Celtic were crowned champions of Scotland on Saturday after a comprehensive 5-0 victory over Dundee United.
A bright start for the Terrors counted for nothing when a Ryan Strain own goal gave the visitors the lead on the half-hour mark. They were 3-0 up by the break courtesy of a Nicolas Kuhn brace.
Adam Idah rippled the net twice after the interval to add gloss to another routine victory for the Hoops, while the contest was temporarily halted on two occasions – with tangerines and footballs chucked onto the pitch.
Courier Sport was at Tannadice to analyse the action.
Pros and cons of an aggressive approach
It’s a results business.
United won’t get any credit for a good opening 20 minutes against Celtic.
Jim Goodwin knows that. The players know it.
However, the Terrors did produce a positive performance during that period; one that was a huge removal from their usual outlook against both Celtic and Rangers this season.
Vicko Sevelj and Emmanuel Adegboyega were selected as a centre-back pairing to allow the Tangerines to play 20 yards higher up the pitch, while the engine room was stuffed with ball-winners to suffocate the Celts.
And the plan worked at first. The Hoops surrendered possession with uncommon regularity and were forced into long, hopeful passes far more often than normal.
The first two efforts of note came from Ross Docherty and Ruari Paton.
At this point, very few social media commentators were questioning the approach.
However, this bold strategy requires flawless execution and, from the moment the Hoops took the lead – a soft, simple own goal from Strain after Sam Dalby was beaten too easily in the air by Liam Scales – that was far from the case.
Gaps opened, the harassing became more ragged, and Brendan Rodgers’ men started popping the ball through the lines with ease. United heads dropped. Celtic picked the Terrors apart and, by the end, could have scored more than five.
Perhaps Goodwin should have shut up shop earlier.
Perhaps he should never have ventured so far from the stoic defensive strategy that gained a point against Celtic back in December.
Everybody is Pep with the benefit of hindsight.
There are pros and cons to every strategy. The pros were evident early on. But they were ultimately overwhelmed by the cons. Comprehensively so.
Untimely tangerines hinder Tangerines
It would be churlish to pinpoint an enforced delay after 11 minutes as a defining moment in a fixture that ended 5-0.
However, United had started very brightly at Tannadice – aggressive, attacking, proactive – when Celtic supporters lobbed scores of tangerines onto the turf at the home of the Tangerines.
The action was taken in protest of the ticket prices for the match.
The SPFL will wait for the report from the matchday delegate, but the incident is unlikely to be viewed with the same severity as pyrotechnics or dangerous projectiles.
Regardless of the rights and wrongs of United’s decision to charge £42, from a purely footballing perspective, it was inopportune for the home side.
Goodwin and several of his players looked visibly irritated and, when the game resumed, their burgeoning momentum had dissipated. And when Celtic got the opener, the floodgates opened.
Celtic shutouts
Games against Celtic are becoming increasingly joyless affairs for United.
Not just the results. Most teams in Scotland don’t beat the Hoops.
But United have now gone FIVE matches without scoring against Celtic, dating back to November 2022. Not including injury time, it amounts to six hours and three minutes against them without a goal.
Every other team in the Premiership has rippled the net against the Hoops at least once this term.
The Terrors picked up a point against the Hoops – and should be commended for that – after grinding out a 0-0 draw in December, but they barely threatened to muddy Kasper Schmeichel’s gloves.
Their four shots on target on Saturday spoke to a more proactive outlook but, as we have found, that came at the expense of defensive stability – and the hosts still failed to carve open a truly gilt-edged opportunity.
The gulf between Celtic and United is yawning – as it is between the champions and every other team in the country – but the Tangerines must find a way to at least lay a glove on their opponents.
This fixture is becoming a mix of trepidation and tedium for the Arabs.
A maiden 5 – a different challenge
While their defensive record has been largely exemplary – 12 clean sheets from 34 Premiership games – United have endured a few aberrations this season.
Defeats against Motherwell (4-3), Dundee (4-2) and a 3-3 draw with Kilmarnock come to mind.
However, this is the first time Goodwin has EVER seen his United side ship five goals in a single match.
Prior to Saturday, the largest margin of defeat he had endured in the Tangerines’ dugout was three goals (Celtic in February this year and Kilmarnock in May 2023).
The coming days will provide a new challenge for this group of players; responding from a chastening hammering – albeit that will be mitigated by the knowledge that Celtic can, have and will batter many sides like that.
Drawing from the lessons of this term, one can expect an organised, disciplined showing at Easter Road as they seek to address their failings against the Celts.
After all, United started the weekend three points behind third place. That remains the case. And, unlike their rivals, they’ve got Celtic out of the way.
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