CELTIC are determined to keep this exciting. You have to give them that.
This draw at Dens Park still leaves the champions in control of their own destiny, but there remains a title race in the Ladbrokes Premiership with the split just one more round of fixtures away.
Aberdeen are at Tynecastle this Friday night – Celtic go to Motherwell the following afternoon – and the gap between first and second by the time the two meet at Parkhead, which is expected to be the first match after the split, could be anything from two points all the way up to eight.
Celtic sit five ahead of their only rivals with six matches to go. There is still just enough time and games for one more twist or even a turn.
Paul Hartley, the Dundee manager, got his tactics spot-on, while Celtic played with nothing like the intensity which saw them defeat Hearts. Ronny Deila wore the face of a frustrated man after a game in which a draw was about right.
Patrick Roberts is the man of the moment and he came close to the game’s first goal with six minutes gone. A nice touch on the left wing from Gary Mackay-Steven allowed Kieran Tierney a run at Dundee’s Cameron Kerr; his cross picked out the teenage winger whose back-heeled close control was superb, the finish a little too high.
Celtic should have gone ahead on 16 minutes. A Nir Bitton pass was utterly misjudged by Julen Etxabeguren, the Dundee centre-back, which allowed the ball to run on for Leigh Griffiths but he put his shot straight at Scott Brain.
Dundee has been pinned back by Celtic but when they wandered forward on 23 minutes, Craig Gordon was forced into making a fine save. There seemed little on for Nick Ross when the ball bounced up close to him towards the left edge of the box and yet he took on a volley which the Scotland goalkeeper did well to keep out.
Celtic’s cause was not help by the fact Griffiths, for once , was off his game. The ball kept bouncing off him and when he is not at it his manager Ronny Deila would look for someone else to take a bit of responsibility. Nobody did.
Dundee were happy at this stage to sit in and allow Celtic possession but when they did break forward, Celtic’s defending was less than convincing. This was never truer than on 37 minutes when Erik Sviatchenko misjudged a high and hopeful punt, the ball fell to Rory Loy and his first time shot had to be saved by Gordon.
Moments later, and at the other end, the Danish defender sent a header over from a Stefan Johansen cross that should probably have at least hit the target. Then Mackay-Steven went close on the half volley, but Bain was not troubled.
In the last seconds of the half, Tierney once again got to the by-line, beating Kerr for pace, he cutback for Johansen and his deflected shot fooled Bain but with everyone expecting the ball to trickle over the line it instead hit the foot of the post and stayed out.
Dundee top scorer Kane Hemmings didn’t make it out of the dressing room at half-time, he had been a pre-match doubt, and was replaced by Craig Wighton.
Just as they did in the first-half, Celtic began well and Johansen’s deep cross from the right found Griffiths whose header was easily dealt with by Bain.
And then two minutes later Dundee missed a great chance. A Greg Stewart pass through to Wighton was helped by a deflection which took out the Celtic defence but the substitute couldn’t lift his shot over Gordon who did well to get off his line.
Celtic’s reaction was a Griffiths free-kick which came close to deceiving Bain, and then Roberts showed great skill on 55 minutes to beat four blue shirts with a dribble so rarely seen these days. He won a corner and from the set-piece, Dundee just about cleared their line after Griffiths was given a half-chance courtesy of Johansen’s cross.
And then it was Dundee’s turn again. A Wighton cross sailed into the air, Paul McGowan, rightly, felt he should take a shot on the volley, Gordon could only parry his shot, the ball fell loose and Loy’s attempt on the slide hot the woodwork.
Just after the hour mark, Dundee cleared two Celtic headers off their own line from corner kicks, Ross denied Mikael Lustig and then Kerr kept out Charlie Mulgrew who had just come on.
The Jam's "That's Entertainment" blared out at the end and that is what this domestic season will be from now on in.
Dundee: Bain, Konrad, Etxabeguren, O'Dea, Kerr, McGowan, Stewart, Ross, Holt, Hemmings (Wighton 45), Loy (Harkins 62). Subs not used: Meggatt, Mitchell, Arturo, Curran, Waddell.
Booked: Holt.
Celtic: Gordon, Lustig (Kazim-Richards 64), Boyata, Sviatchenko (Mulgrew 60), Tierney, Brown, Johansen, Roberts, Bitton, Mackay-Steven (Armstrong 88), Griffiths. Subs not used: Commons, Fasan, McGregor, Forrest.
Booked: Johansen.
Referee: Kevin Clancy.
Attendance: 9566.
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