After this one, Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin returned home to find himself cast as the Grinch. The man who ruined his own son’s Christmas.
Young James Goodwin is a regular visitor to Celtic Park for Champions League nights. Often, he’ll return home with the warming glow which stems from his favourites scoring a goal or two.
On a bitterly cold, windswept day at Tannadice, however, the Scottish champions froze in front of goal. Despite 17 shots and 78 per cent possession, they never really looked like scoring. A first trip to Tannadice as Celtic manager proved an exasperating experience for Brendan Rodgers.
Wasteful in front of goal and lacking a cutting edge, the champions huffed and puffed in an unpredictable, ferocious wind. However hard they blew, Dundee United’s wall of tangerine held firm for 90 minutes, giving Goodwin a significantly more satisfying day than last weekend’s 4-3 defeat to Motherwell. Even if it ended in the cold shoulder from his own flesh and blood.
‘Listen, there was probably far too many people connected to me in the opposition end this afternoon,’ admitted the smiling United manager. ‘So I’m glad that my phone is not going to be buzzing with people having a pop now because they managed to trounce us.
‘The pleasing thing for us is that we can go and enjoy Christmas now, off the back of a really positive result.
Dundee United formed a tangerine wall to frustrate Adam Idah and his Celtic team-mates
Kyogo Furuhashi should have done better when he had only goalkeeper Jack Walton to beat
‘The supporters were outstanding again today, great numbers here to get behind the team, and hopefully they can enjoy their Christmas as well.
‘Then we’ve got a big game on the 26th against St Johnstone where we certainly can’t set up like that.’
To say a swirling wind blew Celtic off course would be pushing it. Nine points clear of Rangers, they still have significant margin for error.
On a day when important players succumbed to injury and illness, Rodgers was forced to field a re-cast defence where Stephen Welsh made his second start of the season alongside Liam Scales.
The biggest loss — by far — was Nicolas Kuhn, with his underwhelming understudies Yang Hyun-jun and Luis Palma showing precisely why Rodgers intends to go back into the transfer market in January.
United goalkeeper Jack Walton was largely untested until the final minutes. Against a resolute United rearguard engaged in a game of attack versus defence, this was one of those days when Celtic could have huffed and puffed all day and still dropped points.
‘You are always disappointed when you draw a game that you should win,’ acknowledged Rodgers afterwards.
‘We didn’t work the keeper enough but the players gave everything. In these types of games, if you don’t get the early goal it gives the opposition something to hold on to.
‘We are greedy to win every game but nine points clear, with a trophy in the cabinet and doing well in the Champions League, it’s been a good period for us.’
Kyogo Furuhashi missed the best chance from a deft Adam Idah flick, making a terrible hash of his finish.
Arne Engels then forced Walton into a big save on the line when he poked a Greg Taylor cutback on target. By the end of it all, Celtic had failed to score in a domestic game for the first time since a 2-0 defeat to Hearts back in March.
‘We just needed to be more clinical and ruthless with our finishing,’ added Rodgers. ‘But I can’t fault the effort of the players and what they gave.
‘The football was good but it just wasn’t to be. We’ve played a lot of fast, low passes and played good football but we just couldn’t find the goal.’
Heading into the game on the back of 14 wins and a draw — their joint-best start to a league season after 15 games — there was a hint of apprehension for Celtic supporters before kick-off when they took one look at a much-changed teamsheet and reached for the Alka-Seltzer.
The absence of Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty through illness offered hope to a United side chasing their first win over Celtic since December 2014.
With Alistair Johnston’s hip flaring up and Kuhn taking a bang to the knee, the visitors were missing four first-choice starters. Anthony Ralston and Scales came in, along with the lesser-spotted Welsh.
Celtic should have settled into the game with an opening goal inside ten minutes. A Scales pass was backheeled by Daizen Maeda into the path of Reo Hatate. Symptomatic of the poor decision-making generally, the Japanese midfielder dragged a shot across the face of goal when a square ball would have given Kyogo a simple sidefoot finish.
Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin ensured that no Christmas gifts were given to Celtic
Such was the dominance of the visitors that it took 38 minutes for Kasper Schmeichel to touch the ball with his hands for the first time.
What was striking was Celtic’s inability to capitalise on their overwhelming dominance. The longer the game went on, the more glaring it became.
The second half began with a rare Dundee United incursion into the visiting penalty area, 19-year-old Miller Thompson crafting their first strike on goal. It lacked the power to give Schmeichel a serious problem, but as the game headed into the final half hour, Celtic’s anxiety grew.
For once, £9million man Idah was sent on alongside Furuhashi and not in his place. Palma was also sent on for the ineffectual Yang and did no better, in truth.
Faced by a wall of tangerine, Celtic finally forced their way through when Idah’s delightful flick finally gave Kyogo the chance he’d been waiting for, the striker taking a strangely hesitant touch.
Demanding a dink over Walton, Celtic’s talisman made a hash of things, allowing Walton to block.
As the board went up for six added minutes, Walton had to make a big save from the Engels toe poke on the line, but the United keeper was never a man under siege.
For Goodwin’s side, this really was a surprisingly comfortable point.
