Dundee United sustained their top-six ambitions with a shock 2-0 win at Tannadice, dealing a huge blow to Celtic’s Scottish Premiership title defense.
The champions currently trail leaders Hearts by five points and trail rivals Rangers by two points after Martin O’Neill suffered his second domestic defeat since returning to the club.
Will Ferry’s first goal in almost two years and January signing Emmanuel Adjei’s first goal for the Tangerines gave United their second consecutive home win over Celtic for the first time since 1991.
They have closed the gap on sixth-placed Falkirk to six points after two games before the split, but must overturn a goal difference of seven to secure the least likely top-half finish.
Celtic held their breath on a weather-beaten surface, but were lackluster in the final third and deservedly lost to Jim Goodwin’s ruthless side.
United went up 2-0 in the Dundee derby last week before collapsing, but this time it was the opposite.
If anything, it might have been more than that.
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James McFadden said Celtic’s deterioration since last season was “alarming”.
The pressure was on for the champions after title rivals Hearts and Rangers won their respective games on Saturday and it showed.
O’Neill’s side were supposed to be boosted by the return of influential captain Callum McGregor and striker Kelechi Iheanacho, but each lasted just 56 minutes.
Despite the reintroduction of the metronome, Celtic lacked rhythm and never looked like scoring.
Max Watters and Ferry both came close to finding the opener in the first half when it looked like the hosts would play on the counter with little threat from the reluctant visitors.
Kieran Tierney sliced his first over and Ashley Maynard-Brewer made a good save to deny Iheanacho, but that was their only chance in the first half.
The pitch was dry, corrugated and sandy, not conducive to good football, but that doesn’t excuse Celtic’s lack of intensity.
Six minutes into the second period, Ferry punished them.
Luka Stevenson picked out his teammate at the back post and the two wing-backs linked up in a thorough counterattack.
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After Celtic lost 2-0 to Dundee United, Callum McGregor admitted his team “didn’t do enough” to secure a win.
And they didn’t stop there.
Agei added a superb second goal 15 minutes later when he stepped on a poor clearance and fired his first shot from the edge of the area into the bottom corner.
Vicco Severi, Amal Fata and Ferry then tried again to advance to third place, but the champion was eliminated.
Other than a speculative shot by Reo Hatate, which was almost deflected into their own goal by Maynard-Brewer, and Daizen Maeda’s sliding shot from a wide angle, O’Neill’s team failed to create any chances.
They were dominant in possession, but that was the only indicator that they outscored their opponents.
With an international break just around the corner, this heartbreaking defeat will be etched deep in the minds of Celtic supporters who know the title is once again out of their hands.
7 games left. 8th loss of the season.
O’Neill: It’s not over yet.
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Martin O’Neill reacts to Celtic’s loss to Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill told Sky Sports:
“We had quite a bit of possession in the first half, we were stationed outside the opponent’s penalty area, but we couldn’t break into the opposition team and in the second half we completely lost our way. The first goal is going to be important in this game and we probably didn’t score enough and maybe didn’t adapt to the conditions in the second half, but that didn’t take anything away from Dundee United. They deserved to win.”
“The game ran away from us, that’s true. Goals win games and we chased the game a little bit, but we still could have played better. Away games here at Tannadice are always going to be difficult games for us. We’ve never had an easy game here.”
“It’s a setback at this stage of the season and we can’t afford that, but it’s not over yet.
“There’s a lot to reflect on[during the international break]. Over the last few months we’ve shown really good spirit and determination to fight back in games and get late goals. Fight and determination have been some of the hallmarks for us and we lacked that in the second half today.”
Goodwin: We deserved to win.
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Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin said the win was “not a foregone conclusion” after his side’s victory over Celtic.
Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin said on Sky Sports:
“It was a great result and a really good performance. At the end of the game, I think it was well deserved. We defended well and before the game we talked about the disappointment of last week. At times we weren’t resilient enough, but today I thought it was us.”
“Especially in the dying moments, they showed a bit of composure and put their bodies on the line. My big captain, Ross Graham, was outstanding along with Yuri Iovu and Cristian Kerestes. Those three, I’ve criticized them for a long time, but they know that and they’ve accepted some of the criticism that’s been thrown at them. On days like today, we know they’re capable of it, but we just need to see it more regularly.”
“I thought we were more dangerous attacking, had more shots, more shots on target, more corners. If you look at the big picture, I think we deserved the three points today.”
“It would be great if we could win the next two games and Falkirk don’t pick up any points and we can break into the top six, but it will probably be one of those seasons that we look back on with regret because we gave up so many points despite earning a place in the top half.”
“This is not the time to be negative. It’s all down to the players and myself. We’ve taken a lot of criticism and that’s natural. We’re seventh and not near the bottom fighting for relegation. People will understand what we’re trying to do here and we’ll just build on it.”
