He may have taken a goalkeeping record from an Aberdeen legend but Celtic’s Fraser Forster has more than earned it, according to Dons goalkeeper Jamie Langfield.
Forster beat Dons legend Bobby Clark’s 43-year record of 1,155 minutes without conceding a league goal as the Hoops beat Hearts 2-0.
Forster’s critics have tried to devalue the achievement by claiming Celtic’s era of domination makes the task easier.
But Langfield has nothing but praise for the man who has kept 16 clean sheets in the Scottish Premiership this season.
Langfield, who has 12 shutouts of his own in the league so far, said: “It is a remarkable achievement for him and he’s looking to go for the British record (Edwin van der Saar’s 1,331 minutes for Manchester United), which would be amazing.
“He’s a top guy and a top-class goalkeeper who has come in and done well here. People talk down the Scottish game but regardless of what level you play it’s a massive achievement not just for him but for his defence.
“He is up there with the best. Celtic always seem to produce good goalkeepers and every time I play against him he does well. He has done it at Scottish level and in Europe and is now getting the international recognition he deserves.
“He’s played against the best in the world in Barcelona and his performances are exceptional. It’s an incredible record. We were a bit gutted for Bobby Clark, who is a legend here, that Fraser took his record.”
Celtic’s 13-game run without conceding a goal highlights the size of the task facing Aberdeen at Pittodrie tonight. But Lang- field believes the Dons can take comfort from the fact they are the last team to score against the Hoops in the league and they also triumphed at Celtic Park in the Scottish Cup on February 8, coming from behind to claim a 2-1 win.
Langfield said: “I know we are playing against Celtic but we are looking forward to it. We lost the early goal at Celtic Park but when we got level with them there was a belief in the team we could go and do something.
“Neil Lennon has said it was the best we have played down there in a long time. We looked composed and I cannot remember having so little to do at Celtic Park, which is all credit to the players. Hopefully we can do that again.
“We haven’t been at home for a while. We’re facing the champions of last season and it’s going to be difficult but it would be great if we could do something.
“We’ve had some really good games against Celtic up here and seem to run them closer than we do at Celtic Park. It would be great to put a smile on the supporters’ faces after the disappointment of the weekend.”