Celtic1

Dundee 0

WHATEVER else might be said about the new Dundee, there is no denying they are getting more headlines than they have done for some years. On the field they have been very entertaining on

occasion, and at other times

infuriating. Off it they or, at least, their management, have been outspoken to a degree that is rare in this country.

They played well against Celtic, did some very neat things, and were well organised in defence. Only Alessandro Romano

threatened to ruin their day with his quick temper and excessive reactions to perceived injustice, but nothing they did on the park was as stunning as their manager Ivano Bonetti's tirade afterwards.

He speaks quietly, but makes a lot of noise. He is clearly, and understandably, very upset at the confirmation that his exciting young striker, Fabian Caballero, who has impressed everyone who has seen him, will be out of action for five or six months after suffering a very serious knee injury in the midweek derby with Dundee United.

Bonetti believes the tackle by Jason de Vos (for which he was sent off) was inexcusable and wanted to say as much.

The certainty is that Bonetti will be invited to speak to the SFA about his outburst which, while perhaps understandable, was injudicious, to say the least.

''When you lose a player in an honest tackle you can do nothing about it, but with a tackle like that someone has to pay. This should not be allowed to happen. This is football not war. Against Celtic we played football and that is what we like to do. Big teams like to play that way, too. It is a game not war.

''We warned people that Caballero might not see the season through because players try to break him. Now it has happened.

''Dundee United are the worst team I have ever played against for this kind of thing. Some teams just try to kick a player, but if one was in my team, he would not play again.''

The irony of it all is that Canadian internationalist de Vos, whose manager, Alex Smith, yesterday refused to comment on Bonetti's statement, has a reputation for being one of the cleaner defenders in the country, and Bonetti's remarks are bound to raise

temperatures across the road at Tannadice. The rivalry between the city clubs is keen enough without any added bitterness.

The Italian's explosive post- match diatribe tended to take the spotlight away from the game against Celtic, but that was not too difficult. It was a pretty dreary affair.

His team did their reputation no harm, but more in the sense that they were well organised and defensively sound. Perhaps Caballero's presence would have altered that, to be fair, but in any case had they secured a point it would have been no great injustice.

Celtic were below par, a little frustrated maybe by facing yet another team whose ability to get behind the ball was excellent. They could have made a better go of it had Jackie McNamara, who had a brilliant game a week ago, been able to repeat that form. As it was, Jackie got loads of room, but his final pass or cross invariably failed to reach its intended target.

The goal, in 64 minutes, that proved decisive was the result of a brilliant chip to the far post by Allan Thompson to Stilian Petrov, who headed it firmly into the net.

Dundee could have gone in front before that when a header by Juan Sara hit the bar, but they

did not have many clear-cut openings after that. Neither did Celtic, for that matter, although they and their supporters in the 59,634 crowd were mystified at a decision by referee Tom Brown that denied them a great chance.

Chris Sutton seemed to have caught Lee Wilkie off guard when he went up for a long, high ball, but as he turned around the defender to chase the ball towards goal, he was hauled to the ground.

Inexplicably, the referee gave a foul to Dundee when it looked certain that Wilkie would be sent off, as he was the last defender on site. It would have been a bit of a shame, to be honest, because Wilkie had a fine game, but he can consider himself a very lucky young man.

Sutton restrained his comments as best he could. ''It was a surprising decision, I thought, because I felt he was behind me, but it was just one of those things.''

The tall striker reckoned Celtic did well enough in a difficult

situation. ''They defended very well, but I didn't think they were ever going to score. I felt we were comfortable most of the time and we did open them up a few times without scoring.''

Looking ahead to Thursday's return UEFA Cup-tie with HJK of Helsinki, the Englishman said: ''It will be different there because we have a handy 2-0 lead. It will be important not to concede an early goal and that would mean they would have to come out. I think we could take advantage of the space that would give us.''

Celtic manager Martin O'Neill had a look of relief, rather than elation, on his face. ''It was tough, but we did have a lot of possession. The goal came at a good time for us and settled us down a bit.'

He was particularly pleased with Petrov's contribution. ''When I came here, I did not know what he was capable of doing, but I did tell him that if we were to succeed we would need a goalscoring midfield player. He has taken on that mantle and has been scoring important goals for us.''

The manager said that Stephane Mahe had missed out because he was slightly under the weather as well as suffering from a minor hamstring problem. The return of Alan Stubbs, who came on late in the game, is also encouraging as Celtic head for Finland. O'Neill had further good news, as Bobby Petta might well be a candidate for a place in the squad as well. Petta has been out since he strained a muscle warming up before the game against Hibs at Parkhead.

The lack of a genuine winger is proving a drawback for Celtic and Petta was in tremendous form in that role until his injury.

Bonetti felt his team had played very well. ''We tired a bit in the second half, but overall we tried to play the way you need to play against a big team.''

His keeper, Robert Douglas, who had a splendid game, making one particularly fine save from Petrov, thought his team-mates were due great credit for their performance. ''It makes a change coming here and not losing six goals,'' he said. ''We passed the ball about well in the first half, but you always know here that one mistake and they will be in.

''Lee Wilkie did a great job against Sutton and Larsson, but I think the fact that we are more of an attacking team now helped us do better this time.''

Next league matches: Celtic - Aberdeen (a); Dundee - Kilmarnock (h).

Talking Point

The decision to award a foul against Chris Sutton when it looked very much as if he was hauled down by Lee Wilkie had most of us baffled, but for Dundee keeper Robert Douglas the issue was simple. ''He was miles offside, anyway,'' he said. That sorted that out.