Despite being outclassed for a large chunk of this game by a Celtic side that moved the ball sweetly from defence to attack Jim Duffy’s men fought from start to finish and Celtic will feel they have been in a game which isn’t always the case.
The game livens up in the 5th minute when Celtic storm the Dundee goal and 3 corners in a row cause all sorts of panic but Dundee hold them at bay. When they break upfield Caballero is unlucky to see a neat cut back belted out for a corner kick.
Dundee’s first real chance came in the 10th minute when Gavin Rae fires over from the edge of the box, with the ball always rising.
Giorgi Nemsadze releases Nacho Novo who has a splendid run at the Celtic defence and as in most of the game it took two defenders to eventually stop him.
Dundee’s game plan is to get Novo running towards the bye line and crossing from there and when Sara finds him his cross is perfect but there are no Dundee players in the box to get on the end of it.
As happens so often HENRIK LARSSON scores a blinder of a goal. He begins the move himself, beating two Dundee players on the right before passing to Guppy wide on the left. Not content with such magic he then finds space on the edge of the box. The ball is played into his path and he’s alone and unmarked. He still has work to do yet, though, but a sturnning strike with the outside of his right foot finds the postage stamp corner of the net. Have to say, though I hated seeing it, the goal was perfection itself.
Dundee try to fight back, though, and Nacho Novo shows sublime skills in chipping the ball over a defender’s head before shooting for goal but his shot lacked any real power and Rab Douglas retrieves it gratefully.
In the 26th minute a real mix up in the Dundee defence almost costs them a second goal but when a Celtic player is left 1 on 1 with Speroni he shoots wide when it looked easier to score.
Half an hour gone and Fabian Caballero shows great skills and eventually finds Novo with a great pass. His hard, low cross seems to be heading towards Sara but Rab Douglas makes a great save to dive and hold the cross.
The wee man chips the ball over a defender’s head yet again, picks up the pass to himself, heads straight towards goal but fires over the bar when a low ground shot might have been on. But great skills by Nacho Novo.
Juan Sara shows great tenacity in fighting and winning the ball 25 yards out but he’s crowded out before he can get a shot on target.
Gavin Rae is booked in the 35th minute for a clear foul on Laarson.
Nacho Novo pops up on the left this time and is causing the Celtic defence no end of bother, but this time he’s crowed out before he can get his cross in.
Just on half time a great 4 man move gives Nacho Novo an opportunity from a tight angle. His crisp shot crashes into the side netting, denying him the goal his play deserved.
Half time summing up, Celtic had dominated most of the half with Dundee showing up in sporadic breaks, but when they did break they looked good and were unlucky not to have scored a goal.
The second half began with Dundee looking lively and another great 3 man passing movement ends with Novo’s hanging cross clutched superbly by Douglas.
Two free kicks from good positions within 5 minutes of each other are completely wasted by Dundee, whose set pieces this season have been nothing short of abysmal. In between the free kicks Julian Speroni had made a magnificent save, diving to his left to prevent Celtic adding another.
20 minutes to go and Celtic almost seal the game when Speroni is beaten by a magnificent chip shot that cannons off the bar and into the arms of the grateful keeper.
Dundee came on strongly in the last 15 minutes and they could have gained a point had their finishing been better. Some of the outfield play in this final spell was excellent.
A brilliant run and shot by Fabian Caballero scrapes the junction of the crossbar and post to the great relief of a smiling Rab Douglas who acknowledged the effort sportingly.
Lovell came on to replace Hutchinson who was tiring at this stage. This meant Dundee now had 4 strikers on and to add to that Lee Wilkie surged forward whenever he could. No one can fault JD for throwing everything at Celtic in the latter stages, and when Caballero is decked on the edge of the box he takes it himself but shoots straight at the wall.
The dying seconds see Novo send over a brilliant cross from the right and with Douglas beaten and Sara waiting to pounce Balde heads over his own crossbar to secure the win for Celtic.
Summing up, despite some good breaks and a lot of good football played Dundee didn’t really force Douglas into any real saves, there were few shots on target, though the big keeper had to look lively with cross balls and corners. Celtic faded the last 20 minutes and it was then Dundee could have came away with a draw. But too often a last ditch tackle by a Celtic player or a stray pass just when we needed more accuracy let Dundee down. Celtic looked far from unbeatable though if they’d taken their chances, to be honest, the score could have been 3-0. But full marks to a battling Dundee side who fought right to the end.
RATING: GOAL JULIAN SPERONI – The goal apart, Julian really only had to make one save, which he did superbly. His handling and punching clear was good, though his kicking was woeful in the first half. No marks for the fans who booed him for it, though, it’s not like he meant it after all. BACK 4:- RIGHT – DAVE MACKAY – Found the pace and trickery of Celtic too much for him down his side and in all honesty he had a bit of a nightmare. But he never gave up fighting for every ball, and he’s still a youngster.
My Man of the Match |
