After failure to take advantage of Rangers dropping points last week, Celtic found it difficult away to Dundee on St. Paddy’s Day, but they eventually came up with a late goal.
The 7,605 in attendance saw a whole lot of nothing in the first half that was highlighted by a yellow card to Ethan Robson in the 21 minute and a big save later in the opening half from Scott Bain.
Celtic remained without much creativity until Johnny Hayes came on to replace Mikey Johnstone. Hayes really sparked Celtic with belief and created chances on the left flank.
Still, Hayes was unable to push Celtic into the lead until Odsonne Edouard linked up with James Forrest for the match winner six minutes into stoppage time.
With the late winner, Celtic are now 10 points clear of second place Rangers with a chance to pull 13 points clear with a win against Rangers on March 31.
Here are four findings from Celtic’s win over Dundee:
No Stopping the Champions
Celtic left it late, but that is what champions do. Celtic have basically secured the SPFL title if it wasn’t already secured. Multiple digit lead with eight matches remaining should be too much for Rangers to overcome, as Celtic host Rangers at the end of the month.
Celtic haven’t played very well this season, but no one else in Scotland has had any sort of consistency to touch Celtic. The difference between Celtic and Rangers has been the quality to grind out wins rather than grinding out draw after draw.
Treble Trouble?
If it wasn’t for the late Edouard goal, Celtic would have gone two consecutive matches without a goal. Celtic are lacking creativity going forward, as it showed if it wasn’t for a healthy amount of stoppage time late on against Dundee.
Celtic will need to improve if they hope to win the treble for a third consecutive season. Dundee might have created the blueprint that could defeat Celtic in the Scottish Cup. Celtic have to find more productivity from Sinclair, Edouard, and Forrest.
Style of Play
Celtic have a style of play that always works in favour of Celtic. The dominant possession has won Celtic games late on many occasions this season. The relentless pressure has broken down the opposition defence with simple combination play because of fatigue.
Celtic possesses often more than 60% of the ball in many games. It is much more enjoyable and easier to run with the ball than to exhaust yourself defending the majority of the game. Celtic are able to make defences crack while Rangers haven’t been able to do so, which has created such a big gap after just a one point lead in January.
Bain beats Batman
Scott Bain has made save after save since overtaking Craig Gordon’s job in the new year. As Scotland searches for a way to dethrone Celtic, they are finding it very difficult to beat Scott Bain and the Celtic back four.
With Alan McGregor’s retirement from international football, Scott Bain has the chance to make a breakthrough for the starting job for Scotland. He has most certainly earned it with his performances at Celtic.
Every time he’s played, he’s been up for it. He always seems to make at least one or two huge saves each game. He always gets his angles correct, allowing him to make so many big saves.