THE KING OF CLUBS
Celts flash the diamonds at Dens and can cash in their chips with title win at Hearts
CELTIC flashed diamonds at Dens Park and now they’re going all in with Hearts for the grand prize at Gorgie.
Tynie bubbles? Few would bet against it on Saturday week as the Hoops bid to seal six-in-a-row before the first daffodil of spring has burst through Scottish soil.
Dundee was once famous for three Js – jute, jam and journalism.
Yesterday, juggernaut was added to the equation and, for good measure, so was Jozo as Croat star Simunovic scored his first goal of the season to fire the Hoops on their way to their 27th win of the Premiership season.
It was also the 75th goal Brendan Rodgers’s Bhoys have netted in the title race so far this season and Stuart Armstrong made it 76 early in the second half as Celtic’s cleaning staff prepare their order for another 12 months’ supply of silver polish.
However, for long spells this was functional from Celtic, rather than fantastic.
By injury time, Moussa Dembele was even reduced to running the ball towards the corner flag in an anxious bid to see out the game and head into international week with another win at their backs.
Celtic played within themselves for much of the second half, although they were forced on to the backfoot by dogged Dundee.
The Hoops almost paid a price when Dee sub Faissal el Bakhtaoui, who had been on the pitch only two minutes, cracked a stunning shot from 25 yards behind Craig Gordon with 14 minutes to go.
The visitors saw it out in the end and the role of James Forrest, who assisted at both Celtic goals, as well as scorer Armstrong, will have pleased Scotland boss Gordon Strachan, but Hartley is another manager entitled to feel a little pride.
He took a gamble with his side two down when he replaced Tom Hateley and James Vincent with the more forward thinking Nick Ross and Craig Wighton.
It could have backfired but Dundee ended the game with greater energy and if striker Marcus Haber was only more ruthless in front of goal his side might have taken the point they ultimately deserved.
The Canadian frontman curled a shot round the post with only Gordon to beat after 62 minutes when Paul McGowan seized on a poor pass from Kieran Tierney then lacked authority when he rose unchallenged near the end, only to knock a header from a Kevin Holt free-kick weakly wide.
Celtic fans grew antsy towards the finish but their team had done just enough either side of halftime to take three points and move to within 90 minutes of stage two of the Treble.
Dundee had made the fateful error of breathing a sigh of relief as the clock ticked into the final minute of the first half and Forrest burrowed into the box on the right-hand side.
He did superbly well to hold off Holt before looking up and picking out Simunovic with a cross from the outside of his boot and the Croat did well to lean back and fire a low volley inside Scott Bain’s left post from 12 yards, albeit with the help of a deflection.
The game looked done and dusted six minutes after the restart when Forrest against caused mayhem down the right.
This time, he looked up to pick out Armstrong, who had timed his run perfectly to the front post to glance a header unmarked across Bain and high into the net.
The game was preceded with a minute’s silence for Tommy Gemmell, such a fine servant to both clubs, but unfortunately the first half was as far removed from big Tam’s swashbuckling style as Dens Park from the Estadio Nacional.
The ground was at least bathed in sunshine but there was little warmth to it and the crowd were hardly feeling the heat on the park
either. Celtic dominated possession as Scott Brown dropped off to sit in front of the back four, where he had much of the opposition half to pick passes of intent.
However, the Dark Blues had dropped so deep in their 4-5-1 formation it was akin threading a camel through the eye of a needle.
There was an admirable discipline to Hartley’s side, although they were forced into more industrial efforts as Celtic grew more dominant.
Darren O’Dea was hanging off Scott Sinclair like Superman’s cape when he was cautioned five minutes before the break. By then, Dundee were holding on by their fingertips as Celtic increasingly assured as the half progressed after a less than convincing opening half hour.
Armstrong flashed a free-kick over the top from 25 yards after Scott Sinclair had been upended on 12 minutes before the former Arab fired over a corner from the left that Dembele nodded inches past.
However, much of the opening period was frustrating for the Hoops, with too many overhit passes and wrong options taken, typified when Dembele opted to shoot weakly wide from the edge of the box when he could have released Mikael Lusting in a better position on the right.
On the rare occasions Dundee sprung forward they were unable to linger long as Gordon remained a virtual passenger, even after the home side forced their first corner on 32 minutes.
Celtic continued to threaten and Cammy Kerr did brilliantly as he tracked back and blocked a header from Sinclair at close range that was surely heading into the net off a cross from Lustig.
McGowan atoned for his earlier yellow card two minutes from the break when he popped up on the line to block a thunderbolt header from Dedryck Boyata off an Armstrong corner that threatened to burst the net.
Their good work was undone when the Hoops went two in front but, admirably, their resistance failed to crack.
They were pacy and inventive and El Bakhtaoui left Gordon rocking on his heels with his strike.
But Haber’s late header was as close as they came to a point.