DUNDEE 2 CELTIC 0
CELTIC plunged into the depth of despair as they lost their first game at Dens Park in THIRTY-SEVEN years.
An utterly unacceptable slipshod and clueless display from Brendan Rodgers’ misfits saw them drop five points behind Hearts at the Premiership pinnacle.
And you can be absolutely certain that gap will be widened to eight if the stumbling champions produce a similar performance when the team meet at Tynecastle a week today.
This was a team bereft of imagination, craft and finishing power and unless something drastic is done it will be too late to even think of a fifth successive title.
Yes, it’s early in the campaign, but it is not easy to be enthused by the possibilities of this team suddenly transforming into the convincing unit of not so long ago.
X-CERTIFICATE DISPLAY…Brendan Rodgers watches as Celtic topple at Dens Park for the first since 1988.
Not one Celtic player could come off that pitch this afternoon and hold his head high. Not one. That is a sad indictment of what this side is producing at the moment. Make no mistake, we are not far away from a crisis.
The Hoops were utterly abysmal and that fact was reflected in the first-half scoreline and by the fact opposition keeper Jon McCracken had not been called upon the make a solitary save during that period.
In fact, it would be beyond the hour mark before he was called upon to block an angled Kelechi Iheanacho shot.
It was an incomprehensible showing from a team seemingly hell-bent on throwing away precious points.
There were disconnects throughout the line-up and Yang Hyun-Jun and Benjamin Nygren contributed little in the opening period as the visitors struggled to find any sort of rhythm while conceding possession with a bewildering array of dreadful passing while the hosts, hammered 4-0 at Aberdeen in their previous game, were grateful to pick up far too many wayward balls and hit on the counter.
They took the lead in the 18th minute through Clark Robertson who was left totally unmarked to rise to a Cameron Congreve right-wing corner-kick and glance a header low past the unprotected Kasper Schmeichel.
The Hoops had the opportunity to reply within moments when Reo Hatate set up Kieran Tierney with a clever pass, but the left-back horribly miscued his shot wide of the far post.
DISASTER ON ITS WAY…Connor Congrieve (above) fires a cross into the Celtic penalty area and Cameron Carter-Vickers (below) can only look on in horror as he deflects the ball into his own net.
That just about summed up the finishing of the Parkhead men who toiled to show even a glimpse of the form that often lit up last season.
It got even worse in the first minute of first-half stoppage-time when Sebastian Tounekti was bullied out of possession by Drey Wright who sent Congreve scampering clear on the right.
He turned Liam Scales inside out before whipping over a low cross. Joe Westley got a touch and his effort deflected off Cameron Carter-Vickers for the second goal.
The nearest Celtic had come to a goal in a fairly pathetic first-half was a 25-yard drive from Iheanacho that touched the outside of McCracken’s left-hand post before going wide.
With almost the last kick of a forgettable first period, a Tounekti low ball from the left was crying out for a touch from a team-mate.
The pass carried to Anthony Ralston on the edge of the box and the right-back blazed the ball high into the stand.
It was the Scotland international’s last involvement in the game as he and the ineffective Yang were replaced by James Forrest and Johnny Kenny for the start of the second-half.
OFF TARGET…Kieran Tierney slams the ball wide of the post.
Just before the hour mark, Hatate was just off target with a sweeping low shot that zipped past the post, but three minutes later Ashley Hay was within a foot or so of a third goal for Steven Pressley’s side with a header that had Schmeichel scrambling across his line before edging wide.
In the 64th minute, Luke McCowan and Michel-Ange Balikwisha came on for Nygren and Tounekti.
A minute later, Iheanacho took a heavy touch from a neat Tierney cross and was blocked by defender Luke Graham and keeper McCracken and a good chance was squandered.
In the 71st minute, it looked as though Celtic had been thrown a lifeline back into the game when referee Matthew McDermid awarded a penalty-kick when defender Robertson appeared to handle a drive from Hatate.
VAR intervened and the match official was instructed to have another look on the touchline monitor and, alas, pictures showed the ball had hit the defender on the face.
BLOCKED…Kelechi Iheanacho is thwarted by the joint efforts of Luke Graham and keeper Jon McCracken.
Celtic continued to huff and puff without too much conviction and the day could be summed up with a low shot from Hatate that hit the backside of Graham and deflected past the post.
Arne Engels was introduced to the action in the 82nd minute as Hatate made way.
By then it was too late as the curtain came down on one of the most bewilderingly bad performances from Rodgers’ side.
In fact, the worst at Dens Park since September 24 1988 when they lost 1-0.
Much work lies ahead for Brendan and his lost Bhoys.
TEAM: Schmeichel; Ralston (sub: Kenny 46), Carter-Vickers, Scales, Tierney; Nygren (sub: McCowan 64), McGregor, Hatate (sub: Engels 82); Yang (sub: Forrest 46), Iheanacho and Tounekti (sub: Balikwisha 64).
