SPFL
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Celtic Park, Glasgow
CELTIC… 7
(Carter-Vickers 7, Idah 18, O’Riley 22, Maeda 30, Taylor 36, McGregor 45+4, Kelly 62)
DUNDEE… 1
(Mellon 84)
Celtic produced arguably their best performance of the season to demolish Dundee 7-1 at Celtic Park.
It was a sensational seven from Celtic, with seven different players getting on the scoresheet to seal an emphatic performance, with six of the strikes coming in the first-half.
However, the goal of the night came in the second period, with Daniel Kelly scoring his first for the club with a stunning effort from the edge of the box to cap a wonderful evening at Paradise.
The strange thing about this game is that the first two chances fell to Dundee inside the opening two minutes, with Jordan McGhee stinging Joe Hart’s hands and then Owen Beck fired a shot over the bar.
But after that, it was an annihilation, a sea of one-way green and white traffic which demolished Dundee with every attack.
The first goal arrived through Cameron Carter-Vickers on the seventh minute, with the USA international back in the starting XI and he easily nodded Matt O’Riley’s free-kick delivery from the right into the net.
O’Riley had a good chance saved by Trevor Carson a few minutes later, but the second goal came on the 18th minute through Adam Idah.
Alistair Johnston was the assist provider, with the Canadian whipping a cross in from the right for Idah to attack and with the back of his head he flicked the ball high into the net for his fifth goal in Celtic colours.
The third goal arrived from O’Riley four minutes later, this time with the assist coming from the opposite full-back where Greg Taylor’s deep delivery found the Danish international in acres of space to stoop low and nod a header into the net.
Eight minutes later and it was 4-0 to Celtic through Daizen Maeda. Idah linked well with O’Riley and from there, the midfielder fed Maeda on the run, but he still had so much to do as he cleverly turned and curled a beauty with his left across goal and into the bottom left corner.
O’Riley almost scored a contender for the goal of the season on the 35th minute as he caught the ball perfectly on the volley from 25 yards but it cannoned off the corner of the post and bar.
But seconds later it was five with Taylor becoming the fifth different scorer. It was another of Johnston’s crosses that caused the issue in the Dundee box, with the ball falling to the left-back charging into the area and he calmly side-footed past Carson.
Curtis Main did score for Dundee on the 45th minute but VAR ruled the effort out for offside, then with the last kick of the half Callum McGregor became the sixth goalscorer, to take Celtic into the break with a 6-0 lead.
McGregor received the ball with his back to goal in the box and laid it off to Taylor, but the left-back was clever to reverse it back to his captain who responded with a first-time finish into the bottom left corner.
The manager made a number of early changes at half-time, with Daniel Kelly making his Celtic league debut replacing McGregor for the full second-half and the midfielder certainly made an impact.
On the 62nd minute, the Youth Academy product scored his first goal in Celtic colours and it was a stunner, as he met Yang’s cutback on the edge of the box and curled a beauty with his weaker right foot into the top right corner.
The second period didn’t have the same level of goalmouth action, but Dundee would have feared for even worse when Finlay Robertson was shown a second yellow card with 15 minutes to play.
Luis Palma was introduced off the bench and almost made an immediate impact as he curled a stunning shot onto the bar from 25 yards on the 80th minute.
Dundee did get a goal with six to play, as Michael Mellon slammed a volley into the ground and the ball rose into the roof of the net.
It could have been even better for Celtic though, with Carson making a wonderful save to deny Kyogo from point-blank range right at the death, but it was certainly job done and now it’s on to Tynecastle on Sunday.
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