Dee make Hoops fight

PLAYERRATINGS Dundee fail to collect a point despite dramatic comeback

@tomduth

DUNDEE’S hunt for points to secure Premiership safety, or maybe even clinch a top-six spot, goes on after Celtic were winners at Dens Park to move just one victory away from another title.

Yesterday’s lunch-time kick off saw the Hoops return to winning ways after dropping points in the clash with Rangers a week earlier.

Given that Old Firm draw was only the second time Brendan Rodgers side have failed to win a league game this season, that they took all three points from this one could hardly have come as a surprise.

What, perhaps, was in the end was how hard they had to work for this success. Dundee defended stoically to keep Celtic at bay in the first half and were doing a fine j ob until Jozo Simunovic’s deflected stoppage-time effort put the visitors ahead.

And while it looked game over when the stylish Stuart Armstrong headed a second six minutes into the second period, the country’s best side would have to work right until the end to take the points.

As Paul Hartley’s team continued to fight for every ball, Marcus Haber blotted an otherwise fine performance by curling a 61st-minute shot wide when he should have at least made keeper Craig Gordon work to keep the ball out the net.

Dundee did grab hope of a dramatic comeback when substitute Faissal El Bakhtaoui halved the deficit with a quite sensational strike as he accepted a quick free-kick by Kevin Holt before striding forward and firing home from a touch over 20 yards.

With 14 minutes still remaining at that stage there was always the chance of a point staying at Dens.

In the end, the closest the Dee came was a Haber header that went wide but they did put in enough good work to come away from the game with confidence boosted.

The fact remains, though, with Inverness Caley Thistle drawing in the Highland derby against Ross County just under 24 hours earlier to move above Hamilton at the bottom of the table, the gap to both the automatic relegation place and the play-off spot is now down to just six points.

That means however laudable this display was, after three defeats in a row Dundee need to get back winning and soon.

If not, a nervy final few weeks of the campaign could lie ahead. As they attempt to do that, things are not going to get much easier.

Aberdeen are next up at Dens on Friday week, then comes a difficult trip to Dingwall to face Ross County, who are also desperate for points to stay up.

A visit to Hearts follows that one before the pre-split fixture card is completed with Hamilton.

Ideally, the points up for grabs from that last clash would be ones that could secure a top-six place.

Current form, however, suggests they’ll be needed to maintain some breathing space before Accies and the other bottom-half outfits are faced in the final five games.

In addition to the points advantage they hold over the bottom clubs, if yesterday provided hope for Dundee it was via that spirited performance.

Despite the obvious power of the opposition, Dundee did not lie down to Celtic.

If these levels are maintained, it should see points picked up on a regular basis.