If this was Celtic at their weakest, heaven help their Scottish Premiership rivals. Had it been a full-strength team that overcame Dundee United on Saturday, mainly because of a rampant first-half display at Tannadice, the supporters would have been satisfied. But the job was done almost entirely by fringe players — and this gave the achievement another dimension.
The domestic matches that fall between big European nights are often tricky for Celtic — mentally as well as physically — so Ronny Deila, their manager, decided that wholesale changes was the solution here. Nine were made to the side that beat Malmo in Glasgow on Thursday night. Nine will doubtless be restored for the return leg in Sweden tomorrow night.
Essentially, he opted to select his reserve team. Not only were they unlikely to be distracted by the forthcoming Champions League qualifier, they would be hungry to take advantage of the opportunity. Deila would have been delighted by the way that his charges effortlessly maintained the same shape and style that has been so successful for the first team.
Saidy Janko was bright and ambitious at right-back, Eoghan O’Connell was solid in central defence and Tom Rogic was dynamic in midfield. When Celtic tailed off in the second half, Logan Bailly, the goalkeeper, comfortably handled United’s response, with a couple of saves. Scott Allan’s debut as a substitute restored some of the creative edge that had been lost.
Despite all the rotation, Leigh Griffiths, the striker, asked to play. Deila’s agreement to his request said much about the prospects of Stefan Scepovic at Celtic. With Nadir Ciftci suspended, here was an ideal chance for the Serbian misfit. Yet he only appeared long after the full-time whistle, when he ambled about on his own, surely wondering if his time was up.
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Scepovic had been watching from the sidelines when Griffiths scored his seventh goal of the season, another early one in addition to his strikes against Ross County, Kilmarnock, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Malmo. When Emilio Izaguirre played the ball through after 17 minutes, Mark Durnan was unsure whether to put his foot through it or play Griffiths offside. In the end, the United centre-half did neither, leaving his opponent to round the goalkeeper and score from an angle.
It was a sore one for Durnan whose defensive mistake at Hamilton last week had epitomised his team in a hapless display.
Nor were matters about to improve for the player signed from Queen of the South in the summer. Just before half-time, when Kris Commons tried to pick out Griffiths with a square pass, the retreating Durnan turned the ball past his own goalkeeper.
Commons deserved a goal in that one-sided first half. His early shot smacked Durnan’s foot and struck the crossbar. Then he had at least three efforts saved by Luis Zwick, who also denied Griffiths.
Celtic could have been three goals up at the break, but instead, their advantage was one, mainly because of Efe Ambrose’s recklessness. Moments before the interval, he needlessly brought down Scott Fraser in the box. Chris Erskine side-footed his penalty into the bottom corner of the net.
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In the second half, United passed the ball better and carried more attacking threat, but any prospect of an unlikely recovery was ended in the 74th minute. That was when Callum McGregor, on for Charlie Mulgrew, wriggled free on the edge of the box and released a shot that deflected in off Coll Donaldson.
Aidan Connolly was lively when he came on for United, together with another substitute, Ryan Dow, who was returning from injury. Despite a week of flak for Jackie McNamara, the United manager, there was no dissent from supporters, many of whom recognise that it has not been easy for him since he took the job in February 2013. Asked if his latest reconstruction of the team was a transitional period, McNamara replied: “It’s been transitional for two and a half years.”
Ratings
Dundee United (4-1-4-1): L Zwick 7 — S Dillon 6, C Donaldson 6, M Durnan 5, P Dixon 6 — J Souttar 6 — C Erskine 6 (A Connolly, 77), R McGowan 6, S Fraser 5 (R Dow 54, 6), B Spittal 6 — R Muirhead 6 (S Murray, 67). Substitutes not used: M McCallum, H Souttar, C Telfer, A Coote. Booked: Dixon, McGowan, Dow.
Celtic (4-2-3-1): L Bailly 6 — S Janko 7, E Ambrose 5, E O’Connell 7, E Izaguirre 6 — T Rogic 7 (J Thomson, 79), C Mulgrew 6 (C McGregor 61, 5) — G Mackay-Steven 6, K Commons 7, A Stokes 6 — L Griffiths 7 (S Allan 67, 6). Substitutes not used: L Fasan, S Scepovic, F Kelleher, K Tierney. Booked: Mulgrew, O’Connell, Allan, Ambrose.
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● Virgil van Dijk will play for Celtic in their Champions League play-off clash with Malmö tomorrow night. Reports suggested that Southampton had won the race to sign the 24-year-old Dutch defender. However, a spokesman for the Scottish champions said: “The story is absolute nonsense. Virgil will play on Tuesday. We have no agreement with any club.”