Football Dec 07, 2025

Celtic 1-0 Dundee: Hoops close the gap on Hearts at the top of the table as Martin O'Neill secures victory in final game as interim boss

👤
By Admin
Sports Journalist
Celtic 1-0 Dundee: Hoops close the gap on Hearts at the top of the table as Martin O'Neill secures victory in final game as interim boss

Martin O'Neill closed the gap on Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts as he delivered one final victory for Celtic.

Daizen Maeda's brave 11th-minute header proved enough to hand O'Neill a 1-0 victory over Dundee in his farewell match before making way for Wilfried Nancy, whose appointment was confirmed less than an hour before kick-off.

It was O'Neill's seventh win in eight matches since returning to Celtic Park 20 years after his initial spell in charge ended.

Celtic were eight points adrift of Hearts when O'Neill and Shaun Maloney were placed in interim charge in the wake of Brendan Rodgers' sudden exit in late October.

The 73-year-old leaves with Celtic now trailing the league leaders on goal difference with a game in hand.

O'Neill's players could have given their manager a less stressful swansong but could not build on their flying start and Dundee caused some nervy moments for the home support.

That included a sparsely-filled standing section with the bottom six rows blocked off following the extended and indefinite ban handed to the Green Brigade on Tuesday.

Anti-board chants rang out along with tributes to O'Neill in a reminder that Nancy inherits a disunited club despite the platform to challenge in the league and Europa League, as well as a Premier Sports Cup final to look forward to in
his third match. His first two come against Hearts and Roma.

Celtic were quickly on the front foot and Maeda and Reo Hatate threatened from long range before the breakthrough.

Hyun-jun Yang continued his rejuvenation under O'Neill by forcing a save from Jon McCracken after a lofted pass from Hatate and Maeda headed home the rebound before being caught by the head of Luke Graham in a hefty collision.

Celtic played with 10 men for several minutes before the Japan forward re-emerged from the tunnel sporting a bandage and a black eye.

Celtic continued to press and Arne Engels and Yang had chances before Marcelo Saracchi forced a good save. The Uruguayan left-back soon went off with what looked like a recurrence of a hamstring injury, with Kieran Tierney a straight
replacement.

There was one first-half scare for Celtic when Simon Murray hit the bar after Liam Scales' short headed pass back. The offside flag went up after Kasper Schmeichel saved Cameron Congreve's follow-up.

Celtic also started the second half well. Maeda could not steer a rebound on target following Luke McCowan's effort and Hatate saw a shot saved after some impressive football.

Dundee began to threaten midway through the half. Substitute Ashley Hay was released by a long ball, shrugged off Scales' attempt to bring him down and tried his luck from an ambitious angle. Schmeichel blocked his weak effort.

Finlay Robertson then tried his luck from 50 yards after Schmeichel came out of his box and sliced a clearance but the goalkeeper raced back to save, comfortably in the end.

Dundee kept the pressure on until Maeda hit the post on a stoppage-time breakaway, before the full-time whistle prompted chants of "Martin O'Neill" around Celtic Park.

Tags:

football report id:531812

Share this article

Related Posts

Burnley 1-1 Wolves: Zian Flemming rescues point for Clarets to ensure Rob Edwards' side finish bottom of Premier League

Burnley 1-1 Wolves: Zian Flemming rescues point for Clarets to ensure Rob Edwards' side finish bottom of Premier League

Relegated pair Burnley and Wolves played out a 1-1 draw in their final Premier League game before they return to the Sky Bet Championship next season....

World Sevens Football fixtures, schedule, teams and how to watch live on Sky Sports

World Sevens Football fixtures, schedule, teams and how to watch live on Sky Sports

The World Sevens Football tournament begins on Thursday, live on Your Site, with eight WSL and WSL2 teams taking part. From the teams to the fixture s...

World Cup 2026 squad lists: England, Scotland, Brazil, USA, Spain, France, Germany, Netherlands, Argentina, Portugal and more

World Cup 2026 squad lists: England, Scotland, Brazil, USA, Spain, France, Germany, Netherlands, Argentina, Portugal and more

Countries have begun naming their squads for the 2026 World Cup ahead of this summer's tournament.The 48 national teams involved are required to regis...

Transfer news: Summer transfer window 2026 - Premier League deals, ins and outs

Transfer news: Summer transfer window 2026 - Premier League deals, ins and outs

The summer transfer window opens on June 15 and closes at 11pm UK time on September 1. Find out who is on the move across the Premier League.Check bel...

Liverpool 1-1 Brentford: Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson say goodbye to Anfield as Bees miss out on Europe

Liverpool 1-1 Brentford: Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson say goodbye to Anfield as Bees miss out on Europe

Liverpool drew 1-1 with Brentford on a day of emotional goodbyes to Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson at Anfield.Salah, making his final appearance for...

Man City 1-2 Aston Villa: Pep Guardiola, Bernardo Silva and John Stones bid farewell during final-day defeat to Villa

Man City 1-2 Aston Villa: Pep Guardiola, Bernardo Silva and John Stones bid farewell during final-day defeat to Villa

Having waved goodbye to any slim chance of beating Arsenal to the Premier League title on Tuesday, Manchester City finished the week by bidding an emo...