Celtic and the 'understrength' red herring as Dundee United use Rangers blueprint in 50mph winds

It took five enforced absences and 50mph winds to blow Celtic off course as the defending champions dropped points for only the second time this season at Tannadice.

Not to mention a determined and resolute defensive display from Dundee United who became the first side to prevent Celtic from scoring domestically since a 2-0 defeat to Hearts at Tynecastle back in March.

Few could have predicted Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic starting line-up as defender Stephen Welsh was handed only his second appearance of the season in a makeshift defence while winger Hyun-Jun Yang was also given a rare run-out.

Stephen Welsh, making his second appearance of the season for Celtic, is tackled by Dundee United's Miller Thomson. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group) | SNS Group

Five changes in total were made from the cup final win over Rangers - four of them enforced with Cameron-Carter Vickers, Auston Trusty, Alistair Johnston and Nicolas Kuhn all unavailable due to illness and injury. James Forrest was the fifth to miss out but to put this impressive result for United down to an 'understrength' Celtic side would be to ignore the £30million worth of talent on the visitors' bench - most of whom were on the pitch by the time the match finished. That arguement doesn’t wash and to be fair to Brendan Rodgers, he never used it as an excuse.

However, the absence of Kuhn and his 23 goal contributions in 23 matches was particularly felt - none more so than midway through the first half when Yang wasted the type of chance the German normally makes count by failing to either score himself or pick out a team-mate when wasting a clear opening in the box. He was not alone in his wastefulness. Too often Celtic were guilty of getting into good areas and failing to make the most of it.

Celtic substitute Adam Idah drags a shot wide during the 0-0 draw at Dundee United. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group) | SNS Group

But while Celtic were not at their best - with Kyogo Furuhashi seemingly forgetting how to finish - much of the credit has to go to the home side. United manager Jim Goodwin adopted the same blueprint that earned a 1-1 draw against Rangers at Ibrox last month by switching from his usual back three to a four to good effect. Selecting a youthful midfield with an average age of 22 including academy graduates Miller Thomson and Kai Fotheringham was also a bold call which paid dividends with their energy helping to keep Celtic at bay.

The blustery conditions undoubtedly made it tougher for Celtic but they did not help United either. Celtic don't need a gale-force wind at their back to keep teams hemmed in but it certainly didn't help United's attempts to get out of their own half in the opening 45, while Celtic had to battle against it after the break with goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel called into action to make relatively comfortable saves from Thomson and Glenn Middleton efforts.

Jack Walton at the other end was surprisingly quiet. Luke McCowan was off target with a couple of decent first-half attempts from distance but it was only in the closing stages of the second half - once Adam Idah, Luis Palma, Paulo Bernardo and Arne Engels had entered the fray - that the United goal started to come under serious threat.

Celtic's Kyogo Furuhashi is closed down by Dundee United's Jack Walton. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group) | SNS Group

For all United's hard work, it felt inevitable that Celtic’s pressure would eventually lead to a gilt-edged chance and it finally arrived on 79 minutes. Everyone expected the net to bulge when Idah's flick sent Kyogo racing through on goal but the Japanese striker's usual deadly touch deserted him as he inexplicably failed to get a shot away allowing Walton to dive at his feet and smother.

United fans greeted the full-time whistle with the kind of roar normally reserved for victory. A point against this Celtic side is as good as one. The sea of Santa hat-wearing Celtic fans in the Shed applauded their team off.

Such is Celtic's lead at the top of the table that the loss of two points from a difficult away fixture can be easily brushed off. Nonetheless, Rangers will take the narrowing of the gap from 11 points to nine as a glimmer of encouragement in a season where Celtic have offered them little.