Premier League
SATURDAY MARCH 19th

Dundee United 2

Celtic 3

0:1 Bellamy 5
1:1 McIntyre 24
1:2 Bellamy 34
2:2 Robson 71
2:3 Bellamy 80

Att:10,828

MIB: Dougie McDonald

Celtic: Douglas McNamara Balde Varga Laursen McGeady Lennon Petrov Thompson Bellamy Hartson
subs
Sutton for Hartson 61
Wallace for Laursen 78
Henchoz for McGeady 84

A real thriller at Tannadice as Celtic dug in and met the challenge from a rejuvenated Arab side bereft of Ian McColl, reclaiming top spot in the league in the process.

This was the Bellamy show. An outstanding performance from the Welshman was rewarded with superb goals, as Bellamy established himself as player of the caliber Lubo and Larsson. His pace, athleticism skill and attitude were of the highest order and a testimony to the arrogance and man management skills of the arse that is Souness.

Celtic went one up in 5 minutes when Bellamy fired high past Bulloch after meeting a McNamara pass.

The Utd response was to go route one. MacIntyre met a Bulloch kick-out and slammed the ball past Douglas as the Sieve looked like the Captain of the Titanic when his ship hit the Iceberg and the poop hit his pants.

Bellamy’s reply was stunning. Meeting a Laursen pass on the run, the Welshman, with Ritchie as his shadow, smacked the ball past Bulloch to put Celtic in front again. The keeper looked as bewildered as Michael Jackson in a brothel, while the traveling support went into raptures.

At half time it was 2-1.The second 45 were just as fraught. With Sutton replacing a struggling Hartson on the hour mark, Celtic began to get a grip of the game, only to see Utd grab a second. Waves of Buckie flooded over terracing as bladders emptied and bowels loosened.

Cue CB. Meeting a Sutton flick on, Bellamy blasted in a third and all looked rosy in the garden.

With ten minutes to go the United bubble seemed to have burst and the league title looked a runner again. Then Sutton’s hamstring flared up and off he went, Celtic having used all their subs. Prayers and nerves were the order of the day until McNamara crocked Brebner and it was 10 versus 10 again.

The light at the end of this dark tunnel emerged on 95 mins ( yep, 5 mins added on) when Rab D made the save of the season from a Robson free kick. It was justice after his blunder against the un-namables and puts him in line for a job at the Northern bank in Belfast.

Three two it finished. Celtic back on top of the league and Bellamy firmly embedded in the team. OFM better get the cheque book out at the end of the season to keep him, or riots will begin.

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How do you replace Henrik Larsson? A loan player from Newcastle didn't really pop up as the obvious answer but it looks like it could be the correct one. This was a display straight out of the Swede's 'How To' manual. The only thing missing was a bullet header, but I'm sure we'll get there.

Fate has certainly been testing us; a trip to a bogey ground first, now we have to contend with a team that just had their manager fired, which often means they'll raise their game. That certainly happened. what no one predicted though was our defence deciding to relive the 80s with some top drawer Sieve style decision making.

After Bellamy gem number 1 - a curling blast that nearly took the net out - United's keeper launched a hopeful punt down the pitch. Both Balde and Varga had the chance to deal with it, but both were quite content to watch it bounce through to McIntyre, and he knocked it beyond a less than impressed Rab.

Enter stage left Bellamy again, this time hooking his left foot round a Laursen pass to curl in the goal of the season. Celtic had control of the game, but again slackness cost us.

This time Lennon took his eye off the ball allowing Robson to hit a shot in a million in to the net. This was not good, time was not exactly on our side, but with impeccable timing Chris Sutton got off the bench and provided the flick on for Bellamy to grab his hat-trick and restore our lead.

That should have been that, but in the last minute we conceded a free kick right on the edge of the box. A perfect angle for Robson to hit it, as he had done at Ibrox. The free kick was hit as well as it could have been (Bellamy later said that when it went over his head - he was the last man in the wall - he thought 'That's in') but the much maligned Rab Douglas threw himself to the right and parried it away to save the win, the three points and go some way to making up for some of his previous errors.

Top of the league again. Let's see if we can stay there this time.