MARSHALL CONFIDENT THAT KYOGO WILL NOT DESTROY DUNDEE THIS TIME
THE last time Dundee faced Celtic, a star from the east appeared, leaving the Dens Park side dazzled. On August 8, Japan international striker Kyogo Furuhashi announced his arrival in Scottish football by notching a hat-trick in an impressive performance as James McPake’s side were hit for six at Parkhead. The 26-year-old has now scored 11 goals in all competitions this season, the latest on Thursday night as Celtic won 3-2 against Ferencvaros in Hungary in the Europa League. But if the experience of facing the all-action Kyogo was a novel one three months ago, defender Jordan Marshall (right) is adamant Dundee will be better prepared to handle the 26-year-old when Celtic visit Tayside tomorrow lunchtime. ‘We found out at Celtic Park that Kyogo Furuhashi is a player that causes defences 90 minutes of problems,’ said Marshall, who was sent off in the 89th minute in that 6-0 loss. ‘He has shown since then just how good a player he is. ‘The Celtic fans have really taken to him and he looks like a top player. ‘When we played them the last time, it was his movement that we were kind of surprised about. ‘We didn’t really know that much about him but his movement that day at Celtic Park was unbelievable. ‘I have seen him since in other games and he is doing it most weeks. He is a really good player. ‘We didn’t really know that much about him back then but the coaching staff have prepared videos warning us about his movement and stuff. We know we have to be on our A-game playing against him on Sunday because he is different class.’ The visit of Ange Postecoglou’s side represents a stern test for Dundee, whose last home match saw them thumped 5-0 by bottom-of-the-table Ross County. A first home win over Celtic since 1988 — eight years before Marshall was born — would help make it up to the fans. Marshall said: ‘1988 is a long time ago, to be fair, but hopefully that changes on Sunday. But we will have to be at our best and put a real performance in. ‘Up until that Ross County game, our performances have been really good at home. We probably shouldn’t have lost the game 1-0 against Rangers as we missed a penalty. ‘So we will be hoping to take that home form and make this a tough place for Celtic on Sunday. ‘Sometimes when you play the Old Firm, people describe it as a free hit but I don’t think it is. You need to pick up points in every game, especially with the position we are in. ‘With us being at home, we will look to get something out of the game.’ McPake is delighted he will be coaching
from the technical area tomorrow after a misconduct charge against him was kicked out. The Dens boss was red-carded against Aberdeen after a touchline fracas but an SFA hearing on Thursday ruled the charge ‘not proved’. ‘I think it was the right outcome,’ said McPake. ‘It was a fair hearing and I’m just glad I can be in the dugout this weekend. ‘It’s tough when you are in the stands. I struggled with it when I had to do it against St Johnstone a few weeks ago. ‘It makes a difference being in the dugout because you get your instructions over much quicker. You feel helpless when you’re not at the side of the pitch. ‘Thankfully, I will be in my normal place on Sunday.’
McPake was pleased by how his players reacted to their Ross County horror show by beating on-form St Mirren 1-0 in Paisley last weekend. Now he wants them to replicate that kind of performance against Celtic. He said: ‘We bounced back to a good level against St Mirren and we have to keep that going. But Celtic are getting better with every game. They will really hurt you if you’re not defensively sound. ‘They play with a lot of pace and if you’re not solid, you’re in trouble. ‘We have a game plan to go out and stop them. But we have also been working on how we can hurt them when we create chances.’