The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
United’ s Euro dream comes true as Celtic claim the title
Dundee United 1 Celtic 1
Dylan Levitt produced another trademark moment of magic to secure a fantastic 1-1 draw with Celtic last night and send Dundee United back into Europe for the first time since 2012.
The mercurial Wales international lashed home his sixth goal of the campaign — all crackers — to cancel out Giorgos Giakoumakis’ second-half opener.
The draw was enough to secure the Premiership title for Celtic but, as defender Liam Smith ably stated before this contest, that was none of United’s concern.
More pertinent for United, the result means they will be in Europe next term. Ross County’s defeat at Ibrox means they cannot catch the Tangerines.
United will be in next season’s Europa Conference League qualifiers. The only question is: the second or third round? That will be decided when they visit Dingwall and Motherwell face Celtic on Saturday.
With a momentous Saturday showdown against Ross County looming, Tam Courts’ starting line-up gave due consideration to that afternoon in Dingwall.
Ex-Celts Charlie Mulgrew and Tony Watt and in-form defender Ross Graham all dropped to the bench.
Prolific under-18s forward Rory MacLeod was handed his maiden start at the age of 16.
Celtic — with the title in their sights — exploded from the blocks, with Anthony Ralston fizzing a shot over the bar before a James Forrest drive was deflected narrowly off target.
Reo Hatate, at the heart of everything in the Hoops midfield, skied another effort from 20 yards following a super surge forward by Liel Abada.
While intrepid going forward, Celtic were struggling to warm the palms of Benji Siegrist between the sticks for United, with the hosts remaining stoic.
That pattern continued when Hatate played a slick one-two with Giakoumakis, only to lash his wayward drive high into the Eddie Thompson Stand.
Archie Meekison was a shining light for the hosts, with the 20-year-old cutting a calm, collected figure in the engine room against the champions.
The youngster produced a slick swivel and shot from the edge of the box in United’s sole moment of threat in the first period.
However, it zipped past Joe Hart’s right-hand post.
Amid pre-match warnings that any Celticsupporting interlopers in the United sections would be removed, a small number of individuals were ejected from the George Fox Stand.
Following a capable firsthalf resistance, the tangerine wall was breached seven minutes after the break.
Ralston manufactured a sliver of space on the right wing and hung up a sumptuous cross for Celtic’s Greek striker Giakoumakis to power home a header from six yards.
United thought they had equalised when MacLeod rattled the base of the post, only for Nicky Clark to react swiftly and slam the ball into an empty net. However, assistant referee Calum Spence deemed Clark to be offside.
Mulgrew, on as a substitute, then stung the palms of Hart with a freekick. Watt also entered the fray for United and it was the striker who struck the post with a glancing header following some fine work by Kieran Freeman, with Ilmari Niskanen narrowly failing to convert the follow-up, largely due to an excellent Ralston block.
Siegrist then kept the Tangerines in the contest with a marvellous nearpost block to thwart Jota.
United took advantage of that reprieve in style.
On-loan Manchester United ace Levitt collected a pass from Mulgrew and lashed a thunderbolt from distance past Hart; another one for his personal United goal of the season compilation.
The game still had almost 20 minutes to go but neither side could find a winner.
Hoops boss Ange Postecoglou hailed his titlewinning side, who will sign off for the season with that home clash against Motherwell on Saturday.
He told BBC Sportsound: “It’s been a hell of a season. Our starting point was a fair way back and the way this group of players and staff has risen to the challenge – I couldn’t be more proud.
“It’s fairly overwhelming. It’s taken every ounce of me to get us where we are and when you get to the finish line, you just want to collapse.
“We’ve been focused all season, not getting distracted by anything. The players were really good at dealing with what was in front of them – and that’s not easy to do.
“It almost feels like two seasons in one. We’ve jammed in a rebuilding season and a season to win. We had a lot of work to do, and with the support of everyone at the club, we got there.”