HE came. He saw. He conquered, mate.
Ange Postecoglou has led Celtic to the Scottish Premiership title in his first season as manager, as his team clinched ‘the cinch’ after earning a hard-fought point against Dundee United at Tannadice.
The display on the night may not have been all that remarkable, or at all typical of the sort of football Postecoglou's side have displayed over the course of an incredible campaign. It is hard to argue though that the overall success has not been hugely impressive, and utterly unpredictable given the chaotic start to the season at the club.
Giorgos Giakoumakis’s goal just after the hour gave them the lead over a game United side, who fought back as Dylan Levitt added another long-range belter to his personal goal collection this season.
The night though, belonged to Celtic and their manager. Postecoglou came into the job as a relative unknown in this country, and with an entire squad to rebuild. There were more people prepared to give him a fighting chance of being handed his P45 before Christmas than being able to give this Celtic team a fighting chance of winning the league.
But after a rocky start with three losses in their first six matches, Postecoglou and Celtic haven’t looked back. The draw at Tannadice made it 31 league games without defeat, an astonishing run that has been the backbone of their title win.
Postecoglou wanted to burst over the line, but getting over it was always the most important thing. He rang the changes in the attacking positions for this one, with James Forrest and Liel Abada flanking Giakoumakis in place of Jota, Daizen Maeda and Kyogo. Reo Hatate was in for David Turnbull too.
United had their own priorities though, and Tam Courts’ line-up rather reflected the importance he had attached to Saturday’s potential shoot-out for a European spot against Ross County, with a whole host of regulars making way. There were six changes in all, with 16-year-old Rory MacLeod – the club’s youngest ever first-team player – given a first start up front.
Celtic came bursting out the traps and penned United in, suggesting it might be a rather long night for the makeshift hosts. Anthony Ralston and Forrest both went close early on.
United weathered that early storm though, and looked a little more assured as the half wore on. They weren’t doing much going forward, but they were doing a decent job of denying Callum McGregor and co space in the middle of the park, and were blunting the attacking threat of the visitors as a result. A well-worked one-two between Hatate and Giakoumakis on the half hour that ended with the former blazing over was the next time Celtic posed any danger to Benjamin Siegrist’s goal.
Postecoglou’s men weren’t quite managing to put on the show that the huge Celtic support had travelled to see, but they almost hit the front when Giakoumakis pulled wide and Forrest was inches away from connecting with his low centre across the six-yard box.
United finally got a sniff of their own as Archie Meekison showed great feet at the edge of the area to side-step Carl Starfelt and bend a shot over.
It was goalless though at the interval, and there was little doubt that despite their dominance of possession and territory, the reshuffle in attack had led to Celtic becoming a little disjointed in their attacking play.
They needed better in the second half, and they got it.
Ralston – whose renaissance has been one of the most remarkable tales of Celtic’s campaign – more than played his part, showing great feet down the right to get a yard of space and clipping an inviting ball up to the back post that was begging to be headed home. The sort that his striker Giakoumakis thrives on, who pounced on the opportunity with relish, bulleting a header through the despairing grasp of Siegrist from close range.
The party well and truly had lift off in the away end now, but the celebrations of the Celtic fans were almost curbed when MacLeod cut inside and rifled a low shot off Hart’s left-hand post. Nicky Clark tucked away the rebound, but he did so from an offside position, and the mirth could continue for the visiting support.
Both sides rang the changes, giving their line-ups a more familiar look, and it was one of those substitutes in the form of Tony Watt who went close next, his header glancing off the far post.
A Celtic replacement was next to threaten, Jota drifting in off the right and dancing past a series of challenges before bringing out a brilliant save from Siegrist at his near post.
There would be a twist in the tale though as the impressive Levitt picked the ball up from Charlie Mulgrew, surged forward from midfield and powered a stunning shot past Hart and into the right corner of the net.
The champagne was almost put back on ice in injury-time as Scott McMann hooked a cross into the box that Ryan Edwards headed wide from about a yard, before Maeda missed the chance to get the corks popping early as he toe-poked over from inside the United area.
It mattered little. The draw took none of the sheen off the celebrations that erupted around half of Tannadice as Nick Walsh blew his whistle, and nobody could take the sheen off the Premiership trophy that Postecoglou and his men had returned to Celtic Park.
