Kelechi Iheanacho came off the bench to score his first goal in six months and rescue Celtic from what was threatening to become another painful afternoon in Dundee, Footynaija.com reports.
Celtic had lost in all three previous trips to Dundee this season and looked set to slip up again when Simon Murray equalised from a VAR-assisted penalty in the 57th minute, cancelling out Yang Hyun-jun’s early opener.
With the game level and the clock running down, manager Martin O’Neill turned to the Nigeria international.
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Iheanacho had endured a season disrupted by hamstring problems and had gone 182 days without finding the net before Sunday’s match. He needed only 25 minutes to make his mark.
Marcelo Saracchi’s cross from the left was not dealt with by Ryan Astley, and the ball dropped for Iheanacho to smash home on the swivel from six yards in the 82nd minute. Astley was then sent off two minutes later for a foul on Yang, and Celtic held on for all three points.
O’Neill hails Iheanacho
Rangers sit a point behind Hearts in second, making it a three-way race with a genuine chance for all involved.
O’Neill did not hide his relief or his admiration for the match-winner afterwards.
“Iheanacho came on and scored the goal which wins the game for us,” he said in a report by the club’s official website.
“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.”
The Celtic boss also stressed how much was riding on the result.
“There’s no room for error at all, and if we had dropped points today that would have been very difficult to fight back.”
O’Neill had spoken to Iheanacho before kick-off, telling the press after the game.
“I had a chat with him. He’s a very fine player. At 29, he should be at his peak.”
On Sunday at Dens Park, he looked exactly that.
