Dundee went down to a 3-0 defeat against Celtic in Glasgow this afternoon. The Dark Blues kept Celtic at bay in the first half, but fell behind to David Turnbull’s penalty early in the second half. Celtic then ran in quick goals from Kyogo and Matt O’Riley that ensured there would be no way back for the Dee. It was a disappointing outcome for Dundee but the players coped well with Celtic’s quality until the first goal and showed some promising signs for the upcoming games.
There were two changes to the Dee team that started in Perth. Cammy Kerr came in for Jordan McGhee at right back and Ryan Howley came into central midfield for his first start, replacing Scott Tiffoney.
Dundee started confidently ensuring Celtic did not help themselves to the early goal that would have left the Dee facing a long, hard afternoon. The defence coped well with Celtic’s pressure and the Dark Blues managed to venture upfield a few times without threatening the home goal.
Celtic’s first serious attempt on goal came after 12 minutes. A quick exchange between Greg Taylor and Daizen Maeda gave the Japanese forward a change from 12 yards, but he blasted his shot straight at Trevor Carson who was relieved to beat the ball away.
The next quarter of an hour were hard work for the Dee as Celtic pushed forward, probing relentlessly at the Dark Blue defence. Matt O’Riley had a wee piece of good fortune when his low 20 yard shot took a huge deflection that left Carson wrong footed. The Dee keeper, however, had an even bigger helping of luck: the shot came back off the inside of the post and was cleared.
The Dark Blues were defending deep during this spell, unable to get up the park. There was a long, long two minute wait while the VAR officials decided that Maeda was offside when he collected a long pass to score. Regardless of whether the decision was correct Maeda’s control and finish were both impressive.
Dundee took heart from the twin escapes and handled the remaining 20 minutes of the half competently. The defence remained tight and the midfield was able to set up the occasional attack.
The Dark Blues came close to snatching a goal late in the half. Owen Beck pullled a low cross back from the byline. Luke McCowan’s close range shot was kept out by a reflex save by Joe Hart. Zach Robinson miskicked in front of goal and the chance was gone.
Celtic started the second half quickly, attacking Dundee dangerously with menacing pace .
VAR wasn’t on the Dee’s side second time round, a few minutes after the restart. The referee judged that Ryan Howley brought down David Turnbull at the edge of the penalty area. He awarded the free kick a foot outside the box, but after a VAR review the decision was changed to a penalty. TURNBULL smashed home the opener. The incident clearly happened inside the penalty area, but it was debatable whether it was an offence at all. Howley was moving to intercept the ball, and Turnbull placed his foot in the way resulting in a collision that put both players on the deck.
Celtic stepped up a couple of gears after going ahead and started to turn the screw on the Dee. However, Dundee almost grabbed an equaliser in a rare attack. Cammy Kerr intercepted a long pass and raced through the middle. Luke McCowan took over, exchanged passes with Fin Robertson, and curled a shot narrowly wide from 15 yards.
That was a big moment because Celtic raced away with the game in the next 10 minutes, scoring two quick goals.
Callum McGregor picked out KYOGO’s run with a cross from deep and the Japanese striker finished neatly, nodding the second goal into the top corner.
Two minutes later Maeda ran into space wide in the Dee penalty area and backheeled the ball into the path of Alistair Johnston who crashed a shot against the underside of the bar. Within a minute Celtic repeated the move successfully for the third goal. This time Kyogo played the ball back for O’RILEY to score with a low shot.
In between the second and third goals Josh Mulligan and Scott Tiffoney came on for Ryan Howley and Zach Robinson. The changes helped the Dee get forward and they managed some promising attacks in the remainder of the match, and should have pulled a goal back.
Nevertheless, the game had been settled. Celtic eased back on the tempo, while remaining firmly in control. The Dee defence and midfield kept their heads and their shape and forced Celtic to work for any further goals. There was no question of Dundee giving up.
After 84 minutes Dundee passed up another good chance after breaking out of defence. McCowan cut the ball back from the byline for Bakayoko, who fired over from close in.
Celtic went close one more time when Johnston forced his way through two challenges and shot against the outside of the post.
The result was disappointing but after being promoted Dundee’s season can hardly be judged by matches at Celtic Park. The team managed the first half well, making the game plan work and containing Celtic. It took an unnecessary challenge and a borderline penalty decision to give Celtic the breakthrough. The second and third goals might have been preventable, but these were moments of high quality from Celtic.
There was nothing to celebrate for Dark Blues supporters in Glasgow but they can take heart from the way that Dundee were competitive for much of the game. This should be an important learning experience for the young players and those who are new to the Premiership.
Celtic 4-3-3
Hart
Johnston, Phillips (Lagerbielke at half time), Scales, Taylor
O’Riley (Bernardo 73), McGregor, Turnbull (Hatate 59)
Yang (Palma 59), Kyogo (Oh 68), Maeda
Unused subs: Bain (gk), Holm, OForrest, Ralston.
Goals: Turnbull (51 pen), Kyogo (63), O’Riley (66).
Booked: none.
Dundee FC 4-4-2
Carson
Kerr, Shaughnessy (c), Lamie, Beck
Robertson, Boateng, Howley (Mulligan 64), McCowan
Robinson (Tiffoney 64), Bakayoko
Unused substitutes: Legzdins (gk), McGhee, Cameron, Ashcroft, Rudden, Sylla, Lewis.
Booked: none.
Referee: Grant Irvine. Assistants: Dougie Potter, David Dunne. Fourth Official: Iain Snedden. VAR: Steven Kirkland. Assistant VAR: Gary Hilland.
Attendance: to be announced.
Report: James Christie.
