Celtic 1
Dundee Utd 0
League (SPL)

Match Report

United missed the chance to narrow the gap at the top of the SPL table and were unfortunate not to get something from the game after slipping to a narrow 1-0 defeat to Celtic in Glasgow.

A first half Robbie Keane goal – his first for the club at Parkhead – was enough for the home side to take all three points.

Despite a period of late pressure from the Tangerines, Peter Houston’s team couldn’t get the equaliser.

In a fairly flat opening quarter-of-an-hour, neither side looked like threatening, but in the 20th minute, Celtic took the lead with a goal out of nothing.

Diomansy Kamara picked up the ball in the middle of the park and played the ball through to Keane.

The on-loan Tottenham striker beat the offside trap and was one-on-one with Dusan Pernis in the United goal, and he slotted the ball into the bottom corner of the net to put his team 1-0 up.

The Terrors had a couple of half-chances from set-pieces but couldn’t capitalise and went into the interval trailing by Keane’s solitary strike.

In the second period, both teams looked hungry to get the next goal and it was Celtic who created more of the chances, only to be denied by Pernis on a number of occasions.

However, United came close when substitute Jennison Myrie-Williams was fouled on the right hand side.

Craig Conway pulled the resulting free-kick back to the Londoner at the edge of the box and he let go with his right foot, but the shot curled only inches wide of Artur Boruc’s right hand post.

Jon Daly had United’s best chance in the closing stages when he started and almost finished off a good move. The striker held the ball up and played it out to Myrie-Williams on the right. The winger cut inside and fired a low cross into the penalty area which fell to Daly just six yards from goal, but Boruc managed to save at the striker’s feet, and Celtic held on for the victory.