Dundee vs Celtic: BBC Sport - Scottish Premiership report, stats & reaction - Voice of Asia

Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic were held to a dramatic six-goal draw by Dundee, with a late penalty from Adam Idah securing a point in stoppage time. Following the match, manager Brendan Rodgers stated that the team "did not do the basics of the game well enough."

Tony Docherty's Dundee side displayed resilience, twice coming back to equalize. Then, a header from Aaron Donnelly gave Dundee hope of their first win over Celtic in 24 years, and their first victory at Dens Park since 1988. However, a late handball by Mo Sylla allowed Idah to level the score from the penalty spot, deceiving Trevor Carson and securing a point for Celtic.

While Rodgers praised his players' persistence, he expressed disappointment with the team's performance. He said, "We controlled the game for the first 40 minutes, but in the second half we have to be better by our standards. We were too passive, too slow, not aggressive enough. Usually, we defend very well, but for some reason, we became soft. They are not perfect, they are not robots, and sometimes the level drops. But the key tonight was doing the basics of the game well, and we didn't do that well enough, not keeping a clean sheet."

The league leaders, Celtic, started well, with Luke McCowan heading in a cross from Greg Taylor on his return to Dens Park. Celtic failed to extend their lead through chances from Adam Idah and Paulo Bernardo, the latter hitting the crossbar with a header. This allowed Dundee to equalize after a sharp counter-attack finished by Oluwasuen Adeuwumi. Celtic then regained the lead through Yang Hyun-jun, who headed in after Carson had parried a dangerous cross from Kyogo Furuhashi. But just a minute later, Cameron Carter-Vickers deflected a brilliant cross from Josh Mulligan into his own net to level the score again for Dundee.

Thereafter, a young and fearless Dundee side unsettled Celtic for much of the game and looked to push for a win. A back-post header from Donnelly in the 78th minute seemed to have achieved this for Dundee. But Idah's penalty meant that Celtic extended their massive lead at the top of the table to 16 points, while Dundee moved to within two points of sixth-placed Hibernian. Dundee's impressive performance has laid a foundation for a push into the top six. The positive showing will further fuel Dundee's efforts to secure a top-six finish for the second consecutive season.

Docherty's starting lineup, which included two teenagers and seven players aged 23 or under, was somewhat unlucky for much of the first half, but they then played with no fear. Several shots from Ethan Ingram, Finley Robertson, and Adeuwumi came close, with the latter continuing to show his potential and making Celtic look shaky throughout the second half. Mulligan was key to the game, running tirelessly and displaying impressive control. Much has been reported about Lyall Cameron's contract situation, with the midfielder reportedly a target for Rangers, but Mulligan is also out of contract at the end of the season and his current performances are sure to attract interest from other clubs.

For Celtic, it was a difficult game to analyze. Despite dropping two points, they remain on course to win the title by a significant margin. What Rodgers might need to look at is the team's recent away form. After draws with both Dundee sides, a loss to Rangers, and last Saturday's win against Ross County, they have only won one of their last four away matches. This slight dip in away form is almost certainly not going to derail their pursuit of another league title, but Rodgers will be keen to address this, as well as their defensive lapses, with important Champions League matches on the horizon. The Celtic boss will also be disappointed that his side failed to put the game to bed before Dundee's equalizer, while Idah's form will be a concern. The former Norwich striker failed to connect with a dangerous cross from Furuhashi when Celtic were 1-0 up and is now without a goal in 12 games, and he was substituted after an hour without making a significant impact on the game.

Dundee manager Tony Docherty said: "I am immensely proud, but the overriding emotion is disappointment. I think we did enough to win the game. I saw Celtic bring on Kuhn, Idah, Palma… I asked Lyall Cameron to get out of his sick bed; Finley Robertson hadn’t trained; Cesar Gaze had to come off. To put in a performance of that level against that type of opposition is just heroic. We rocked a Champions League team. We felt it, we went for it, we did everything to try and win the game. I think my players deserved to win tonight."

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers said: "We controlled the game for the first 40 minutes and then we conceded an unnecessary goal on the counter-attack. That gave them the impetus. Then we went 2-1 up and should have gone on, but then we conceded two very disappointing goals that we should have dealt with. Of course, then you are fighting to get something out of the game at the end. It is a disappointing result from our perspective."