| Match Pictures | Matches: 2006 – 2007 | 2006-2007 Pictures |
Trivia
- Celtic eased to victory thanks to a hat-trick from Shunsuke Nakamura and some shoddy Dundee United defending.
- Rangers lost at home 1-0 to Inv Caley on same day to go ten points behind….
Review
United surprised Celtic with an early goal after a blunder from Boruc. An aerial joust between Samuel and Stephen McManus resulted in the ball dropping to Hunt and the forward thumped in a shot. The strike bounced in front of the diving Boruc and flew through the Polish international's hands.
Celtic replied with Maloney losing David Proctor inside the penalty area and flashing an angled drive narrowly wide of the target.
United should have been further ahead on 18 minutes but skipper Robson was guilty of a terrible miss.
United keeper Derek Stillie had to keep out a long range effort from Jarosik and Vennegoor of Hesselink headed wide from a promising position.
Celtic drew level a minute before the break when Nakamura was allowed to prod home a Jarosik header from close range.
Celtic moved ahead in the 48th minute and the United defence was again posted missing as Nakamura bundled in his second from inside the six yard box.
Four minutes later, Maloney threaded a neat pass to Vennegoor of Hesselink and the Dutch striker kept a cool head to slip the ball beyond Stillie.
Nakamura killed the game off before the hour with a composed curling shot from 14 yards after Jarosik's clever pass had duped several defenders.
Teams
Dundee Utd:-
Stillie, Proctor, McCracken, Archibald, Kalvenes, Samuel (Goodwillie 75), Kerr, Cameron, Robson (Easton 85), Duff (Conway 74), Hunt.
Subs Not Used:- McLean, Mair, Smith, Wilkie.
Goal:- Hunt 5.
Celtic (4-5-1):-
Boruc, Telfer, Caldwell, McManus, Naylor, Nakamura, Lennon (Pearson 75), Sno, Maloney (Riordan 73), Jarosik,
Vennegoor of Hesselink (Miller 60).
Subs Not Used:- Marshall, Balde, O'Brien, O'Dea.
Goals:- Nakamura 44, 48, Vennegoor of Hesselink 52, Nakamura 58.
Att:- 10,504
Ref:- M McCurry
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
Pictures
KStreet
Articles
Dundee Utd 1-4 Celtic
By Colin Moffat
BBC
Shunsuke Nakamura celebrates his second goal at Tannadice
Nakamura was in fine form for Celtic
Celtic eased to victory thanks to a hat-trick from Shunsuke Nakamura and some shoddy Dundee United defending.
Noel Hunt's fifth-minute drive from 20 yards slipped between the hands of Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc.
And United captain Barry Robson missed from close range before Nakamura poked in the equaliser just before half-time.
The Japanese star tapped in a second before curling in a great strike. Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink had clipped in goal number three for the visitors.
United, who have won just two of their last 26 SPL games, gave Collin Samuel a start despite the striker not returning from international duty with Trinidad and Tobago until late on Friday afternoon.
Celtic made changes, with Aiden McGeady and Thomas Gravesen missing through injury, while strikers Kenny Miller and Maciej Zurawski dropped out after their international exertions.
Vennegoor of Hesselink returned up front from an ankle injury, with Evander Sno, Shaun Maloney and Jiri Jarosik all getting the chance to impress.
The home side surprised the league leaders with an early goal after a blunder from Boruc.
An aerial joust between Samuel and Stephen McManus resulted in the ball dropping to Hunt and the forward thumped in a shot.
The strike bounced in front of the diving Boruc and flew through the Polish international's hands.
Celtic replied with Maloney losing David Proctor inside the penalty area and flashing an angled drive narrowly wide of the target.
United should have been further ahead on 18 minutes but skipper Robson was guilty of a terrible miss.
Samuel did well to speed beyond McManus and his his cut-back fell to the unmarked Robson, who contrived to scuff his shot wide from six yards out.
United keeper Derek Stillie had to keep out a long range effort from Jarosik and Vennegoor of Hesselink headed wide from a promising position.
And Celtic drew level a minute before the break when Nakamura was allowed to prod home a Jarosik header from close range.
Stillie then did well to push away a powerful header from Jarosik to ensure parity at the interval.
But Celtic moved ahead in the 48th minute and the United defence was again posted missing as Nakamura bundled in his second from inside the six yard box.
Four minutes later, Maloney threaded a neat pass to Vennegoor of Hesselink and the Dutch striker kept a cool head to slip the ball beyond Stillie.
Nakamura killed the game off before the hour with a composed curling shot from 14 yards after Jarosik's clever pass had duped several defenders.
Hunt went close to a second goal with a powerful strike and Christian Kalvenes blazed an effort over the crossbar as Celtic switched off in the closing stages, with their thoughts perhaps turning to Tuesday's Champions League clash with Benfica.
Dundee Utd: Stillie, Proctor, McCracken, Archibald, Kalvenes, Samuel (Goodwillie 75), Kerr, Cameron, Robson (Easton 85), Duff (Conway 74), Hunt. Subs Not Used: McLean, Mair, Smith, Wilkie.
Goal: Hunt 5.
Celtic: Boruc, Telfer, Caldwell, McManus, Naylor, Nakamura, Lennon (Pearson 75), Sno, Maloney (Riordan 73), Jarosik, Vennegoor of Hesselink (Miller 60). Subs Not Used: Marshall, Balde, O'Brien, O'Dea.
Goals: Nakamura 44, 48, Vennegoor of Hesselink 52, Nakamura 58.
Att: 10,504
Ref: M McCurry
Strachan hails Nakamura display
Celtic manager Gordon Strachan
Strachan was thankful for the brilliance of Nakamura
Celtic manager Gordon Strachan was full of praise for hat-trick hero Shunsuke Nakamura after the win at Tannadice.
"He's a top, top player," Strachan told BBC Sport. "And for half and hour out there he was totally untouchable.
"We fell behind but the way the players set about getting back into the game was just fantastic.
"We gave our midfielders more space by working on our shape and Jiri (Jarosik) and our full-backs were excellent and always a threat."
Strachan was without Thomas Gravesen, Aiden McGeady and Maciej Zurawski through injury.
And the manager revealed that the Danish midfielder was a serious doubt for Tuesday's Champions League match with Benfica.
Brewster blasts 'criminal' errors
Dundee United player-manager Craig Brewster
Craig Brewster believes he can turn United around
Angry Dundee United player-manager Craig Brewster believes his side gifted Celtic a 4-1 victory at Tannadice.
"We got a good goal then lost one just before half-time from slack marking and, within 14 mintues we were 4-1 down," Brewster told BBC Sport.
"They did not have to have fantastic football to score their goals and that's criminal in this game.
"We must certainly defend better, communicate better and must make a team like Celtic work harder."
Defeat meant United would end the day bottom of the Scottish Premier League after Motherwell's victory over Dunfermline Athletic later in the afternoon.
And Brewster accepted that there was pressure on him to lift United higher in the league.
"There's pressure on every day as it's a football club where the expectations are high," he said.
"It's a bigger job than I expected and a bigger job than anybody realises.
"But I feel I have the ability to be a success here. We just need everybody playing together."