2017-09-20: Dundee 0-4 Celtic, League Cup

Trivia

• Scottish League Cup quarter-finals
• Celtic are current holders of the trophy.
• Hibs, Celtic, Sevco and Aberdeen thru to semi-finals.
• Celtic have now reached 7 consecutive domestic cup semi-finals. The club haven't had a better run since 1968-76 (15 semi-finals in a row).
• Boyata back today, various players rested.
• Dundee twitter posted a cheeky but funny tweet almost immediately after the full-time whistle, it wished the travelling support a “safe trip home to Lochee”. The tweet references an area in the west of the city, which is said to be largely populated by Celtic supporters.
• Ex-Celt Paul Wilson from 1970’s has sadly passed away. RIP
• Celtic to play Sevco for first time this season on Saturday coming.
  Sevco midfielder Josh Windass cleared to play v Celtic despite after making an uncalled for obscene gesture to Partick Thistle fans during a 2-2 draw on Friday past. Dodgey SFA decision.
  Ex-Celt Gary Caldwell axed as Chesterfield manager. We hope him the best.
• Champions League Next Week. Anderlecht have sacked their manager a week before their Champions League clash with Celtic
• Ex-Celt Joe Ledley has joined Derby Cty on a free. All the best.

Review

(bmh of KDS)
Hammer throwing performance from them – got one or two players that could do well – if they had a good manager mind you

Decent warm up for Saturday

Few players rested and a few others putting in a sold performance

Brown Sinclair and Forrest looking great too

McGregor's first touch for his goal was excellent – tackle was a bit OTT mind you!

Rogic Armstrong Joao and Dembele rested

Yeah – roll on Saturday

(The Gorbals Urchin)
Enjoyable performance from the Bhoys and an easy victory on a horrible night,
McCann taking Pedro's words about nobody gets into them the way they do us
to heart as his players set about us with some wild tackles ,anyway home safe
as it fairly pished down all the way back to Glasgow.

(Torquemada of KDS)
Broony was masterful tonight, Ntcham decent in patches but strangely reluctant to take the game by the scruff of the neck. He's still bedding in and he and Brown are the future of our holding midfield. I'll be interested to see if Brendan plays him on Saturday. If he plays Armstrong instead, it's a sign he'll be going for the jugular.

I've been a big critic of Forrest but he's flying at the moment. His first was a real striker's goal.

I enjoyed us toying with a bunch of hacking bastards obviously playing to instructions. How we ended up playing against 11 men is a mystery only John Beaton can answer.

Teams

Articles

• Match Report (see end of page below)

Pictures

• Match Pictures

Forum

• Pre-match
• Match
• Post Match

MOTM

• Voting Thread
• Result Thread
• Winner –

Stats

Dundee
Celtic

Possession
Home35%
Away65%

Shots
Home1
Away18

Shots on Target
Home0
Away7

Corners
Home3
Away8

Fouls
Home13
Away12

Articles

Dundee 0 – 4 Celtic: Second gear enough for Celtic to coast into semis
James Forrest celebrates having doubled Celtic's advantage. Picture: SNS
STEPHEN HALLIDAY
Published: 21:36 Wednesday 20 September 2017
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/competitions/league-cup/dundee-0-4-celtic-second-gear-enough-for-celtic-to-coast-into-semis-1-4565702
It was a mere appetiser for the main courses of the Old Firm battle and Champions League challenge which face Celtic over the next seven days, but their hunger for victory was undiminished as they strolled into the Betfred Cup semi-finals at the expense of Dundee.
READ MORE – Dundee 0 – 4 Celtic: Second gear enough for Celtic to coast into semis
The Scottish champions undefeated domestic run under Brendan Rodgers now stretches to 56 games and will have lasted over 500 days by the time they arrive in Govan to confront Rangers on Saturday.
First half goals from Scott Sinclair and James Forrest imposed their authority on Neil McCann’s outclassed and outgunned side before late strikes from substitute Callum McGregor and Forrest again emphasised their superiority.
Celtic have now played six ties in this tournament since Rodgers’ arrival – they have won them all, scoring 20 goals in the process and conceding none. This was their first away tie in that sequence but they never looked likely to suffer a first defeat at Dens Park since 1988.
Even dominance of the scale Celtic have imposed on Scottish football under Rodgers comes with degrees of priority. It’s fair to say the Betfred Cup wouldn’t be top of that list, a status underlined by the startling increase in the club’s revenue on the back of Champions League participation which they revealed in their annual accounts published a few hours before kick-off at Dens.
But even with six changes to his starting line-up – Jozo Simunovic, nursing a swollen knee, and Moussa Dembele were among those omitted as Saturday’s first Old Firm showdown of the season looms large – it was a powerful indication of the resources at the Celtic manager’s disposal.
Dedryck Boyata, absent since suffering a knee injury in pre-season training, made his first appearance of the campaign. The Belgian international, rated so highly by Rodgers, joined Nir Bitton in the latest of several central defensive partnerships deployed by Celtic in recent weeks.
Celtic were typically purposeful, setting a tempo which left no room for doubt over their determination to retain the first of the trophies they claimed under Rodgers last season.
Dundee had barely touched the ball when Olivier Ntcham saw his low shot from 20 yards touched wide by Scott Bain.
While Celtic largely hogged possession and controlled territory, Dundee were not without their own opportunities in the first half which, had they been less feckless in front of goal, might have painted a different picture than the comfortable 2-0 advantage the visitors eventually secured before the interval.
Dutch winger Randy Wolters saw his shot from Cammy Kerr’s cross deflected wide off Mikael Lustig, before some slack play from the ring-rusty Boyata allowed Faissal El-Bakhtaoui to send A-Jay Leitch-Smith bursting through the middle. The on-loan Shrewsbury Town failed to make the most of the chance, hesitating fatally to allow Scott Brown to get back and cut out the danger.
READ MORE – Dundee Twitter account has cheeky dig at travelling Celtic fans
As Celtic continued to pass and probe patiently at the other end, it was a burst of dynamism from Sinclair which led to their 25th minute breakthrough. The winger went through the gears as he eluded challenges from Wolters and Lewis Spence on his way into the penalty area where he was brought down by Jack Hendry.
It was a simple decision for referee John Beaton and Sinclair took the penalty himself, beating Bain despite the Dundee ‘keeper guessing correctly and diving to his left.
El-Bakhtaoui was presented with a glorious chance to equalise for the hosts five minutes later when Wolters cross from the right eluded a flat-footed Celtic defence to land at the feet of the French forward. But with only Craig Gordon to beat from around six yards, El-Bakhtaoui mis-timed his effort horribly and the ball dribbled harmlessly wide.
The significance of the fluffed opportunity emerged in the shape of Celtic doubling their lead three minutes before the break. Bitton initiated the move with a superb tackle to dispossess Kerr and send Kieran Tierney scampering down the left. The full-back’s cutback picked out Forrest who slid his sixth goal of the season low beyond Bain from around 14 yards.
Leigh Griffiths tested Bain with a dipping effort from around 22 yards at the start of the second half, the ‘keeper doing well to touch it wide, as Celtic showed no sign of loosening their grip on the tie.
In truth, they were already in cruise control with Dundee exhibiting no signs they were capable of mounting a recovery mission. There was a worrying moment when Wolters went down after catching a stray arm in the throat from Ntcham. It was an accidental collision but the Dundee player was in considerable distress. He required lengthy treatment and although he finally got back to his feet, he was subsequently replaced by Roarie Deacon.
As the tempo dropped, it resembled little more than a training exercise for Celtic who were able to reserve as much energy as they liked for Saturday’s trip to Ibrox. They did occasionally burst into life again and Forrest was denied when his shot was well saved by Bain.
Celtic’s appetite for more goals was renewed in the closing stages. McGregor made it 3-0, guiding a left foot shot beyond Bain, before Forrest completed the one-sided action in stoppage time, claiming his second goal of the night with a fine strike from 20 yards.

Dundee 0 – 4 Celtic: How the players rated on each side
James Forrest celebrates with his team-mates after doubling his side's lead. Picture: SNS

Craig Fowler

Published: 22:59 Wednesday 20 September 2017
Share this article
•
•
•
0
Have your say
Ratings out of ten for every player from Celtic’s Betfred Cup quarter-final victory over Dundee.
READ MORE – Dundee 0 – 4 Celtic: Second gear enough for Celtic to coast into semis
DUNDEE
Scott Bain – 7
Made a couple of really good saves early, touching deflected shots around the post. However, it’s hard to gave anything higher than a 7 to a goalkeeper who conceded four.
Cammy Kerr – 5
Gave the ball away in the build-up to the second goal and had a tough night trying to track Scott Sinclair.
Jack Hendry – 6
Conceded the penalty which sent Celtic on their way. Otherwise he had a solid night at the heart of the defence, making a couple of crucial challenges.
Darren O’Dea – 7
Quickly put his horrorshow against St Johnstone at the weekend behind him with a decent performance. Couldn’t affect the result, but competed well and won his fair share of high balls.
Kevin Holt – 6
Was tasked with providing some width on the left but this was curtailed by having to do so much defensive work.
Glen Kamara – 8
Really impressive performance from the midfielder who marked Patrick Roberts out of the game for the most part. Put in some crunching tackles as well.
Randy Wolters – 6
Threatened in the opening 30 minutes, including a shot from distance and a cross for Faissal El Bakhtaoui which the striker should have scored. Didn’t do anything to influence the attack thereafter.
Lewis Spence – 7
Decent showing from the midfielder who was tasked with marking Olivier Ntcham and did a solid job doing so. Kept it simple in possession.
Mark O’Hara – 6
Buzzed around as the most advanced midfielder. Couldn’t do much to impact the attack or stop Scott Brown from playing his game.
Faissal El Bakhatoui – 4
Missed an early sitter and, while he had some good early touches, he soon began to gift possession to Celtic with minimal fuss.
A-Jay Leitch Smith – 4
Didn’t do enough to hold up the play or stretch Celtic in behind. The one time he did, he took a poor touch and allowed Brown to hunt him down, stopping a one-on-one.
SUBS
Roarie Deacon – 5 – On for Wolters but didn’t fare any better in trying to create.
Paul McGowan – 6 – Took a sore one from Callum McGregor in injury time.
READ MORE – Dundee Twitter account has cheeky dig at travelling Celtic fans
CELTIC
Craig Gordon – 6
Dundee had zero shots on target. His passing was generally ok.
Mikael Lustig – 6
Moved over to centre-back and enjoyed a quiet evening which mostly consisted of passing short to his team-mates.
Dedryck Boyata – 6
A fairly comfortable return for the centre-back who’s been out for a lengthy spell with a knee injury. Rarely tested by the Dundee attack.
Nir Bitton – 8
The most impressive of the back three, but that was less to do with defending and more to do with his stepping out to support the attack. Celtic’s second goal came from him winning the ball back high up the park.
James Forrest – 8
Four goals in the space of five days for the winger who’s looking increasingly confident in front of goal. Both his finishes were of a high standard and he’s really starting to sniff out chances around the penalty box.
Scott Brown – 9
Excellent performance from the captain who shut down Dundee attacks throughout and played his usual west-coast quarterback role, peppering short passes about the park and making sure his side kept hold of the ball.
Olivier Ntcham – 6
Started off brightly but faded as the first half wore on. Wasn’t asked to do much other than keep possession for his side in the second period.
Kieran Tierney – 7
Played on the left of the midfield four. He’s had more productive evenings but he generally played his part well, including continually swapping with Scott Sinclair so the attacker could build up a head of steam in his runs from the wing.
Patrick Roberts – 5
Was shadowed by Kamara throughout most of his 73 minutes on the park. Couldn’t find the pockets of space which enabled him to have such a productive evening at Hamilton in the same 3-4-3 system a week past Friday.
Leigh Griffiths – 7
Seems to be forcing it a little too much when it comes to shooting for goal but still contributed a lot to the attack with some fine movement and was a threat until subbed with five minutes left.
Scott Sinclair – 9
It was between the attacker and Brown for man-of-the-match. He had a hand in every one of Celtic’s goals as his direct running ability caused the hosts all sorts of problems.
SUBS
Anthony Ralston – 7 – Drove forward more than Lustig (who moved into the centre), helping to keep Celtic on the front foot.
Callum McGregor – 8 – Brought some urgency to the proceedings late on and scored a fine goal.
Odsonne Edouard – n/a – Only given the final five minutes.

BBC

By Chris McLaughlin

at Dens Park

9 hours ago From the section Football 71

Celtic winger James Forrest
James Forrest scored Celtic's fourth goal to secure progress to the Scottish League Cup semi-final

Celtic swept Dundee aside to surge into the Scottish League Cup semi-finals with a resounding win.

The hosts were initially lively, but lost their way after Scott Sinclair won and converted a first-half penalty.

The second goal by James Forrest, just before half-time, established an unassailable lead.

Callum McGregor and Forrest again completed the scoring as Celtic extended their run of unbeaten domestic games to 56.

Dundee will rue Faissal El Bakhtaoui missing the chance to level the scores at 1-1 during the first half, but ultimately they could not live with Celtic's pace and attacking threat.

Celtic made six changes to their starting line-up, with defender Dedryck Boyata making his first start this season after recovering from injury.

The Belgium international played two-thirds of the game, as he continues to seek full match sharpness, and manager Brendan Rodgers can shuffle his side again for Saturday's Old Firm meeting at Ibrox.
Celtic winger Scott Sinclair
Celtic winger Scott Sinclair opened the scoring against Dundee from the penalty spot

Dundee manager Neil McCann had said his side would not go toe-to-toe with the cup holders, but they certainly kept Rodgers' side pretty quiet at the start of the match with a real dogged determination.

The Dark Blues were not afraid to pour forward in numbers either, when given the chance, and the Dutchman Randy Wolters saw an early effort deflected just wide.

But the composure and patience that had allowed Celtic to notch up 55 domestic games unbeaten was once again on show and after 24 minutes a burst of brilliance brought them the lead.

Sinclair picked up the ball on the right and danced past two players before being tripped by Jack Hendry inside the area. It was a straightforward decision for referee John Beaton, and Sinclair made it look easy from the spot as he coolly slipped the ball past goalkeeper Scott Bain.
Celtic defender Dedryck Boyata
Celtic defender Dedryck Boyata made his first appearance of the season after returning from injury

El Bakhtaoui should have levelled shortly afterwards, though, as the home side refused to buckle. Wolters delivered an inch perfect cross from the right, but the Moroccan kicked fresh air on six yards and the chance was gone.

Sinclair continued to terrorise the home side down the right – the Englishman looking very much in the mood – but a few decent deliveries into the box went unanswered.

It was evidence that Celtic were turning the screw and the second goal never looked far away. It came just minutes before the interval.

Kieran Tierney, who looks more like a winger than a defender these days, swept a fabulous low ball into the box and Forrest stretched from eight yards to guide the ball into the net.

The visitors emerged after the interval like a side desperate to put the result beyond doubt. Leigh Griffiths was shooting on sight but the third refused to come.
Dundee midfielder Randy Wolters receives treatment against Celtic
Dundee midfielder Randy Wolters had to receive lengthy treatment after an accidental clash with Olivier Ntcham

The momentum was broken when Wolters received what looked like a worrying throat injury after an accidental clash with Celtic midfielder Olivier Ntcham. The medical staff from both benches rushed on but after a five-minute delay the midfielder staggered to his feet and played on.

The tempo dropped, as Celtic strolled around with the home side happy to sit off and invite them on. It looked at times that Celtic would burst into the box simply to amuse themselves and on one such occasion Forrest almost doubled his tally from close range.

The third did come and so did a fourth just before the end, and it was no more than Celtic deserved.

Dundee were caught in possession in Celtic's half and Sinclair motored away. When he looked up, he found substitute McGregor, who drilled the ball low past Bain on the angle from the left. Moments later, Forrest struck from the edge of the box to ice the cake.

The superlatives just keep coming for this Celtic side under Rodgers. Another game and another team blown away with ease. They swagger into the League Cup semi finals, looking simply unstoppable.