Dundee manager James McPake couldn’t help but admire the performances of the Celtic players today as his team fell to a 4-2 defeat at Dens Park.
The Dees were never really in the game against the Bhoys, conceding early in both halves.
Celtic were dominant in possession, in full control of the match. That, coupled with the superb attacking talent available, led to a long afternoon for the home side.
And the Dundee boss admitted Celtic were a class above, telling The Courier: “Celtic came out the blocks really well and punished us. That happens against really good players if you give them a sniff.
“They started both halves better than us and ultimately the third goal kills the contest.
“When Celtic are like that they are very hard to deal with and it showed today. The front three are good players. Their movement is good, Kyogo’s finish for the fourth goal is outstanding.
“You hold your hands up but you also look where we went wrong. We didn’t deal with them well enough. On the day, Celtic deserved the three points.”
Fair play to McPake for giving an accurate assessment of the game. Often managers can come across bitter when losing to Celtic, even when we’ve been by far the better team.
I wrote earlier in the week on 67 Hail Hail about the fear factor returning to Celtic. There’s renewed respect for the quality of the Bhoys and I reckon that can be an influence when facing Premiership teams.
If they are tentative or nervous from the off that Celtic could punish them, it gives room to the Bhoys to play their football and break down teams.
Dundee will remember today, just like they’ll have ruminated on the 6-0 defeat earlier in the campaign.
In other news, Postecoglou allays Celtic fears about Kyogo knock vs Dundee; now heading to Vietnam.
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