Dundee 3-3 Celtic – Celtic’s Benjamin Buttons can’t have their Dundee Cake and eat It

The Celtic Star

·14 de janeiro de 2025

Dundee 3-3 Celtic – Celtic’s Benjamin Buttons can’t have their Dundee Cake and eat It

In a stereotypical game of two halves, Celtic mirrored Benjamin Button with a back-to-front performance…

Brendan Rodgers. Dens Park, Dundee v Celtic. 14th January 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

Dens Park was littered with banana skins and Brendan Rodgers set up his team to skip over them with three changes from the weekend. It looked to have worked in his favour as Celtic dominated the first 45’ with a power display of craft and guile.

Vídeos OneFootball

Not enough to destroy the hosts though, as only a superb Luke McCowan header distinguished the scoreline at the break.mIn truth, it should have been more with a glaring miss from Paulo Bernardo onto the bar, rather than into the net, and an Adam Idah mis-hit in front of goal the highlight of our chances.

A superb counter-attack and finish from the skilful Adewumi brought that Deja-vu feeling to the away support; all Celtic but frustratingly brought back to level when we should have been out of sight.

Luke McCowan opens the scoring, Dens Park, Dundee v Celtic. 14th January 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

Dundee hardly laid a glove on Kasper Schmeichel, but, in the second half, the great Dane had his hands full, and his net too! When Yang nodded home from a superb cross after 53 minutes it looked like business as usual.

However…The likeable Tony Docherty galvanised his men and they went at Celtic like a dug eating beetroot, and that’s when it all fell apart. Auston Trusty went on to have a game he’ll wish to chuck into his ‘didn’t happen’ bin, and he will have some reflective moments after this. Perhaps with John Kennedy!

The big Yank was bullied throughout the second period, mostly by burly veteran Simon Murray. Firstly, the centre-back was easily outmuscled on the wing leading to a Mulligan effort which was cruelly deflected past Schmeichel by the backtracking Carter-Vickers. How unlucky was Cam, but his USA partner should never have been beaten in the initial battle!

Kasper Scheichel and Callum McGregor ahead of kick-off. Dens Park, Dundee v Celtic. 14th January 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

Then, Trusty complained that Donnelly had trod on his toes at a corner and went down. The ref, Don Robertson saw nothing amiss… From the inswinging corner, Trusty was found wanting as Donnelly out-jumped him to put the Dundonians into a shock 3-2 lead with only 12’ to play.

Brendan’s swathe of substitutes went to town as they tried to retrieve the game, and the points. They hustled and harried but struggled to breach the thin blue line at the back. Well, not until the effervescent Nicolas Kuhn curled in his signature menacing shot deep into injury time.

Arne Engels scores. Dens Park, Dundee v Celtic. 14th January 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

Mo Sylla went to ground in a bid to stop the shot, but his arm was outstretched and the big defender left Robertson with no choice to make. With only two minutes left in injury time, up stepped Mr. Reliable, Arne Engels, and the Belgian spot-master sent the ‘keeper right whilst cooly slotting left to the delight/relief of the heaving support in front of him.

Alistair Johnston. Dens Park, Dundee v Celtic. 14th January 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

The match finished 3-3, and although many will understandably feel that Celtic were ‘lucky’ not to lose after being out-fought for the second 45’, the Bhoys could and should have had the points secured before the break.

Lessons are there to be learned. Like Benjamin Button, we started off with maturity but had our bahookies smacked as we gradually fell into decline.

3-3? I’ll take that tonight. All credit to Dundee who forced the issue and made more than a game of it. We often complain about teams sitting in for 90 minutes and boring the life out of us. Not this time. Docherty’s boys admirably took the game to us and made it a spectacle.

Just like they did against theRangers recently. I respect that whilst wondering, how the hell are they in the bottom six?

Over to you Dons.

Hail Hail!

Eddie Murray

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