SPFL Wednesday, October 30 Celtic Park, Glasgow CELTIC…2 (Johnston 60, Engels 65) DUNDEE…0 Two second half goals against a resolute Dundee side at Celtic Park tonight was enough to keep the Hoops at the top of the Scottish Premiership table. Before kick-off at Paradise, there was a minute’s applause in appreciation of Celtic great, Tommy Callaghan who sadly passed away late last week. The reverence and respect shown by all inside Celtic Park was testament to how highly regarded Tommy Callaghan was and how much he will be missed by everyone connected with the club. The visitors started the match brightly and Kasper Schmeichel was called in to action early on after Portales managed a shot on target from close range. The Celts’ stopper produced a good diving save however, and kept the match level. In the fourth minute, Kyogo went close to opening the scoring after he controlled a perfectly weighted pass from Anthony Ralston on his chest and had a shot at goal which was saved by McCracken. The Japanese forward then had an even better opportunity a few moments later after he picked up on a loose ball in the penalty area, but on this occasion he dragged his shot wide. After surviving an early scare from the visitors, the Celts had the better of the play by some distance and it looked like only a matter of time before someone in green and white hoops broke the deadlock. Former Dens Park captain, Luke McCowan, looked lively against his former employers tonight and just after the half-hour mark he went close with a curling left-footed effort from the edge of the box which bent just wide of the top corner. A few minutes later, a stunning ball in to the box from Luis Palma with the outside of his foot only just evaded McCowan and Yang. A touch from either player would have almost certainly taken the ball in to the net and given the Hoops a first-half lead. As the half wore on, the Hoops support inside Celtic Park began to grow increasingly agitated at the Dundee keeper’s incessant time-wasting whenever he had the ball, as the visitors looked to slow down the flow of play and interrupt the Celts’ rhythm.The champions looked to start the second-half at pace and less than two minutes in to the second period, Kyogo found himself with space to shoot in the box after some good link-up play with McCowan, however his effort rose over the bar. Palma then went close a minute later with a curling effort from outside the box which the keeper tipped around the post at full stretch. There was then a quick flurry of chances which fell first to Kyogo and then to Palma. However the Dundee goalkeeper and defence somehow kept the ball out of the net and prevented the Hoops from taking the lead. With 55 minutes played, Brendan Rodgers made a triple-substitution, bringing Alistair Johnston, Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda on for Anthony Ralston, Paulo Bernardo and Luis Palma. And it was Johnston who fired the disco lights inside Paradise in to action as he opened the scoring on the hour mark. The right back, who scored on Sunday at Fir Park, got a touch on a low cross in to the box from Yang, which took the ball in to the back of the net. And with 65 minutes played, the Celts took full control of the match as Arne Engels fired home from the penalty spot after Kyogo was brought down in the box. The Belgian has already showed his quality from the spot on two occasions so far this season, and he made no mistake as he slammed the ball in to the net from 12 yards out to all but secure the three points for the champions. With just over 10 minutes left to play, the visitors mounted a promising looking counter-attack, however Auston Trusty read the situation well and brought an end to the danger with a well-timed challenge on Houlden. As the game entered added time, Daizen Maeda had a big opportunity to make it 3-0, however his header from inside the six-yard box went over the bar. Next up for the Celts is a trip to Hampden on Saturday where they will face Aberdeen in the semi-final of the Scottish League CupFixturesCeltic Vs. Dundee – Wed, Oct 30th 2024, 19:45
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