I watched Celtic beat Dundee hoodoo and noted player who had torrid afternoon and defiant fan banner

After playing well in the opening half, Martin O’Neill’s side lost their way in the second. A Dundee equaliser looked likely and it came from the penalty spot following a VAR check for handball. Simon Murray duly rolled the ball past Viljami Sinisalo. Game on.

The hosts had the scent of victory in their nostrils and were within sight of their first back-to-back home league victories over Celtic since the 1950s. Including trips to Dundee’s rivals across the road, the City of Discovery has proved an unusually inhospitable place for the visitors in recent months, having lost three games already for the first time since 1988-89.

They were in no mood to lose a fourth, particularly given that their mantle of champions was at stake. Where there’s a will there’s a way. O’Neill stressed the need for a mental re-set after the defeat at Tannadice in their last league outing and Celtic produced the goods thanks to Iheanacho. Whether O'Neill's decision to replace Tomas Cvancara with the Nigerian striker after 58 minutes—shortly after Murray's equaliser—was inspired is debatable. Even O’Neill himself might demur before going that far. Cvancara remaining on for as long as he did could be interpreted as managerial negligence.

The Czech Republic striker endured a torrid afternoon up against Luke Graham, Dundee’s much-admired defender. Nevertheless, Cvancara still had several good chances to score. He hit the post with one of them when straight through and took a poor touch on another occasion, with only Dundee keeper Jon McCracken to beat. These looked potentially very costly after Murray took full advantage of a chance from the penalty spot after Colby Donovan handled Ryan Astley’s shot in the box.

Dundee went in search of a winner but were gradually pushed back again. Iheanacho scored his first goal since October having held off Astley in the box following fellow substitute Marcelo Saracchi’s cross. Even after Astley was red-carded for knocking over Hyun-jun Yang as the South Korean raced toward the goal, the hosts still believed they could take something from the game.

McCracken was sent into the Celtic goalmouth to cause maximum chaos at a free kick but to no avail. Celtic held on. Choruses of “Martin O’Neill, Martin O’Neill!” rang around the old ground. “Unbowed and unbroken,” read a banner hastily displayed to mark a victory that leaves the champions within three points of leaders Hearts.

O’Neill later said it reminded him of a victory secured with a late Didier Agathe goal on his first trip to Dens Park in December 2000, the night Neil Lennon made his Scottish football debut. “This wasn’t the same manner but it kind of reminded me of it. It was nice to win here,” he added.

Determined to avoid a league whitewash in Dundee, Celtic sent out what looked as close as possible to their strongest first XI, excluding long-term injuries. Perhaps only Reo Hatate, included among the substitutes, might have argued for a starting spot. Iheanacho too, in retrospect. Daizen Maeda swapped Wembley, where he remained on the bench for Japan’s win over England midweek, for Dens Park, as you do.

O’Neill pointed out before the match that Celtic now needed to be as close to perfect as possible while hunting down Rangers and Hearts. A blowy afternoon in Dundee—where Celtic had fallen to defeat on three previous visits this season under three different managers—did not represent the ideal assignment. Not when slip-ups were not an option.

Roared on by a noisy visiting support, Celtic drew first blood. Kieran Tierney swung in a cross for Tomas Cvancara, who swivelled and shot. McCracken blocked but Yang picked up the rebound and deftly lifted the ball over the keeper before winning a race with Benjamin Nygren to poke home.

The pair were still in discussions about who had got the final touch when the players were standing around waiting to kick off after half time. That might be fine when your team is streaking away at the top – it was only last season when Celtic players were trying to set up James Forrest for a goal at Tannadice as they homed in on the title. Such days seemed a long way away when Murray stroked home the equaliser from the penalty spot after 57 minutes. But Celtic re-asserted themselves. Dreams of a double remain alive as O’Neill prepares to say goodbye.