Spot kick king Arne Engels salvaged a point for Celtic in stoppage time in Dundee and the Premiership pace-settlers went 16 points clear at the top.
Brendan Rodgers’ side looked to be crashing to defeat after a sensational second half surge from the Dens men. Tony Docherty’s men twice battled back to level a thrilling clash and looked to have sealed it when Aaron Donnelly thumped home a header with 12 minutes to go. Luke McCowan fired Celts into an early lead against his former side before Oluwaseun Adewumi levelled.
Yang bagged his first goal of the season in the second half to regain the lead but it was wiped out by a Cameron Carter-Vickers own goal. Donnelly thought he’d secured a famous win – but sub Nicolas Kuhn’s drive was blocked by Mo Sylla’s arm and Engels drilled his sixth penalty of the season to snatch a point in the 93rd minute.
It was cruel on the Dens men after a stunning second half show in a thriller on Tayside. Dundee had their work cut out when Celts went ahead with their first attack after five minutes. It was a devastating move – started and finished by McCowan.
The midfielder switched the play to Greg Taylor and then ghosted in at the back post to meet the pin-point clip over the top and nod into the far corner with the Dundee defence AWOL.The playmaker didn’t overdo the celebration on his old patch but there wasn’t much mercy being shown by Celtic though.
The champions were well in charge and should have been out of sight – with Adam Idah missing a sitter right in front of goal among a host of other opportunities. But instead the visitors got hit with a shock leveller instead when Adewemi pounced on the break from a Hoops corner four minutes before half-time.
The frontman was sent clear after a couple of ricochets on the way he showed superb cool to chop inside and curl low past Kasper Schmeichel. Celtic were banging on the door again though and went back ahead on 53 minutes when Kyogo hit the byline and drilled across the face, Idah was blocked but the ball spun up for Yang to head home.
The lead lasted barely a minute though as Dundee stunned again – when Mulligan’s low drive deflected off Cameron Carter-Vickers to wrong foot Schmeichel and crept in at the near post. Adewumi, Ethan Ingram and Findlay Robertson all flashed efforts wide as Dundee swarmed all over the Hoops and had them on the rack.
Rodgers chucked on his big guns Nicolas Kuhn, Reo Hatate and Arne Engels from the bench. But it was the Dens men who dramatically struck again with 12 minutes to go when Donnelly rose to meet a corner and thump his header high into the net.
The drama wasn’t done as Celt were awarded a spot kick when Kuhn’s drive came off Sylla’s arm and Engels kept his cool. Here’s three talking points from a thrilling night on Tayside.
Not so easy does it
This was a reminder Celtic won’t be able to just stroll to the title after all. The runaway league leaders should have been out of sight in the opening period but this is what can happen when the guard is dropped, even for an odd moment.
Dundee put the Hoops under real pressure at the back and they couldn’t cope.
At 2-2 Rodgers dipped in to his star-studded bench but this time it looked like the opposition were the ones nicking a winner until the spot kick drama. It tok huge character to dig out a result again and a draw won’t cause too much damage in the overall destination of the title this term with Celts still miles in front. But it was a lesson they won’t get it all their own way and there is work still to be done.
Rodger’s men also have a crucial Scottish Cup tie against Kilmanock this weekend followed by a crunch Champions League clash with Young Boys. They will certainly need to be more switched on at the back against the Swiss side.
Dee looking up
The Dens Park pitch is in pristine condition – and the team is in tremendous nick as well. It’s been an up and down season for Dundee at times but they are bang in the frame for the top half again.
You wouldn’t put it past Tony Doherty’s men as they have plenty of firepower up top; Adewumi in a real handful as he made it goals against both halves of the Old Firm and the likes of Simon Murray is a real pain for opposition defences.
Murray gave Auston Trusty a tough night and the Hoops backline has rarely been rattled like this. Dundee were brilliant when taking the game to Celts at times here but the troubles they’ve had this season have been at the back. It was always going to be tough to keep out Celtic, but the Dark Blues haven’t managed it against the rest either.
They’ve only managed one clean sheet in the league all term though and if Docherty can get his defence tightened up in the next few weeks, there’s every chance he’ll have this side in the top six mix again.
Hit and miss
Adam Idah really could do with a goal. Rodgers insisted in the build up he isn’t worried about the striker’s struggles to stick the ball in the net. But that doesn’t mean supporters might be a tad concerned as the Irishman made it 12 games without getting on the scoresheet.
Idah could have put the game to bed here inside the first half an hour but he somehow managed to completely miss the ball when it looked a simple task to stick it in the net from Kyogo’s cross. There were a couple of other sniffs but nothing was coming off and he was eventually replaced with the sides locked at 2-2.
Last season Idah could do no wrong and he became a hero with his winner in the Scottish Cup Final against Rangers. It’s been a different story for much of this term though. It could be the big hitman’s confidence is a little low right now but the only way to get it back is to find a goal from somewhere.