Dundee vs Celtic LIVE SCORE: James Forrest STARTS huge ...
BRENDAN RODGERS wonders if he should have played him more this season.
James Forrest gave him the answer loud and clear.
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The winger grabbed a double against Dundee as the Hoops ticked off another game in their bid to land the Premiership title.
Forrest has only started four times for Rodgers this season, but was the star man here - slamming home a sensational opener in the first half before grabbing a precious second on 67 minutes.
Sub Adam Idah’s freakish own goal a quarter-hour from the end gave Celtic a sweat, but they saw it out to remain three points clear at the top.
With Rodgers valuing Forrest’s experience of title races at this crucial point, you wouldn’t bet against the 32-year-old - last capped against the Czech Republic at Euro 2020 - becoming a late wildcard for Steve Clarke in Germany.
A few more performances like this and he’ll have every chance of being on the plane.
Rodgers drafted Forrest into the side in place of Yang Hyun-Yun following his impressive display from the bench against Aberdeen at Hampden - and he showed he’s a massive upgrade on the South Korean.
Dundee boss Tony Docherty - banned for the day - was without crocked skipper Joe Shaughnessy, who will undergo cruciate surgery, while Lyall Cameron also missed out with a hamstring issue.
Mexican Antonio Portales kept his place after coming on against Rangers last time out and Josh Mulligan returned.
Celtic knew that Rangers had won in Paisley before taking to the field at Dens so were in no doubt about what was required and that surely featured in Callum McGregor’s huddle talk.
It took just six minutes for them to test Jon McCracken, with Nicolas Kuhn stinging his palms with a shot from the edge of the box after cutting inside Owen Dodgson.
The keeper needed two attempts to get it under his control, the second to make sure Kyogo didn’t pounce.
McCracken was a busy man in the opening stages, punching a Reo Hatate cross into the six-yard box with an acrobatic dive before Kuhn again asked him a question from distance.
Once more the on-loan Norwich man was able to deny him with a solid block.
And within seconds he was needed again, this time to claw Greg Taylor’s back post header off a Matt O’Riley corner off his line.
This level of threat and intensity would have been exactly what Rodgers wanted to see from his team, as they spent the opening ten with Dundee on the rack.
Credit to Docherty’s team, though, they stood up to it with a lot of help from their goalie and started to settle into the contest, looking to get Luke McCowan on the ball more.
Dundee had definitely taken the sting out of Celtic’s play, with midfield duo Malachi Boateng and Mo Sylla suddenly getting some joy against McGregor, O’Riley and Hatate.
But they were almost undone on 25 minutes by a Forrest cross from the left which Kuhn swung at before it broke for Hatate.
Dundee were furious at Boateng for not tracking him, gifting a clear sight of goal, but they got off the hook as he drilled his volley wide of McCracken’s near post.
That was a huge let-off for the Dark Blues, who saw the danger of switching off.
But it was Celtic who were soon given a lesson in that of their own, as they went unpunished when they should have been.
They didn’t defend Dodgson’s deep cross to the back post well at all, leaving Jordan McGhee free but he couldn’t connect cleanly enough to trouble Joe Hart.
Time and again those moments are costly in these games and so it proved bang on the half hour as Forrest smashed Celtic in front in spectacular style.
It was a stunner from the winger, who was set up by a Kyogo miscontrol on the edge of the box, and his snap decision to wallop it first time with his right foot caught everyone by surprise, not least McCracken, who didn’t even muster a dive as it flew into his bottom left-hand corner.
It really was a bolt from nothing and got Celtic in front at a time where Dundee would have been feeling increasingly comfortable.
Docherty’s team nearly got back into it early in the second half through Sylla, who met Dodgson’s corner kick six yards out but nodded just past.
That boosted the home side, who enjoyed their best spell in the game, forcing several corners and sparking enough jitters among the Hoops for McGregor to feel the need to urge his side to calm down.
But once again that man Forrest stepped up to make the difference, bagging his second on 67 minutes.
Dundee won’t want to watch it again, as Portales gave away possession too easily, allowing sub Tomoki Iwata to feed Forrest.
And even though Ricki Lamie and McGhee had a chance to crowd him out, they ran into each other, letting the ball break back for Forrest to stroke home.
That was his final involvement, as he left to a rapturous reception when replaced by Luis Palma.
But within minutes the Hoops were under pressure again, as Idah somehow sliced his attempt to clear a Portales shot past Hart from six yards.
That set up a conclusion more tense than Celtic hoped for, but unlike their Scottish Cup semi-final with Aberdeen last weekend, there were no late heart-stopping moments.
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