SCOTT’S STILL GOT IT
Brown shows Scotland what they’ll be missing
‘GREAT for me, sad for Scotland.’ Brendan Rodgers summed up the feelings of any watching Tartan Army foot soldier as Scott Brown signed off for his latest breather during World Cup fortnight by fuelling Champions League-weary Celtic to success.
The international retirement announced in August is, indeed, selfishly suiting the Celtic manager rather well.
Fresh, remarkably, from Wednesday night’s spectacular against Manchester City, it was Brown’s first domestic goal of the campaign — on 47 minutes — that broke a doughty Dundee resistance to secure a sixth Ladbrokes Premiership victory of an unbeaten opening.
Now the 31-year-old rests up until Motherwell try and disrupt Celtic’s splendid start under Rodgers on October 15.
The frustration of Scotland followers is that, on this evidence, he could easily hook up with former club boss Gordon Strachan and help on the road to Russia.
However, it was deemed that the trademark energy and drive might have been on the wane had he committed to another national team campaign.
How grateful Rodgers is to have all that and more fully intact, sending Celtic streaking clear to the top of the league and powering the champions to points against the English elite.
It would have been impossible, of course, to replicate the intensity of the opening exchanges from midweek but that did not stop Celtic squeezing Dundee back deep into their own half from kick-off in the hunt for another early kill.
Paul Hartley vowed to ‘have a go’ in his trackside interview pre-match, but it was the excellence of his team’s defensive stand, bolstered by the return from suspension of Kevin Gomis, that pleased him by the end, even though he had suffered defeat and a seventh game without a win.
As Celtic swarmed forward, Hartley’s last line was five players wide in front of goalkeeper Scott Bain, who sprang full stretch to his left to turn from the post from Scott Sinclair and positioned himself well to keep a Tom Rogic free-kick out of the top corner of his net.
Rogic, wriggling clear of challenges, was scythed down by Cammy Kerr to earn the Dundee full-back an early caution.
That Kerr did not concede a penalty and receive further sanction when going straight through the back of Erik Sviatchenko a minute later was a mighty let-off from referee Andrew Dallas for the home side. The claims from Celtic were, surprisingly, not vociferous because this looked a clear-cut case for the award.
James Forrest enjoyed the run of the right flank much to the distress of Danny Williams and only Yordi Teijsse, up top for Dundee on his first league start with Faissal El Bakhtaoui, got close to ruffling a Celtic player’s feathers.
He clattered into Craig Gordon then Sviatchenko to lay down a physical marker. When one half chance did come the Dutchman’s way at the near post thanks to cute work from El Bakhtaoui ghosting past Nir Bitton and delivering with the outside of his right boot, Teijsse was worried out of it by Sviatchenko and headed harmlessly wide.
More was required, then, to disrupt a Celtic central defence that featured the only Rodgers change from midweek. The Celtic boss chose to ride the feelgood factor rather than meddle with rotation as Jozo Simunovic replaced Kolo Toure.
The scoring heroes so far this season took a back seat as Celtic could win without moving out of second gear for long.
Sinclair, on the spin, was denied again by Bain in first-half injurytime and, with Gomis in position, Moussa Dembele was unable to repeat his overhead kick heroics on the rebound.
Celtic were sent out to put the game to bed early in the second period and carried out the instruction to the letter.
Brown threaded a pass through to Dembele, who was stopped in his tracks as he drove in from the left into a ruck of Dundee bodies.
The clever — and unselfish — work here was carried out by Sinclair. He could have tried to turn and smack the loose ball goalwards. Instead, he tucked a short pass into the path of his captain who had stayed alert to the flow of play.
Out came the ball kindly for Brown, who steered a smart finish into the top corner from eight yards.
The arrival of a hungry Leigh Griffiths for Rogic and Patrick Roberts for Forrest gave Celtic respite from any tiring legs.
Occupied by last season’s top scorer and a £12million Manchester City reserve, there was little sense that Dundee were going to mount a daring raid for a share of the spoils even with Craig Wighton and Rory Low thrown on late in the contest.
So Celtic were simply able to maintain possession and discipline, with Brown keeping them ticking in the middle of the park, to see out time and clinch a first league clean sheet of the season.