Celtic endured a shock 2-0 defeat at Dundee on Sunday, their first loss at Dens Park in 37 years, dealing a blow to their Scottish Premiership title defence.
Brendan Rodgers’ side fell behind in the 17th minute when Clark Robertson headed home unmarked from a Cameron Congreve corner. Their misery deepened just before halftime when Cameron Carter-Vickers diverted a low cross into his own net after Congreve skipped past Liam Scales.
The result marked Celtic’s first league defeat of the season and their first away to Dundee since 1988, when Tommy Coyne scored the only goal. The Scottish champions were booed off at full-time and now sit five points behind surprise leaders Hearts, who they face next weekend at Tynecastle.
Before that, Celtic will travel to Austria for a Europa League clash with Sturm Graz on Thursday.
Fan protest disrupts kickoff
The match was marred by a protest from Celtic supporters, who threw dozens of coloured balls onto the pitch just after kickoff in continued opposition to the club’s board, particularly over the early Champions League exit. The stunt caused a brief delay before play resumed.
On the pitch, Celtic started brightly. Kelechi Iheanacho struck the post early on, while Kieran Tierney and Yang Hyun-Jun missed opportunities to equalise.
But Dundee, resilient and well-organised, capitalised on Celtic’s defensive lapses. In first-half stoppage time, Congreve weaved past Scales down the right and delivered a dangerous cross that deflected off Joe Westley and then Carter-Vickers into the net for an own goal.
Celtic denied penalty after VAR review
Reo Hatate came close after the break, and substitute Ashley Hay nearly extended Dundee’s lead with a header. Celtic pushed for a lifeline, but Dundee keeper Jon McCracken twice denied Iheanacho with strong saves.
Late drama unfolded when Hatate’s shot appeared to strike Paul Digby’s arm in the box, prompting referee Matthew MacDermid to award a penalty. However, after consulting VAR and reviewing the incident on the pitchside monitor, he reversed the decision—further fuelling Celtic’s frustrations.
Celtic’s patchy start to the season continues, and with fan unrest mounting, Brendan Rodgers will be under pressure to turn things around quickly.
