DUNDEE UNITED 0 CELTIC 4: HOOPS TO THE FOUR
· CQN Magazine · 2026-08-15T18:49:58+00:00 · nguồn gốc
DUNDEE UNITED 0 CELTIC 4
A DEVASTATING two goals inside two minutes propelled Celtic into tomorrow night’s Premier Sports League Cup quarter-final draw.
Auston Trusty headed in the opener in the 22nd minute and Camilo Duran added a quickfire second to flatten United at Tannadice.
And strikes from Sebastian Tounekti and Benjamin Nygren after the turnaround made certain.
However, there were some moments in the game where alarm bells were ringing as Jim Goodwin’s men hit the woodwork an astonishing FIVE times.
JOY BHOYS…Benjamin Nygren and Kasper Hogh celebrate the Swede’s excellent effort for Celtic’s fourth goal at Tannadice.
The Hoops were handed an early wake-up call from the hosts when they struck the same upright twice with the scoreline blank.
Martin O’Neill’s side, who started at 100 miles per hour in their 5-1 romp over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park, were slow to get into their stride in this one.
They escaped in the 12th minute when the defence switched off at a left-wing throw-in. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, celebrating his 33rd birthday, deflected the ball to the edge of the box where it was sent back into the danger zone.
Lachlan Rose reacted quickest to nod the ball into the stride of Julius Eskesen who thumped in a first-time 16-yard drive that crashed off Viljami Sinisalo’s right-hand post.
And United cursed their luck again three minutes later when Emmanuel Egyei tried to take advantage of some sloppy work at the back from the visitors.
The ball was worked in from the right to Egyei who took a touch before lashing a low drive at goal and contrived to connect with the same upright with the Hoops keeper helpless again.
NUMBER ONE…Auston Trusty back-flicks a header towards keeper Jack Walton’s top right-hand corner of the net.
The double let-off stirred the champions into action and they responded in fine style.
This time it was the home defence that was marked absent as Nygren whipped in a right-wing corner-kick.
Trusty raced to the near post to get a superb touch to the cross and his clever head flick soared high past the stranded Jack Walton.
Exactly one minute and 56 seconds later, Duran scored his first competitive goal for the Parkhead men.
The Colombian frontman, who claimed three strikes in three-pre-season friendlies, displayed his lightning-swift penalty-box prowess again when he pounced to lift the ball over the scrambling Walton.
Nygren and Oxlade-Chamberlain were involved in the build-up on the left and Kasper Hogh created mayhem in the area by his sheer presence.
The ball bobbled to Duran and he made no mistake.
NUMBER TWO…Benjamin Nygren and Callum McGregor congratulate Camilo Duran on his first competitive goal for Celtic.
The half ended with Duran picking out the Dane at the far post with a sublime angled cross, but on this occasion the £11million-plus man volleyed over the crossbar.
Four minutes after the interval, it was Sapsford’s turn to hit the bar with a snap shot from the edge of the box.
However, a clever finish from Tounekti in the 53rd minute made certain there would be no miraculous comeback for United.
The Tunisian accepted a pass from the hard-working Nygren to cut inside onto the right foot and his low drive completely wrong-footed Walton as it hit its destination.
Almost unbelievably, the home side smacked the bar once again, this time with a header from Bert Esselink following a left-wing corner-kick in the 55th minute.
NUMBER THREE…Sebastian Tounekti join in with a low right-foot drive.
Just before the hour mark, new Bhoy Mika Baur came on for his debut as he replaced Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Three minutes later, Nygren swept in an exquisite fourth goal with his left foot after receiving a neat pass from Tounekti.
With an eye towards Wednesday’s Champions League first leg qualifier against LASK, O’Neill made a triple substitution in the 68th minute with Trusty, Nygren and Hogh being replaced by Dane Murray, Luke McCowan and James Forrest.
The evergreen winger moved into the position wide on the right with Duran coming into the middle.
NUMBER FOUR…Benjamin Nygren rounds off Celtic’s scoring spree with a brilliant left-foot effort to fire the champions into the next round.
Three minutes later, there was a first appearance for Egyptian World Cup ace Haissem Hassan who took over from Tounekti.
Celtic saw out the game, but not before Mehdi Merghen thundered a long-range belter off the crossbar with Sinisalo counting his lucky stars once more.
At the end of the day, it was mission accomplished for O’Neill with a place in the next round and two of the latest purchases, Baur and Hassan, being introduced to the fans.
TEAM: Sinisalo; Donovan, Carter-Vickers, Trusty (sub: Murray 68), Scales; Nygren (sub: McCowan 68), McGregor, Oxlade-Chamberlain (sub: Baur 59); Duran, Hogh (sub: Forrest 68), Tounekti (sub: Hassan 71).
WANT TO KNOW A SECRET? Celtic Confidential is the stunning book that brings the exclusive inside stories behind the headlines. Who was the tycoon who would have ruined Celtic? What really happened the night Kenny Dalglish quit the club? The real story behind Mo Johnston’s sensational move to Ibrox. All is revealed in Alex Gordon’s sixteenth Celtic book which is available NOW. Order a copy and get £5 OFF the cover price of £25. Just click SHOP HERE and your book will be on its way. Enjoy the revelations!