
St Mirren 29 6 13 10 26 37 31
Inverness CT 27 7 6 14 32 46 27
Hibernian 29 5 8 16 30 55 23
Dunfermline 30 4 7 19 30 66 19

First Division
Ayr United 1 - Falkirk 0
Livingston 2 - Dundee 3
Partick 2 - Hamilton 0
Raith 5 - Morton 0
Ross County 2 - Q’of the South 1

Second Division
Airdrie 1 - Cowdenbeath 1
Arbroath 2 - East Fife 2
Brechin City 2 - Dumbarton 2
Forfar 1 - Stenhousemuir 2
Stirling Albion 3 - Albion 0

Third Division
Annan 1 - Alloa 2
Clyde 1 - Montrose 2
East Stirling 6 - Peterhead 3
Elgin City 1 - Queen’s Park 1
Stranraer 1 - Berwick Rangers 3

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