2014-08-31: Dundee 1-1 Celtic, SP

Match Pictures | Matches: 2014 – 2015 | 2014-15 Pictures

Trivia

• 2014-08-31: Dundee 1-1 Celtic, SP
• Support on a low after the defeat with morale sapped. Tension growing.
• Criticism rising on Deila.
• Internationals next week.
• Transfer Window open:
• Last day of the Transfer window on Monday.
• Celtic miss out on new striker as he opts to pull out of joining the club. Celtic next chasing loan deal for Man City player Giudetti but then… back on and we buy him and end Giudetti interest. All comical, and happened in last two hours of the window.
• Transfers in: Craig Gordon; Jo Inge Berget (loan); Denayer (loan) , Wakaso (loan), Totev (loan)
• Transfers out: Mouyokolo (free); Tony Watt, Fraser Forster (£10m), McGeouch (loan to Hibs), Atajic (free)
• Last Day: Stefan Scepovic, Sporting Gijon to Celtic, £2.2 million Teemu Pukki, Celtic to Brondby on loan Amido Balde, Celtic to Beveren on loan Holmbert Fridjonsson, Celtic to Brondby on loan. Dylan McGeouch, Celtic to Hibernian on loan Jackson Irvine, Celtic to Ross County on loan
  Atajic released (free)

Review

(Bawman of KDS)
Oh boy, where to start?

Gordon – a godsend. Literally not a bump between having Forster and Gordon in goals.

Matthews – invisible. For all intents and purposes he joined Joe Ledley at Crystal Palace in January.

Ambrose – All over the place and, I'd propose (in the managers mind), a sub when others are fit.

Denayer – For a 19 year old boy with zero first team experience he has done great. He'll learn more about himself during this time than two full seasons as a first pick Man City player.

Izzy – lost. Teams are onto him and he has no answer other than to bomb forward.

Overall we are witnessing a whole new kind of sieve at the back. It's manic, mental and ugly as eff to watch.

McGregor – under normal circumstances he'd now be coming off the bench to add something. We are so effed he has to start right now.

Johansen – the poster child for trying too hard. Like the rest of the team he seems caught between what worked last season and what is expected of him now. Invariably that leaves him running around like Inspector Gadget after two bumps and a tab.

Kayal – best of a really bad bunch in the middle. We went to pieces when he went off.

Berget – Clearly doing what his manager is telling him to do (get in behind the fullback) and he just cannot do it.

Overall we have no midfield. No balance, no poise and no ability to retain the ball.

Stokes – hopeless. No balls, no effort and the footballing IQ of a corner flag.

Commons – the games a bogey. We'd be mugs to offer him a deal.

Overall we have strikers that aren't really strikers and their "attributes" are better suited elsewhere.

Subs – Griffiths – at least he got wired in. When the team is playing badly that's all we ask.
Bitton – Been here over a season and yet to claim a jersey for himself. In this group that's a worry.
O'Connell – the boy can play but his lack of pace is alarming. One of todays better performers.

Deila – I can see what he is doing but we do not have the players for it. Perhaps that will change when Wakaso and Tonev are fit. Their pace alone will at least keep their fullbacks honest and pull CBs wide to support them. That makes gaps where currently there are none. Between now and then ? eff. The first thing he needs to do is stop effing around with players and positions. GET IT SETTLED. I'd drop Stokes (from a great height) and give his job to Berget until we buy a striker. At least we'll get effort and some return in there. If Kayal and Johansen are it, stick with them. Same goes for Denayer. If he's our guy, he plays every game. Settle on a RB. Get your seven or eight guys, tell them they're it and build from there.

We are a club at sea from the top down. I don't get we have a committed majority shareholder. More than anybody at Celtic Park I think his time is up the most.
We are lying when we say we can afford a 4,5 or 6 million quid player. If you cant afford their wages then you cant afford the player. With a bit of foresight and balls we could have had Wakaso and Scepovic in the door a month ago. We didn't and for what? To save a few hundred grand would be my guess. We are penny foolish in the extreme.

This season is going to be ugly as eff regardless. Pucker up Bhoys, this ones going to hurt.
(padrepio of KDS)
It`s frightening how quickly we have regressed on the pitch in such a short space of time.
Matthews ?? What has happened to him. The game was about 20 minutes old yesterday before I realised he was even on the pitch. If he has lost his confidence because of injury then is this not something the sports psychologist a the club should be trying to sort out? If the decline in his performance is becuase his mates Ledley and Hooper are no longer there then thats just a joke.
The young lad O`Connell done really well when he came on even though his lack of pace is both obvious and scary. Griffiths used his willingness to have a shot at any time to great effect. At times Stokes/Commons were trying to walk ball into the net.
Don`t know where we go from here because considering our previous performance was our exit from CL the very least we should have expected yesterday was a spirited determined performance…and we got neither.
Our squad will now break up fro the international break and wont be back together until probably the Thursday before the Aberdeen game, so there does`nt seem like there is going to be a lot of time to sort stuff out on the training ground.

I have a feeling that our next home game may be "eventful"

Teams

Dundee

Substitutes

• 06 Davidson
• 08 McBride
• 11 Ferry
• 12 Bain
• 21 Tankulic
• 23 Boyle
• 33 Wighton

Goal

• McPake 1′

Celtic

Substitutes

• 06 Bitton
• 20 Pukki
• 24 Zaluska
• 28 Griffiths
• 32 Wakaso
• 34 O'Connell
• 53 Henderson

Goal

• Griffiths 55′

Articles

• Match Report (see end of page below)

Pictures

• Match Pictures

MOTM

• Voting Thread
• Result Thread
• Winner –

Stats

Dundee Celtic

Possession
63% 37%
90 mins

Shots
10 13

On target
3 6

Corners
4 5

Fouls
11 7

Articles

Dundee 1-1 Celtic: Hoops scrape a draw

http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/latest/dundee-1-1-celtic-hoops-scrape-a-draw-1-3526479
by STUART BATHGATE AT DENS PARK

Published 31/08/2014 15:22

SOMETIMES the value of a player is most obvious in his absence. Virgil van Dijk was left out of the Celtic line-up because his mind was not fully on the job, according to manager Ronny Deila, and in his absence the champions’ defence was disorganised and lacklustre.

Scorers: Dundee – McPake 1; Celtic – Griffiths 55

They lost a goal in the first minute from a set piece, and even though Leigh Griffiths came off the bench to claim a second-half equaliser, Dundee were still in the match right to the end and had any number of chances to score a late winner.

While Van Dijk has been dreaming of a move to England, on this form the rest of the Celtic defence will be going nowhere other than into their own reserve side. That could also be the case for on-loan forward Jo Inge Berget, who was replaced by Griffiths before half-time after an insubstantial performance.

The home team were stopped at times by late blocks from the likes of Jason Denayer, but the Celtic back four deserve little credit for such interventions. It was only their initial ineptitude that allowed Dundee into decent positions in the first place.

Still, while Celtic were poor, Paul Hartley’s side showed excellent character to maintain their unbeaten start to the league season. Behind yesterday’s opponents only on goal difference – though Celtic have played a game fewer – they have given themselves a solid platform from which to achieve survival in their first season back in the top flight.

The opening goal was astonishingly easy. The impressive Philip Roberts floated a corner from the right to just outside the six-yard box, and James McPake leaped highest to send a downwards header into the far corner of the net.

The only mitigating factor from a Celtic point of view was the fact that the bounce taken by the header deceived both Craig Gordon in goal and Callum McGregor who was on the post. Even so, it was a collective lapse of concentration by the champions, who had been slow to react to the break down the flank by Roberts which won the corner in the first place.

Celtic slowly began to impose themselves on the game over the following quarter of an hour, but at the end of that spell they were close to falling two behind. Roberts again did the damage down the right, and Peter MacDonald just failed to connect with his firmly struck cross at the back post.

Roberts came closer still a few minutes later, making space for himself all too easily and firing in a low shot that came back off the base of the left post. Celtic looked committed enough to their task in attack, with Kris Commons being particularly threatening, but at the back they appeared to be at best half awake.

They were still sleepwalking ten minutes from half-time when Dundee varied their line of attack and from inside his own half Roberts lofted a ball down the middle for MacDonald to chase. The pace of the ball seemed just too fast for the striker at first, but he got there just ahead of Gordon, and was unlucky to see his first-time lob go a foot or so over the bar.

Deila was slow to react to his team’s glaring failings, but when he did respond a few minutes before half-time, he reshuffled wisely. Berget, who had been ineffectual on the left wing and done nothing to protect left-back Emilio­ Izaguirre from Roberts’ forays, was taken off to the vocal relief of the visiting support. Griffiths, a better striker and far more willing worker, came on.

There was another change at the start of the second half, with Eoghan O’Connell replacing Adam Matthews. Efe Ambrose moved to right-back and the new man took his place at centre-half alongside Denayer. Celtic looked far more purposeful on the resumption, with Izaguirre going from tormented to tormentor as he made inroads down the left. Roberts, making his first league start for Dundee, was nowhere near as full of running as he had been earlier, which allowed the Honduran to venture forward almost with impunity.

When the equaliser came, however, it was from the right. Griffiths, always a danger from just outside the penalty box, received a pass in just enough space to tee himself up. Kyle Letheren might have had his shot covered, but it took a deflection off Thomas Konrad and hit the left post on its way into the net.

O’Connell was not far away with a header from a Commons corner as Celtic went in search of the winner, but Dundee, though on the back foot and restricted for a time to the occasional break, were not finished either. With 15 minutes left Martin Boyle was almost free down the left, but as the substitute shot, Denayer got back to block the ball and send it behind for a corner. Or at least it should have been a corner: referee Craig Thomson, having failed to see a substantial change of direction in the path of the ball, awarded a goal kick instead.

Minutes later Boyle was on target at the end of a similar break, but this time Gordon denied him with a strong parry. Then, entering the last ten minutes, Boyle skipped past Denayer and shot past Gordon only to see his effort trail wide of the far post.

Luka Tankulic was not far away with a long-range effort as Dundee continued to look for the three points. Anthony Stokes hit the post with a powerful shot and Griffiths forced Letheren to make a fine save as Celtic, too, finished strongly. Tankulic pulled another shot wide with just minutes to go, but by that time a winner for either side would have been unjust.

Dundee: Letheren, McGinn, Konrad, McPake, Irvine, Roberts (Boyle 66), Harkins (Ferry 58), McGowan, McAlister, Stewart, MacDonald (Tankulic 57).

Celtic: Gordon, Matthews (O’Connell 45), Ambrose, Denayer, Izaguirre, McGregor, Johansen, Kayal (Biton 71), Berget (Griffiths 41), Commons, Stokes.

BBC

By Andrew Southwick
BBC Scotland Leigh Griffiths came off the bench to secure a draw for Celtic against Dundee at Dens Park.

James McPake headed the hosts ahead inside 50 seconds and Philip Roberts then hit the frame of the Celtic goal.

Celtic improved after the break and Griffiths' deflected drive drew them level before team-mate Anthony Stokes fired against a post.

Both sides had plenty of chances to win the game with Dundee's Martin Boyle, in particular, passing up late efforts.

Play mediaJump media playerMedia player helpOut of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue.
Interview – Dundee manager Paul Hartley

Ronny Deila ended a nightmare week in the Celtic hot-seat still looking for a change in form as they failed to bounce back from their midweek Champions League play-off defeat by NK Maribor.

He left Virgil van Dijk out amid growing speculation the Dutch central defender is leaving but the manager said before kick-off the 23-year-old will be staying at the club.

Paul Hartley had vowed pre-match that his Dundee side would have a go at the champions, and he was true to his word with his side taking the lead inside the opening minute.

Roberts' corner found the head of McPake, who directed a header goalwards. Callum McGregor was on the back post but could only take a fresh air swipe at the ball and it nestled into the net behind him.

James McPake rises above the Celtic defence to give Dundee an early lead McPake rose above the Celtic defence to give Dundee an early lead

It could have been two a minute later when Gary Harkins' head-flick found Peter MacDonald and the striker shot narrowly wide.

It was a frantic start and Celtic soon had two chances of their own. Both Kris Commons and Stokes found space on the edge of the box but neither were able to get much purchase on their efforts.

Celtic had not lost three games in a row since March 2007 and, following defeats by Inverness and Maribor, they were now staring at an unwanted treble.

Play mediaJump media playerMedia player helpOut of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue.
Interview – Celtic manager Ronny Deila

MacDonald nutmegged Efe Ambrose on a marauding run before Jason Denayer managed to block his shot, then winger Roberts jinked into the box and fired a shot off the far post.

And MacDonald was sent through one-on-one with goalkeeper Craig Gordon from Robert's long ball and lobbed just over.

Despite their dominance, Dundee had goalkeeper Kyle Letheren to thank after his breathtaking save denied Ambrose after the Nigeria international had got his head to Stokes' free-kick.

Celtic were far more like themselves at the start of the second half and, after a sustained period of pressure, they pulled themselves level.

Former Dens Park forward Griffiths – the subject of a failed loan bid by former club Hibernian – grabbed his first goal of the season from the right edge of the box when his low shot deflected off Thomas Konrad into the far corner.

Celtic striker Anthony Stokes Stokes came closest to a winner when his shot hit the outside of the right-hand post

However, Dundee substitute Boyle had three gilt-edge chances to restore the home side's lead.

On each occasion he raced clear down the right, however a Denayer block and a Gordon save denied his first two efforts, before he drove a shot wide when he perhaps should have cut the ball back to a team-mate.

Fellow replacement Luka Tankulic then forced another save from Gordon as Dundee searched for their first home win over Celtic since 1988.

Back came Celtic though and, after Stokes played a delightful one-two with Griffiths, the Irishman hammered the ball off the outside of the right-hand post.

One further opportunity fell Dundee's way as Tankulic was released on the right but he dragged his effort across the face of goal.

Live Text Commentary
Full time Full Time
Match ends, Dundee 1, Celtic 1.
90:00 +2:05 Full time Full Time
Second Half ends, Dundee 1, Celtic 1.
90:00 +0:33 Paul McGinn (Dundee) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
90:00 +0:33 Foul by Anthony Stokes (Celtic).
88:21 Callum McGregor (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
88:21 Foul by Jim McAlister (Dundee).
87:23 Attempt missed. Luka Tankulic (Dundee) right footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the left.
85:41 Foul by Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic).
85:41 Martin Boyle (Dundee) wins a free kick on the right wing.
83:41 Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Kyle Letheren.
83:33 Attempt saved. Leigh Griffiths (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
82:25 Anthony Stokes (Celtic) hits the right post with a right footed shot from the right side of the box.
80:56 Attempt missed. Luka Tankulic (Dundee) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right.
79:51 Attempt missed. Martin Boyle (Dundee) right footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses to the left.
77:55 Corner, Dundee. Conceded by Craig Gordon.
77:48 Attempt saved. Martin Boyle (Dundee) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the top right corner.
76:30 Attempt blocked. Anthony Stokes (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
75:54 Kris Commons (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
75:54 Foul by Simon Ferry (Dundee).
74:16 Delay in match Nir Bitton (Celtic) because of an injury.
.73:18 Attempt missed. Martin Boyle (Dundee) right footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses to the right.
71:13 Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Paul McGinn.
70:09 Substitution Substitution
Substitution, Celtic. Nir Bitton replaces Beram Kayal.
69:33 Corner, Dundee. Conceded by Eoghan O'Connell.
69:00 Eoghan O'Connell (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
68:59 Foul by Greg Stewart (Dundee).
67:57 Attempt missed. Eoghan O'Connell (Celtic) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left following a corner.
67:30 Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Greg Stewart.
65:46 Substitution Substitution
Substitution, Dundee. Martin Boyle replaces Philip Roberts.
64:48 Corner, Celtic. Conceded by James McPake.
62:47 Foul by Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic).
62:47 Philip Roberts (Dundee) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
62:23 Attempt saved. Kris Commons (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
61:07 Foul by Efe Ambrose (Celtic).
61:07 Greg Stewart (Dundee) wins a free kick on the right wing.
60:29 Booking Booking
Gary Irvine (Dundee) is shown the yellow card.
60:23 Leigh Griffiths (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
60:23 Foul by Gary Irvine (Dundee).
59:32 Jim McAlister (Dundee) wins a free kick on the left wing.
59:29 Foul by Efe Ambrose (Celtic).
57:09 Substitution Substitution
Substitution, Dundee. Simon Ferry replaces Gary Harkins.
56:55 Substitution Substitution
Substitution, Dundee. Luka Tankulic replaces Peter MacDonald.
55:33 Kris Commons (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
55:33 Foul by Gary Irvine (Dundee).
54:15 Goal scored Goal!
Goal! Dundee 1, Celtic 1. Leigh Griffiths (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Callum McGregor.
52:16 Attempt missed. Efe Ambrose (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right.
51:42 Attempt blocked. Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.
48:00 Stefan Johansen (Celtic) wins a free kick on the right wing.
47:53 Foul by Greg Stewart (Dundee).
45:00 Second Half begins Dundee 1, Celtic 0.
45:00 Substitution Substitution
Substitution, Celtic. Eoghan O'Connell replaces Adam Matthews.
45:00 +1:18 Half time Half Time
First Half ends, Dundee 1, Celtic 0.
45:00 +0:50 Anthony Stokes (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
45:00 +0:50 Foul by Philip Roberts (Dundee).
42:36 Booking Booking
Beram Kayal (Celtic) is shown the yellow card.
42:30 Foul by Beram Kayal (Celtic).
42:30 Paul McGowan (Dundee) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
41:00 Substitution Substitution
Substitution, Celtic. Leigh Griffiths replaces Jo Inge Berget.
40:25 Foul by Anthony Stokes (Celtic).
40:25 Paul McGowan (Dundee) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
38:11 Attempt missed. Beram Kayal (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right.
36:50 Delay in match Peter MacDonald (Dundee) because of an injury.
36:12 Attempt missed. Peter MacDonald (Dundee) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high.
33:10 Attempt saved. Philip Roberts (Dundee) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
31:21 Booking Booking
Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic) is shown the yellow card.
26:21 Corner, Celtic. Conceded by James McPake.
25:03 Attempt saved. Anthony Stokes (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
24:39 Adam Matthews (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
24:39 Foul by Greg Stewart (Dundee).
22:03 Attempt missed. Kris Commons (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is too high.
21:01 Philip Roberts (Dundee) hits the left post with a right footed shot from the right side of the box.
18:21 Foul by Jim McAlister (Dundee).
18:21 Beram Kayal (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
18:05 Attempt blocked. Peter MacDonald (Dundee) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
17:05 Foul by Paul McGinn (Dundee).
17:05 Jo Inge Berget (Celtic) wins a free kick on the left wing.
14:21 Attempt saved. Kris Commons (Celtic) left footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
5:38 Foul by Greg Stewart (Dundee).
5:38 Efe Ambrose (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
5:22 Attempt saved. Anthony Stokes (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
3:19 Corner, Dundee. Conceded by Efe Ambrose.
0:47 Goal scored Goal!
Goal! Dundee 1, Celtic 0. James McPake (Dundee) header from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Philip Roberts with a cross.
0:16 Corner, Dundee. Conceded by Efe Ambrose.
0:00 First Half begins.
0:00 Lineups are announced and players are warming up.
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