There were the usual inevitabilities at work at Celtic Park yesterday afternoon, but until the whistle blew to bring down the curtain on a relatively turgid 90 minutes, the scoreline wasn't one of them.
John Guidetti continued his habit of writing his name on the scoresheet with his 10th goal in as many starts to underline how prolific he has become and accentuate what Celtic will be missing on Thursday evening as they attempt to plot a path into the latter stages of the Europa League when FC Salzburg come calling.
Celtic clung on to their position at the top of the SPFL table with a goal either side of the interval from Anthony Stokes and Guidetti, ensuring that David Clarkson's record-breaking Dundee goal - the striker became the only Dens Park player to score seven goals in his first seven consecutive league games - was little more than a statistical footnote. Yet, it was not as straightforward as the scoreline suggests.
Without Guidetti's goals to rely on - the Swede can be included should Celtic qualify for the post-Christmas Europa League shortlist - Ronny Deila's men will need, on this evidence, to up their game considerably as the Celtic manager conceded afterwards. "That performance will not be enough against Salzburg," he said. "Not near."
Defensively, Celtic were porous against a Dundee side that could count themselves unfortunate not to leave Glasgow with something to show for their efforts. Paul Hartley's side did not play the traditional negative game that many SPFL opponents adopt at Parkhead but rather went out to match Celtic. That they amounted to a dispirited bunch in the aftermath highlighted the feeling they had taken less than they put in.
"We didn't come to park the bus," explained Hartley afterwards. "We decided to come here, have a go and try to get a result." That was evident as early as the opening minute when an unmarked Greg Stewart missed the target from a promising position.
Celtic might curse the absence of Guidetti on Thursday, but Dundee's early foray showed that their most pressing concern will lie at the other end of the pitch. There remains a soft centre at the heart of the Parkhead rearguard and, with a bit more ruthlessness, Dundee would have exploited it.
Stewart was allowed to run at the central pairing of Virgil van Dijk and Jason Denayer more than once, spooking the duo into cumbersome tackles and giving them the slip more than once. Denayer was replaced by Efe Ambrose at the interval after taking a kick to his shin and, although a precautionary X-ray is required to rule out a break, Deila still expects him to be fit on Thursday.
"I don't think it's more than just a hard tackle," said the Celtic manager. "There was no twisting, but we are going to check to make sure that the leg is not broken."
Given that his replacement conspired twice in the second period to cause consternation with his kamikaze style - at one point gifting possession to David Clarkson deep inside his own half - those defensive insecurities seem likely to linger.
By the time Denayer had hobbled off, Celtic had managed to eke out a lead on the cusp of interval. James Forrest, who put in one of the brighter performances of the afternoon - one clever pass that released Adam Matthews in the opening period indicative of his influence on proceedings - was felled by Kevin Thomson on the flank. From the resultant Kris Commons free kick, Anthony Stokes powered a header high beyond the reach of Scott Bain.
Celtic doubled their lead quickly after the break with Guidetti continuing his prolific streak. The on-loan Manchester City forward netted after being teed up when Matthews cut in from the right to thunder into the box.
But if the home side thought they could canter towards a comfortable finish, they were mistaken. Twice Dundee posted immediate notice that their resistance had not been punctured. First, James McPake netted a header which was ruled offside, then Stewart had a shot that was deflected narrowly past the post.
Within minutes, though, they had earned themselves a lifeline when Clarkson bundled the ball home after Paul McGowan's chip into the box had caused some consternation in the Celtic defence. McGowan claimed his pass was handled in the box, but Stewart played on to find Clarkson, whose shot off the ground beat Craig Gordon.
The goal eclipsed a record set by Davie McLean in 1922-23 and puts Clarkson into the illustrious company of Alan Gilzean, who netted 12 goals in seven games in 1964. "It is a great achievement for me, but I am disappointed that we didn't take anything from the game," said the 29-year-old.
The points belonged to Celtic, but they have much to ponder before Thursday evening.
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