Match Pictures | Matches: 2025 – 2026
Trivia
- KO: 16:30; Sky Sports, Sunday
- Back after the international break. Scotland lost 1-0 to Japan (with Maeda captaining Japan, but Hatate not even in the squad) then lose to Ivory Coast. Ireland ko’ed in WC qualifiers but Sweden qualify.
Trusty and Nygren good reports back. Trusty gets praised for his peformance for the USA. - Hearts drews 2-2 with Livvie, Sevco won 4-2, so Hearts on top 67pts/+28GD, Sevco 66pts+32GD, Celtic on 64pts/+23GD
- Martin O’Neill unsure when Julian Araujo will be fit again after he missed past two games. He has returned to Bournemouth for treatment but posted a cryptic message as if to indicate his time at Celtic was over (his season too?). Then releases another cryptic msg the next day indicating about a return! It was then confirmed that he had been ruled out for seven to eight weeks with a quad strain, effectively thought to end his time at Celtic on loan for this season. One later quote by MoN hopeful he’ll return!.
- Jorg Schmadtke sacked as Hannover sports director just 24hrs after confirmed they will turn loan deal for Maik Nawrocki into £2m transfer if promoted to the Bundesliga.
- South Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo admits stunned at improvement shown this season by Yang Hyun-jun.
- Ex-Celt Colin Kazim-Richards appointed Crawley Town boss.
- Lisbon Lion Jim Craig Set for Govan Statue as New Campaign Launched
- Celtic land five-figure UEFA fine – but they aren’t only club to be hit by sanctions. A tennis ball protest by some Celtic fans during last month’s Europa League match against VfB Stuttgart has led to a fine of nearly £13,000.
- Celtic will be without Cameron Carter-Vickers and Jota for the remainder of the campaign, with both players now confirmed to be targeting returns next season.
- Ex-Celt Scott Brown stood down as Ayr United manager “by mutual consent”.
- World Cup : Ireland lose in KO qualifier match to Czechia.
- Odin Thiago Holm re-joins former club Valerenga on loan until the end of the Norwegian season in November.
- Hibernian chief executive Dan Barnett has revealed he has opened discussions over the possibility of increasing the number of tickets allocated to Celtic supporters for matches at Easter Road.
- Alistair Johnston suffered a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury, MoN:”He was doing some running and had a bit of a setback on his final day of training, which was really disconcerting for us. In the wider scheme of things, for the length of time he’s been out, hopefully it’s not too bad.“
- Financial Times reporting that Celtic’s largest shareholder Dermot Desmond, through his private equity vehicle International Investment & Underwriting (IIU) made a bid for Sports Direct. The bid of 77m is part of a plan to expand his existing sports merchandising business.
- Peter Lawwel set to remain involved at the top level of European football after being kept on by the European Club Association following his departure from Celtic.
- Proposed Celtic-inspired takeover of Albion Rovers has moved a step closer after additional shares in the Lowland League side were secured.
- Reports:
- Brighton leading Celtic and other EPL rivals in race to sign Sao Paulo midfielder Damian Bobadill.
- Fares Ghedjemis‘ agent says Frosinone could be prepared to sell the 23-year-old forward, who was pursued by Celtic in January, this summer despite planning to take up an optFares Ghedjemis’ agent says Frosinone could be prepared to sell the 23-year-old forward, who was pursued by Celtic in January, this summer despite planning to take up an opt
- Bournemouth happy to sell Julian Araujo
- Ange Postecoglou says that, after shortlived spells with Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest, he will only accept a managerial role if it allows him to come on board at the start of pre-season.
- Ferencvaros chief executive Pal Orosz said head coach Robbie Keane, who has been linked with Celtic, would go with the club’s blessing – if he got the Tottenham Hotspur job.
- Celtic-linked Craig Bellamy hinted he intends to stay on as Wales boss following their World Cup play-off exit.
- Braga expect bids for former Celtic defender Gustaf Lagerbielke from Europe’s top five leagues after rejecting an offer for the Sweden international from Paris FC in January.
- Former Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers increasing speculation linking him with the Head Coach job at the Saudi Arabian national side ahead of this summer’s World Cup Finals!
Summary
Celtic stay alive in the title chase. The champions remain third but are now just three points behind leaders Hearts and two off Rangers. Substitute Kelechi Iheanacho cracked in the decisive goal after Simon Murray had equalised from the penalty spot. Yang Hyun-Jun grabbed the only goal of a first half dominated by the visitors.
BBC
“I’ve had a chat with him to say to him that he’s been a really fine player in his career and he should be, at 29, at the peak of his career.”
Martin O’Neill on his talks with Iheanacho
“I think we will have to go close [to winning all seven remaining games]. No margin for error. “The defeat at Tannadice has put us under a lot more pressure. “It’s a big challenge. This time last year, Celtic were coasting home. This year it’s been different and it’s been difficult. It’s been catch-up for months and months now. “When the season opened up, not for one minute did I think I’d be here in early April. After today, it would be great to still be in contention.”
MoN
“It’s massive”, before adding: “Collectively, as a team, we worked really hard. “It was a great finish and I’m happy today to help the team. It would have been scary to drop points here. “We need to keep winning to get there.”
Celtic striker Kelechi Iheanacho tells BBC Sportsound
67 Hail Hail @67hailhail.com · 2h Celtic have been rescued by Kelechi Iheanacho to defeat Dundee. The striker, a substitute for Tomas Cvancara, scored his first goal of the calendar year…
JBCity of TheCelticWiki: Cvancara was very poor, and seems to be regressing. He needs to understand that this is his best opportunity to make it in the top tier now. He has some talent, but needs to show it now. Celtic should have been 3-4 goals up by half time, and even the goal Celtic scored first it seemed like as if the players were trying not to score, it was that clumsy. Donovan very unlucky with the penalty awarded (but undeniably VAR was correct here). Ihenacho came on to be the suprising game changer, aided by Saracchi too, both of whom added some energy & physicality that was missing.
A poor day that only just helps to keep Celtic in the title race but no one is convinced that Celtic will win the league title at this stage.
Andy Muirhead @andymuirhd.bsky.social · 2h FT Dundee 1-2 Celtic Another poor performance but three points are what matters and we now go 64 points. 2 behind Rangers and 3 behind Hearts.
The Celtic Way @thecelticway.bsky.social · 2h A huge moment from Kelechi Iheanacho and a huge away win at Dens. Celtic close the gap on Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts to three points, with six games remaining. This is still on!
BlueSky:
Should have been out of sight by half time.
I appreciate Alex OC’s pedigree in the game and his good start at Celtic, but I really expected this experienced player to do far more than he has done to date. Think he needs to take some authority in games. Seemed to be anonymous today
How can you explain the attitude of this Celtic team? Players know what is on the line but give the impression that they can’t be bothered making the effort. Bad enough in normal game time but we then go ahead, against 10 men and Calmac decides continue to spread his side and back passing to Scales etc so we end up with a shot of at least 4 Celtic players pointing. This is not team that we can have confidence in their game management as they constantly foul up and invite trouble with their faffing about. Surprised MON tolerates this.
DV of KDS:
I said before the game that the win, no matter how it came was all that matters so I can’t be too hypocritical
But eff me we are terrible. I’d take another 6 like that if we scrape the wins but there’s no way we get away with those performances post split.
McCowan is so so so bad. Genuinely terrible
How he can get minutes in front of hatate and even bernardo is beyond me.
Ralston doesn’t even need talking about and Donovan isn’t much better.
Scales, despite what some people try to tell us is a disaster waiting to happen every game.
McGregor has fallen off a cliff
The striker situation alone is justification for everybody involved in recruitment to be sacked.
we could all go on with the failings . It’s a team of poor players playing without any recognisable game plan.
Obviously glad we won as anything can happen as long as we can keep a bit of pressue on but we’re miles off being a team you’d be confident to go and do anything even close to winning out the last 6 games
Teams
Celtic
Manager:Martin O’Neill
Formation: 4 – 2 – 3 – 1
Starting lineup
12, V. Sinisalo
63, K. Tierney, subbed for M. Saracchi at 76 mins
05, L. Scales,63′, Yellow Card at 63 mins
06, A. Trusty
51, C. Donovan, subbed for A. Ralston at 67 mins
21, A. Oxlade-Chamberlain, subbed for L. McCowan at 67 mins
42, C. McGregor (c), Captain
38, D. Maeda, subbed for J. Forrest at 76 mins
08, B. Nygren
13, Yang Hyun-Jun
11, T. Čvančara, subbed for K. Ịheanachọ at 58 mins
Subs:
43, B. Arthur
31, R. Doohan
49, J. Forrest
41, R. Hatate
14, L. McCowan
56, A. Ralston,90’+7, Yellow Card at 90 mins plus 7
36, M. Saracchi
23, S. Tounekti
17, K. Ịheanachọ
Goals:
Yang Hyun-Jun (8′)
K. Ịheanachọ (82′)
Assists:
B. Nygren (8′)
M. Saracchi (82′)
Dundee
Manager: Steven Pressley
Formation: 4 – 1 – 4 – 1
Starting lineup
01, J. McCracken
07, D. Wright, subbed for C. Reilly at 92 mins
22, L. Graham
04, R. Astley 84′, Red Card at 84 mins
16, B. Halliday
48, E. Hamilton
17, T. Yogane, subbed for S. Wright at 73 mins
10, F. Robertson, subbed for J. Cotterill at 67 mins
21, Y. Dhanda, subbed for B. Koumetio at 92 mins
20, C. Congreve
15, S. Murray (c), Captain, subbed for A. Hay at 67 mins
Subs:
24, J. Cotterill
05, B. Koumetio
11, A. Hay
12, I. Samuels
28, C. Jones
13, K. O’Hara
18, C. Reilly
19, J. Westley
25, S. Wright
Goals:
S. Murray (57′ pen)
Assists:
Referee: Steven McLean
Video Assistant Referee: Matthew MacDermid
Assistant Referee 1: Calum Spence
Assistant Referee 2: Douglas Ross
Fourth Official: Graham Grainger
Assistant VAR Official: Chris Graham
Venue:Dens Park
Attendance:9,007
Articles
- Match Report (see below)
Pictures
Match Links
Stats
Basic Stats
Overall possession
Dundee 42.3%
Celtic 57.7%
Shots
Dundee 8
Celtic 17
Shots on target
Dundee 3
Celtic 8
Total touches inside the opposition box
Dundee 17
Celtic 30
DND
CEL
Goalkeeper saves
Dundee 5
Celtic 2
Aerial duels won
Dundee 9
Celtic 11
Fouls committed
Dundee 7
Celtic 13
Corners
Dundee 1
Celtic 4
In-depth match stats
Attack
Shots
Dundee 8
Celtic 17
Shots on target
Dundee 3
Celtic 8
Shots off target
Dundee 3
Celtic 7
Attempts out of box
Dundee 2
Celtic 9
Hit woodwork
Dundee 0
Celtic 2
One-on-one attempts
Dundee 0
Celtic 1
Distribution
Total passes
Dundee 401
Celtic 552
Pass accuracy %
Dundee 76.6
Celtic 83.5
Backward passes
Dundee 71
Celtic 91
Forward passes
Dundee 166
Celtic 179
Total long balls
Dundee 75
Celtic 64
Successful final third passes
Dundee 53
Celtic 113
Total crosses
Dundee 20
Celtic 22
Defence
Total tackles
Dundee 16
Celtic 17
Won tackle %
Dundee 43.8
Celtic 70.6
Fouls committed
Dundee 7
Celtic 13
Total yellow cards
Dundee 0
Celtic 2
Total clearances
Dundee 27
Celtic 22
Pre Match Facts
After their 2-0 win in October, Dundee could enjoy back-to-back home league wins over
Celtic for the first time since March 1958.
Celtic have only lost one of their last 49 meetings with Dundee in all competitions (W41 D7), winning both of their most recent two this season in the league in December (1-0) and Scottish Cup in February (2-1).
Dundee are unbeaten in their last four home league games (W1 D3), but haven’t gone longer without losing at home within a single season in the Scottish Premiership since February 2017 (7).
Celtic have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last seven league matches, last going longer without a shutout in February 2006 under Gordon Strachan (10 games).
Dundee’s Jon McCracken has made 119 saves in the Scottish Premiership this season, the only goalkeeper on 100+. He has also prevented 7.1 goals based on his expected goals on target faced (54.1 xGoT to 47 goals conceded, excl. own goals); only Calum Ward (10.3) and Jack Butland (7.5) have a higher xGoT prevented figure in the 2025-26 competition.
Articles
Kelechi Iheanacho earns Celtic plaudits but one player left ‘pretty down’ despite Dundee victory
Alan Pattullo
By Alan Pattullo
Chief Football Writer
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/latest-celtic-news/kelechi-iheanacho-earns-celtic-plaudits-but-one-player-left-pretty-down-despite-dundee-victory-6564166
Comments
Published 5th Apr 2026, 20:02 BST
Updated 5th Apr 2026, 20:40 BST
Tale of two strikers at Dens Park as Celtic close gap on Hearts
It was a tale of two strikers at Dens Park as Martin O’Neill hailed match-winner Kelechi Iheanacho and admitted Tomas Cvancara was hurting after more frustration in front of goal.
The Celtic manager was speaking after Iheanacho’s late strike secured a vital three points against a Dundee side who battled every inch of the way, even when reduced to ten men following Ryan Astley’s red card near the end.
O’Neill knew there was little margin for error. Celtic are still in the title race having taken advantage of Hearts dropping two points at Livingston earlier in the day. Although the champions remain in third place, they are only three points behind the leaders and two points behind Rangers having played the same number of games.
Celtic took the lead early on through Hyun-jun Yang but after being pegged back by Simon Murray’s penalty spot equaliser in the second half, it looked like Cvancara might be given reason to rue spurning several good chances to score.
But Iheanacho, his replacement after 58 minutes, saved the day for the champions with his first goal since October with just eight minutes remaining. The striker, who has endured a stop-start season due to injury, has not scored many more important goals in recent times. O’Neill described him as “buzzing” in the away dressing room after his contribution.
“He has had a really frustrating time in recent weeks,” he said. “When I arrived first of all he was recovering from a hamstring injury, which I think he got about five minutes into a game. Wilfried (Nancy) put him into the side and he pulled it again in the League Cup final.
“He has been fighting back from that,” he added. “I had a chat with him. He has been a really fine player in his career. At 29 he should be at the peak of his career rather than scratching around. That’s the point. He scores and he can hold the ball up, he is good at that. He might not be able to run the channels but at the end of the day he can hold the ball up, that’s his trademark really. He has played for Manchester City. I suppose that was some time ago….but that will do him a world of good.”
Celtic have struggled to find a goalscoring centre forward this season and Cvancara’s difficulties are a case in point. He cut a very different figure to Iheanacho in the dressing-room.
“Naturally, he was pretty down after the game,” said O’Neill. “Even though we had the win, he was down because he hasn’t scored. He needs to score. In his mind, he needs to score a goal. Some of the chances that he had today, I think he could have easily had two anyway. It becomes frustrating because no matter what you say, centre-forwards are those things, they thrive on scoring goals. The confidence is big when you put the ball in the net. So it’s a frustrating time for him today.”
O’Neill praised his team for getting the job done in difficult conditions at a blowy Dens Park. “We’re still in it and still have a lot to ponder,” he said. “I think that if we had dropped points today, it would have been a long, long way back. I’m not saying it was finished, but it was a long way back.
‘The games are difficult,” he added. “They are honestly, they’re really difficult. So we need to try and beat St Mirren next week so that you go into the split—I think we’ve got three at home and two away. But there’s no room for us [to slip up]. It seems as if there’s never been any room for us. But if we had dropped points today, I think that would have been a long way back for us.”
BBC
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/cx29ek3rkn1t#Report
At a glance
Yang Hyun-Jun scores opening goal for Celtic after getting a touch on Benjamin Nygren’s close-range shot
Simon Murray equalises from penalty spot after VAR check for handball
Kelechi Iheanacho smashes in winner late on before Astley sent off for the hosts
ByGeorge O’Neill
BBC Sport Scotland
Celtic capitalised on Hearts’ earlier slip-up to move within three points of the Scottish Premiership leaders as Kelechi Iheanacho slammed in a dramatic late winner at Dundee.
Yang Hyun-Jun opened the scoring for Martin O’Neill’s side inside eight minutes by getting a slight touch on Benjamin Nygren’s close-range shot and they should have been further in front before half-time, with striker Tomas Cvancara missing several gilt-edged chances.
And their wastefulness came back to bite them after the break.
Video assistant referee (VAR) Matthew MacDermid spotted a handball by full-back Colby Donovan and referee Steven McLean pointed to the spot after going to the pitchside monitor.
Home captain Simon Murray calmly converted to level the scores and Celtic took their time to wrestle back their momentum.
However, with time running out, substitute Iheanacho lashed a left-footed shot past stricken home goalkeeper Jon McCracken to secure all three points.
Dundee were then reduced to 10 men as centre-back Ryan Astley was dismissed for taking out Yang.
After Hearts drew at Livingston earlier on Sunday, Celtic narrow the gap to the Tynecastle club, while they trail Rangers in second by two points.
Dundee remain five points clear of Kilmarnock in the relegation play-off spot.
Hearts return to summit despite draw at lowly Livingston
Analysis: Celtic stay in title contention but flaws remain
For all their shortcomings this season, Celtic have never been out of contention in the Premiership and despite an imperfect performance at Dens, they found a way to win.
They had lost on their three previous visits to the city this season, but started on the front foot and deservedly hit the front.
After McCracken spilled Cvancara’s initial effort, a combination of Yang and Nygren bundled in.
From there, it was wave after wave of Celtic attack, but as has been the case for the majority of this season, their starting striker failed to deliver.
Cvancara shanked high and wide from about 25 yards out and then hit the post when good work from Daizen Maeda put the Czech Republic international through on goal.
He failed to capitalise on another golden chance early in the second half and was replaced by Iheanacho just before the hour mark.
His profligacy appeared to be costly when Murray swept home from the penalty spot.
Celtic have now conceded in their past eight league matches, their longest run without a clean sheet in 20 years.
And yet, with time running out, Marcelo Saracchi swung in a dangerous cross from the left and Iheanacho took advantage after Astley failed to clear.
O’Neill spoke before kick-off about how still being in contention at full-time would constitute success. His team delivered, just.
Dundee have grown as the season has progressed and after a difficult first half, they posed Celtic plenty of problems in the second.
Pressley praised how his players approached the game and he was right to.
They took risks in possession and were not sitting in playing risk-averse football.
They still have work to do to avoid relegation, but on this showing, they will be just fine.
What they said
Dundee head coach Steven Pressley: “I don’t think we started the game in the fashion we hoped. That was credit to Celtic.
“We settled into it and especially in the second half we played particularly well. We didn’t come out to sit in, we wanted to impose ourselves on the game and that takes bravery.
“To stay in this league, you’re going to have to endure difficult games and difficult periods.
“The last six games are going to challenge us greatly. We need to attack them and keep showing the bravery we showed today.”
Celtic interim manager Martin O’Neill: “I thought we played brilliantly in the first half, got our goal and should have got two, three or four. You always felt it would come back to haunt you and it did.
“They got their tails up after the penalty and it was really hard work.
“But we created another chance or two and Iheanacho puts one in the net.
“I think overall we deserved to win the game but it was always going to be tight. And we made it really tight.”
Iheanacho fires Celtic to victory with late winner against Dundee
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2026/april/05/iheanacho-fires-celtic-to-victory-with-late-winner-against-dundee/
First Team
By Matthew Campbell
Share
05 Apr 2026, 6:32 pm
Scottish Premiership
Sunday, April 5, 2026
Dens Park, Dundee
DUNDEE…1
(Murray 57)
CELTIC…2
(Yang 9, Iheanacho 82)
Celtic have moved to within just three points of the top of the table with a 2-1 victory over Dundee at Dens Park thanks to goals from Yang and Kelechi Iheanacho.
Martin O’Neill’s men looked to pressure Dundee early in the match and with five minutes on the clock, a chipped pass forward from Liam Scales was brought down by Daizen Maeda. The Japanese forward flashed a pass across the face of goal but there was no one in green and white to divert it in to the net.
Moments later, however, and from Celtic’s next chance, the deadlock was broken. A cross from Kieran Tierney was controlled in the box by Tomas Cvancara.
The Czech striker’s shot was saved and rebounded out towards Benjamin Nygren and Yang, with the South Korean getting the final touch to make it 1-0.
It should have been 2-0 to Celtic with a little over 20 minutes gone. This time, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain used his strength to hold off a Dundee midfielder and find Benjamin Nygren out wide.
The Swede fired an excellent low ball in to the box towards Daizen Maeda who came charging in at the back post, but he couldn’t reach the ball to double Celtic’s lead.
The home side found chances hard to come by in the first 30 minutes, with Celtic forcing them to defend for the most part, but a nice bit of play from Steven Pressley’s men produced a shooting opportunity for Brad Halliday from the edge of the box, but his effort rose high over the bar.
Tomas Cvancara had a massive opportunity to put Celtic two in front on the half-hour mark when he went through one-on-one against the Dundee goalkeeper, but his effort hit the post and the chance was gone.
The Hoops continued to create chances towards the end of the half, with Cvancara seeing a shot saved and Colby Donovan firing an effort wide of the target from the edge of the box.
42%
Possession
58%
8
Shots
17
3
Shots On Target
8
1
Corners
4
7
Fouls
13
0
1
Cards
2
0
Early in the second half Dundee created a good chance with Cam Congreve forcing a save from Viljami Sinisalo. Celtic went straight up the park from that opportunity and should have scored, but Tomas Cvancara was unable to trouble the home side’s keeper with his shot.
In the 57th minute, Dundee levelled the match with a goal from the penalty spot. The spot-kick was awarded after a VAR review showed that Colby Donovan had handled the ball in the box. Simon Murray stepped up to take the penalty and made it 1-1.
Following the home side’s equaliser, Martin O’Neill made his first change of the afternoon, bringing Tomas Cvancara off for Kelechi Iheanacho.
Yang went close to reestablishing Celtic’s lead just after the hour mark when he got his head to a Kieran Tierney cross, but the Dundee keeper was able to tip it over the bar.
There were further changes for Celtic soon after, with Anthony Ralston and Luke McCowan replacing Colby Donovan and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Kieran Tierney and Daizen Maeda were also replaced by Marcelo Saracchi and James Forrest.
With time ticking away, Celtic were trying to carve out an opportunity but the home side, who were camped behind the ball, were resilient, and made it difficult for the Hoops to find a way through.
But with less than 10 minutes to go, the Celts found the goal they had been looking for. A ball in to the box from Saracchi was met by Iheanacho. The big forward took a touch to set himself and fired his effort beyond McCracken to make it 2-1.
Dundee, still reeling from that Celtic goal, were soon reduced to 10 men after Ryan Astley brought Yang down as the Korean was on his way through to goal. From the resulting free-kick, Benjamin Nygren went close, with his effort drifting just wide of the target.
Deep in stoppage time, Kelechi Iheanacho went close to making it 3-1 with a shot from the left side of the penalty area, but his effort was stopped on the line by a Dundee defender.
When the final whistle went, there was as much relief as there was joy amongst the travelling Celtic support, who celebrated what could prove to be a massive three points.
Dundee: McCracken, Halliday, Astley, Graham, Wright (Reilly 92′), Hamilton, Congreve, Dhanda (Koumetio 92′), Finlay Robertson (Cotterill 67′), Yogane (Wright 73′), Murray (Hay 67′)
Subs: Koumetio, Hay, Samuels, O’Hara, Reilly, Westley, Cotterill, Wright, Jones
Celtic: Sinisalo, Donovan (Ralston 67′), Trusty, Scales, Tierney (Saracchi 76′), McGregor, Oxlade-Chamberlain (McCowan 67′), Hyunjun Yang, Nygren, Maeda (Forrest 76′), Čvančara (Iheanacho 58′)
Subs: McCowan, Iheanacho, Tounekti, Doohan, Saracchi, Hatate, Arthur, Forrest, Ralston
Manager pleased as battling Bhoys beat Dundee
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2026/april/05/manager-pleased-as-battling-bhoys-beat-dundee/
First Team
By Paul Cuddihy, Celtic View Editor
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05 Apr 2026, 8:13 pm
Martin O’Neill is well aware that at this stage of the season, the most important thing in every league game is getting all three points.
So the Celtic manager was delighted with the 2-1 victory over Dundee at Dens Park today (Sunday), which came courtesy of goals from Yang and Kelechi Iheanacho, although it should have been a more comfortable margin of victory given the number of chances Celtic created, particularly in the first-half.
The result means that the Hoops are now just three points off the top of the table with six Premiership matches remaining.
Speaking to Celtic TV after the win against Dundee, Martin O’Neill said: “I thought we should have been out of sight by half-time but we weren’t.
“We missed some glorious chances – really clear-cut chances – to go and get a second goal but it didn’t happen and you always fear the worst.
“At half-time I said to the team that this was far from over. Dundee would come into the game and were playing with the wind in the second-half.
“They got the penalty and that obviously gave them great confidence to continue on but we kept battling at it and battling it was at the end of it all.
“Iheanacho came on and scored the goal which wins the game for us. Naturally, we’re delighted and we’re still in the picture.
“I know he’s had a frustrating time, but he’s been a really fine player in his career and he can find the net.
“We played last and that is difficult. You’re trying not to think about what has happened either the previous day or a few hours earlier, but for us today we just had to win.
“There’s no room for error at all, and if we had dropped points today that would have been very difficult to fight back.”
Kelechi Iheanacho happy to deliver winning goal for the Hoops
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2026/april/05/kelechi-iheanacho-happy-to-deliver-winning-goal-for-the-hoops/
First Team
By Paul Cuddihy, Celtic View Editor
Share
05 Apr 2026, 8:38 pm
Kelechi Iheanacho scored his fourth goal of the season, and his first since early October, when he netted late on at Dens Park to deliver a 2-1 victory for Celtic over Dundee.
The 29-year-old striker had endured an injury-hit campaign, but he was delighted to play his part in helping the team register another vital league win.
Speaking to Celtic TV after the game, the Nigerian internationalist said: “It feels good to help the team to get the win today. We really showed character and we really worked hard today to get the win.
“I think, especially in the first-half, we blew them away and had a few chances, but unfortunately it didn’t click.
“In the second-half they came back and scored the penalty, but at the end we got the points which is massive.
“I’ve been out for a while so it feels good to be back and to help the team get the win, so I’m happy.”