HE may only have been handed a rare start due to Brendan Rodgers’s desire to give Craig Gordon, among many others, a rest after the international break and ahead of a return to Champions League duty next week.

Yet Dorus de Vries, who last played in a competitive fixture for Celtic over a year ago, gave a reminder of just what he has to offer the Parkhead club with an eye-catching display all the same.

The Dutchman, having not been called into action all game, pulled off three exceptional saves in the second half after his side had edged 1-0 in front which ultimately ensured they triumphed and maintained their slender lead over Aberdeen at the head of the Ladbrokes Premiership.

Gordon, one of several notable absentees from the Scottish champions’ starting line-up yesterday, will almost certainly be restored to Rodgers's team in the Group B meeting with Bayern Munich in the Allianz Arena on Wednesday evening.

But De Vries, who last featured in a league meeting with Kilmarnock on September 24 last year, showed he can be trusted should he be called upon at any stage in future by producing a showing which helped his side extend their unbeaten domestic run to 59 games. Paul McGowan, Roarie Deacon and Faissal El-Bakhtaoui were all denied in impressive fashion.

Dundee were aggrieved to have two penalty claims waved away by referee Andrew Dallas – first when Nir Bitton bundled over Glen Kamara in the first half and then when Jack Hendry was felled following a clash of heads with Cristian Gamboa in the second. However, the Dens Park club’s manager, players and supporters were cursing De Vries as much as Dallas as they headed home last night.

There was no Stuart Armstrong, no Scott Brown, no Moussa Dembele, no Gordon, no Mikael Lustig, no Tom Rogic, no Jozo Simunovic, all individuals who will hope or even expect to be in the starting line-up against Bayern, on the park. As a result, Celtic were not their usual dominant selves.

The absence of Armstrong and Brown in central midfield was particularly keenly felt. Eboue Kouassi was given his first start since getting injured in the Betfred Cup match against Kilmarnock in August and only his third start since arriving in this country back in January alongside Olivier Ntcham.

Kouassi is still just 19 and has only been involved in the senior game for little over two seasons. His development is very much a long-term project. He has also just come back from an extended spell on the sidelines. But supporters are still waiting to see why £3.5 million was spent securing his services. He gifted possession to McGowan with his first touch of the ball and offered little if anything thereafter.

To be fair to the Ivorian, many of those around him failed to perform at a much higher standard. Patrick Roberts on the right wing gave Kevin Holt an uncomfortable afternoon while Scott Sinclair was his usual bright self on the other flank. Those two apart, though, there were few who impressed going forward. The Celtic showing was littered with misplaced passes and squandered opportunities.

They certainly controlled the game and only one side looked capable of scoring in the opening 45 minutes. Both Sinclair and Callum McGregor shot wide early on. But Scott Bain in the Dundee goal was hardly tested by decidedly subdued hosts.

On the plus side for Celtic, Dedryck Boyata strolled through his fourth 90 minutes since returning from injury last month and will have benefitted greatly from the game time.

No disrespect to first AJ Leitch-Smith and then Sofien Moussa, the visitors’ lone strikers who did the very best they could to carve out openings with the limited service they received from their team mates, but you would expect Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller to give him a slightly more demanding work out in midweek. Still, the run-out will prove invaluable.

When Bitton partnering Boyata in central defence, put in a clumsy challenge on Kamara inside his own penalty area in the 32nd minute there was a collective intake of breath among the Celtic supporters inside the stadium.

Had the midfielder chosen to go to ground, as most players in similar circumstances would have done, then the match official would have been hard pushed to not to award a penalty kick. Contact was certainly made. Neil McCann doubtless had a few choice words to say to his charge at half-time.

Roberts continued to be Celtic’s most impressive performer in the second half. He forced an excellent one-handed save from the outstretched Bain in the 58th minute after dancing past half the Dundee team and unleashing a low drive from the edge of the box. He set up Leigh Griffiths shortly after that only for the striker to fire straight at the keeper.

Ntcham finally broke the deadlock in the 61st minute when he tried his luck from long-range. His swerving left foot attempt found the bottom right corner of the net. The relief around the stadium was palpable.

Dundee could easily have equalised. Celtic only maintained their lead thanks to a hat-trick of first class blocks from De Vries. The Dutchman thwarted McGowan, Deacon and finally El-Bakhtaoui in injury time. Dundee can be proud and encouraged by how they acquitted themselves throughout the game. They were unfortunate not to have something to show for their efforts at the end.