Dundee faced the repercussions of a ruthless Celtic side coming out the wrong side of a 4-2 defeat despite goals by Danny Mullen and Lee Ashcroft for the hosts in the cinch Premiership.
Celtic took the lead after 8 minutes, the visitors began proceedings at an intense pace, Anthony Ralston had his effort smacked off the post before Jota popped in the rebound with Dundee slow in reacting to the initial effort. It was all one-way traffic
Full Time | Dundee 2 Celtic 4
Celtic score twice early in the second period and despite Lee Ashcroft pulling one back it’s the Glasgow side who leave Dens with the points #thedee
— Dundee Football Club (@DundeeFC) November 7, 2021
The visitors doubled their advantage on 20 minutes, Anthony Ralston providing an excellent cross for Kyogo Furuhashi who nodded home, it looked like damage limitation for James McPake’s side but the Dundee roller coaster is an unpredictable one and there were many twists and turns to come.
Dundee weren’t in the game by any stretch of imagination but got a response 3 minutes later, Paul McMullan was the artist behind the goal delivering another sweet assist from the left and there was Mullen on hand to guide home and give the hosts a lifeline after a slow start to proceedings.
Mullen gained a bit of confidence after that strike and aimed a speculative 48-yard volley towards goal which caught the Celtic defence and Joe Hart out completely which unfortunately for the forward, went wide but would have been a goal of the season contender had it went in!
Celtic doubled their advantage a couple of minutes after the restart, another delightful delivery by Ralston found Jota who held off Cammy Kerr before smashing beyond the reach of Adam Legzdins.
By the time everyone was fed and watered after halftime, Celtic were cruising and added a 4th on 50 minutes, Dundee were exploited down the left flank with Jota finding Kyogo and the Japanese forward made no mistake.
There was hope for Dundee 17 minutes from time, another fine delivery by McMullan finding Lee Ashcroft who got in front of former England goalkeeper Joe Hart and guided home but it was too little, too late for James McPake’s side.
With Celtic coming out on top in Dundee, here are three things we learned from the game.
Slow Dundee
Dundee were slow out the traps and were 2-0 down before they started to click, Danny Mullen gave hope but a balance of Celtic being ruthless and Dundee being inactive was a telling factor in the early stages of the 1st and 2nd half.
The last 2 home games for Dundee suggest a worrying picture but they are slowly beginning to muster results which is a positive, it’s about finding a balance of consistency both home and away.
McMullan = Assist King
Another 2 assists for Paul McMullan, another good afternoon’s work from the winger who arrived from neighbours United back in January, Dundee played a deep system with a 5-4-1 formation but McMullan was effective whenever Dundee came forward.
Mullen proved doubters wrong
A lot of Dundee fans weren’t pleased when it emerged Danny Mullen was starting in the lunchtime instalment, some preferring Jason Cummings but Mullen did the basics right, worked hard, scored, the result the only stumbling block. A good 72 minutes work for Mullen before being replaced by Cummings.
Dundee: Legzdins, Kerr, Marshall, Sweeney, Mullen, McGowan, Ashcroft, Elliott, McMullan, Anderson, Adam
Substitutes: Lawlor, Fontaine, McCowan, Panter, Cummings, Lamb
Celtic: Hart, Ralston, Carter-Vickers, Welsh, Juranovic, Bitton, McGregor, Abada, Turnbull, Jota, Kyogo
Substitutes: Bain. SCales, Giakoumakis, McCarthy, Johnston, Forrest, Montgomery
NTOF now offers a YouTube channel featuring exclusive interviews, post-match discussion, in-depth debate, and much more – LIKE and SUBSCRIBE and don’t miss any of our videos.