Scottish PremiershipWednesday, December 3, 2025Celtic Park CELTIC…1(Daizen 11) DUNDEE…0 Martin O’Neill’s stint as interim manager of Celtic ended in the best possible way as the Hoops secured all three points with a 1-0 win over Dundee tonight to put themselves level on points at the top of the table. Celtic started with real pace and energy and within the first five minutes, the Dundee defence had been put under pressure on a couple of occasions, with Jon McCracken forced in to a diving save to stop a Daizen Maeda effort from creeping in to the bottom corner. The Hoops didn’t have to wait long for the opener, which came with just over 10 minutes gone. A brilliant through ball from Reo Hatate was picked up by Yang, who burst in to the box and saw a shot on goal saved, but Daizen Maeda was on hand to header home from close range. Daizen picked up a head-knock in the process of giving Celtic the lead and it looked like he would have to be replaced, but, in his typically irrepressible style, he emerged from the tunnel with his head bandaged 10 minutes later, ready to continue, much to the Celtic Park faithful’s delight. Marcelo Saracchi came close to doubling Celtic’s lead just after the half hour mark, with the Uruguayan picking up on another excellent ball from Reo Hatate, but the left back was denied by the Dundee keeper. Yang was the next Celt to find himself with a big opportunity when Saracchi cushioned a header down towards him in the box, but the winger’s volleyed effort from just inside the box sailed over the crossbar. Martin O’Neill was forced in to a change near the end of the first half when Marcelo Saracchi went down in some discomfort. He was replaced by Kieran Tierney and it remains to be seen how bad Saracchi’s injury is. The visitors went close to equalising just before half time when Simon Murray rattled the crossbar with an effort from close range. From the rebound, Cameron Congreve also went close, but Kasper Schmeichel was alert and was able to produce a good stop.Early in the second half, Daizen Maeda almost grabbed his second goal of the night when he was the first to react to the ball after a good save from McCracken denied Luke McCowan. Daizen slid in and directed the ball towards goal, but his effort went just wide of the target. For all Celtic’s dominance, as the minutes ticked on the feeling that a second goal was required to provide a bit of breathing space began to grow within the stadium, and Martin O’Neill made his second change of the night, swapping Yang for Sebastian Tounekti on the left wing. Reo Hatate went close on the hour mark with a shot from the edge of the box after some excellent passing play in the build-up from the Celts, but once again Dundee’s goalkeeper produced a save to keep his side in the match. At the other end, Kasper Schmeichel was called in to action and he made a smart save down to his left to prevent Ethan Hay from grabbing an equaliser for Dundee after a swift counter-attack from the visitors. With 10 minutes left to play, there were a further three changes for the Hoops with Reo Hatate, Luke McCowan and Colby Donovan all making way for Paulo Bernardo, Benjamin Nygren and Anthony Ralston. The Bhoys continued to hunt for a second goal, but with Dundee sensing that a point might be on the cards, Celtic were forced to defend resolutely towards the end and make the points safe. For the Celtic supporters who were lucky enough to be around in the early 2000s during Martin O’Neill’s first tenure, the memories of those years still glisten and bring a smile to many faces. For those who are too young to remember those days, the stories and the highlights have served to amply convey the triumphs and emotions. It was fitting then, that with the match drawing to a close tonight, Martin O’Neill’s name rang around Paradise as Celtic supporters of all ages showed their appreciation for the legendary manager’s contributions during his two spells in the dugout. When the full-time whistle went, it was a familiar old story – Martin O’Neill had guided Celtic to another victory at Paradise, a victory which now puts Celtic level on points at the top of the table going in to Sunday’s match against Hearts.
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