Celtic shake off slow start to see off Dundee... and allow fans to celebrate as Old Firm rivals Rangers fall nine points behind

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With 45 minutes on the clock, there was a strange mix of emotions among the Celtic supporters as they tucked into their half-time pies and cups of tea.

Furiously checking their phones for updates from Pittodrie, there was much glee and laughter when word spread that Rangers were losing to Aberdeen.

Yet, for all the sense of schadenfreude, the reality was that Celtic were in the process of being deposed at the top of the table had results stayed as they were.

At that point, having laboured to a scoreless first half against Dundee, Brendan Rodgers’ side hardly had much cause to celebrate.

However, by the time the full-whistle had blown, the crowd celebrated lustily. For all the performance wasn’t much to write home about, it had been the perfect night for Celtic.

They continue to sit at the top of the table, ahead of Aberdeen on goal difference, whilst able to rejoice in yet more points being spilled by their Old Firm rivals.

Alistair Johnston was once again the Celtic hero after his goal broke the deadlock

Johnston came off the bench in the second half to break Dundee's stubborn resistance

Arne Engels added the crucial second goal from the spot to secure a 2-0 victory

It was Alistair Johnston who stepped up when Celtic needed him most last night, the right-back coming off the bench to score the opening goal and puncture a diligent Dundee defence on 60 minutes.

Having scored another vital equaliser in a 2-1 comeback away at Ross County, Johnston is proving to be an unlikely hero for this Celtic team and was named man of the match despite only being on the pitch for little more than half an hour.

Arne Engels added a second from the penalty spot to seal the three points, ensuring that Celtic maintain their winning momentum heading into their League Cup semi-final clash with Aberdeen at Hampden on Saturday night.

As was the case in the 3-0 win at Motherwell last weekend, the champions were without the services of Callum McGregor in central midfield.

The skipper has been nursing a slight abductor issue, but Celtic are confident he will be fit to lead the team out at Hampden on Saturday night semi-final against the Dons.

As for last night, Antonio Portales came close to putting Dundee 1-0 up inside the opening couple of minutes, with Kasper Schmeichel forced into a smart low save to deny the Mexican defender.

Celtic soon found their rhythm and created two good chances of their own. Anthony Ralston’s angled ball in from out wide found Kyogo Furuhashi, but he shot straight at the legs of Jon McCracken.

If that miss from Kyogo owed to a good save from the Dundee keeper, it was profligate in the extreme from the Japanese striker when, with a clear sight of goal, he pulled a shot horribly wide after being teed up by Engels.

Whilst Celtic were dominating possession and camped well inside the Dundee half, nobody could argue that those early chances for Kyogo prompted a barrage of McCracken’s goal.

Dundee were diligent and well-organised in their shape. As the game ticked past the half-hour mark, the fact they remained on level terms spoke of a solid display from Tony Docherty’s men.

Certainly, it was a damn sight better than their last visit to Celtic Park back in February of last season, when they trailed 6-0 at half-time.

As the smell of the half-time pies started wafting through the stadium, so, too, did a sense that this may not be quite as straightforward an evening as many had predicted for Rodgers’ side.

With such a lack of creativity or attacking thrust out wide in the final third, it was a first half which demonstrated why Hyunjun Yang and Luis Palma, who both started last night, have seen such a limited amount of football in recent months.

McCracken made an excellent reflex save to deny Kyogo shortly after the break and it wasn’t long before Rodgers decided he had seen enough.

The Celtic boss made a triple substitution on 56 minutes, with Johnston, Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda coming on for Ralston, Palma and Paulo Bernardo.

Johnston had only been on the pitch for five minutes when he finally fired Celtic ahead, nipping in to poke home with his left foot from inside the six-yard box from a deflected Yang cross.

That continued Johnston’s good form in front of goal, with the Canadian right-back also netting in the win over Motherwell at the weekend. All in all, he now has four goals this term.

It became a quickfire double for Celtic when, just seven minutes later, referee Ross Hardie pointed to the spot following a tangle between Kyogo and Portales.

Up stepped Engels to calmly stroke the ball past McCracken for 2-0. In the blink of an eye, and despite being far from their best, Celtic had put the game beyond Dundee.

All that was left was for the fans to continue to check their phones for updates from Aberdeen. The roars would have been heard all the way from Parkhead to Pittodrie.