DUNDEE 3 CELTIC 3
IT TOOK a stoppage-time penalty-kick from Arne Engels to save Celtic from utter embarrassment at Dens Park tonight.
The champions were heading for their first defeat at the venue since 1989 before the Belgian international whipped in a spot-kick after Mo Sylla had blocked a Nicolas Kuhn shot with his hands.
There was a massive sigh of relief from Brendan Rodgers and the Hoops’ travelling support after a display that defied belief.
It was as though the Hoops were trying to inject some life and competition into the race for the title by throwing away points in a mindbogglingly careless manner.
Twice they led and twice they were pegged back. And then some woeful defending from Auston Trusty, who had a torrid time on Tayside, allowed Aaron Donnelly to thump a header from a left-wing corner-kick beyond the exposed Kasper Schmeichel.
THE SPOT-ON SAVIOUR…Arne Engels hits the stoppage-time leveller.
The Danish keeper must have wondered if his defenders were taking this game seriously with Cameron Carter-Vickers and Trusty being terrorised by journeyman frontman Simon Murray.
Rodgers’ men will have to provide the answers to a landslide of questions after a performance that simply bewildered onlookers and gifted the initiative to the Dens side when the match should have been done and dusted.
The table shows Celtic are 16 points ahead, but they can reflect on two recent back-to-back games on Tayside where they threw away two points in a goalless draw against Dundee United at Tannadice last month and another two this evening.
The Hoops had no-one to blame but themselves.
They were drawing 1-1 at the interval and that, in itself, was a baffling mystery.
After getting off to a flier with Luke McCowan’s fifth-minute header, they passed up two excellent opportunities to have the match practically out of sight before the half-time whistle.
And to cap it all they were hit by a classic suckerpunch to gift the grateful hosts an equaliser four minutes from the turnaround.
McCowan scored against his old club when he sent a superb angled 10-yard header wide of Trevor Carson after an excellent cross from Greg Taylor.
TROUBLE IN THE AIR…Aaron Donnely outjumps Auston Trusty to score Dundee’s third goal.
Adam Idah went into this contest without a goal in 11 appearances and he blew the perfect chance to rectify that situation in the 18th minute when he made a mess of an astute right-wing cross from the lively Kyogo Furuhashi.
It looked like a simple tap-in for the Republic of Ireland international as he had a clear run at goal, but he appeared to take his eye off the ball at the crucial moment as keeper Carson raced from his line and he took a swipe at fresh air.
Six minutes later, Paulo Bernardo, who toiled to make an impact after getting the nod ahead of Engels, should have buried a close-range header after an inviting cross from Alistair Johnston following some more superb work from Kyogo.
The Portuguese midfielder was left unmarked as the cross landed on his head, but he clipped Carson’s crossbar when the ball should have been hitting the back of the net.
The Hoops bossed the game and Greg Taylor and Yang Hyun-jun were enjoying success on the left and it looked only a matter of time before they added to McCowan’s earlier opener.
There was a bizarre wrong call from referee Don Robertson when he awarded a free-kick to the home side for a foul by Cameron Carter-Vickers in the crowded penalty area as a corner-kick dropped into the danger zone.
Images showed the Hoops centre-back had been clearly blocked by Sylla as he tried to get into position for a header.
VAR, amazingly, made no intervention.
And Celtic were left scratching their collective heads when Dundee levelled in the 41st minute. Bernardo took a corner-kick on the left and 18 SECONDS later Schmeichel was picking the ball from the back of his net.
The deadball kick was smuggled clear by Murray who sent speedy winger Oluwaseun Adewumi on his way towards the Hoops penalty area.
The young Austrian was mistakenly allowed to come inside onto his right foot by Johnston and the forward whipped a low drive wide of Schmeichel at his left to stun the champions and the travelling support.
However, normal service was resumed – for the time being, anyway – when Yang restored the champions’ lead in the 53rd minute after a low right-wing cross from Kyogo flicked up off Carson wrist as he dived to divert the danger away from Idah.
The ball hung in the air for a moment until the South Korean arrived to place a header neatly into the net with the home defence in disarray.
DISMAYED…Brendan Rodgers can’t hide his disappointment at the end of the game as he shakes hands with Dundee boss Tony Docherty.
Unbelievably, Dundee were level within two minutes. Some weak defending from Trusty allowed Josh Mulligan to charge into the box from the right.
The defender’s low ball took a nick off Carter-Vickers and totally wrong-footed Schmeichel as it swept in at the keeper’s left-hand post.
Rodgers then threw on Engels, Kuhn and Reo Hatate for Bernardo, Idah and McCowan in the 61st minute and they were joined nine minutes later by Alex Valle and Luis Palma as Taylor and Yang made way.
The Hoops pushed forward looking for the winner, but were undone when Dundee scored a third from a straightforward left-wing corner-kick in the 78th minute. Trusty allowed Donnelly the time to climb above him and plant a header beyond Schmeichel.
And it looked as though Celtic may pay the heaviest price for some incredibly slack and insipid play until Engels accepted the lifeline to guide a penalty-kick past Carson to stave off defeat.
Brendan Rodgers looked glum at the full-time whistle.
We all knew how the Celtic manager felt.
TEAM: Schmeichel; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Trusty, Taylor (sub: Valle 70); Bernardo (sub: Engels 61), McGregor, McCowan (sub: Hatate 61); Yang (sub: Palma 70), Idah (sub: Kuhn 61) and Kyogo.