Dundee boss Tony Docherty gives his verdict on Celtic penalty as he challenges Dark Blues for reaction to Parkhead defeat

Docherty's side were beaten 3-0 away to the champions.

By George Cran

September 16 2023, 6:04pm

Dundee boss Tony Docherty. Image: SNS

Tony Docherty has urged his Dundee players to respond to their 3-0 defeat at Celtic.

The Dark Blues kept things tight in the first half at Parkhead – and could have taken the lead – but a debatable penalty shortly after half-time broke the deadlock.

The champions then upped the ante to add goal No 2 through Kyogo Furuhashi and a third thanks to Matt O’Riley.

The Dark Blues boss, though, points to the concession of the penalty as his main disappointment.

Penalty

David Turnbull went down under a Ryan Howley challenge on the edge of the area. A VAR check said it was inside. Image: SNS

New signing Ryan Howley was adjudged to have fouled David Turnbull on the edge of the area, only for VAR to say it was inside the box and a penalty should be given.

“I don’t think Ryan needs to challenge for the ball. David Turnbull has been cute and used his body,” Docherty said.

“I’m not sure if it’s in the box. The ball definitely isn’t.

“But to lose the all-important goal in the game to that is very disappointing.”

Reaction

Dundee stood up to the test in the first half, O’Riley going closest with an effort off the post and went close to opening the scoring through Luke McCowan on 36 minutes.

And Docherty wanted to see his side keep the game as tight as possible for as long as possible in the second period.

“At half-time there’s no well-dones – I thought we had carried out the gameplan excellently,” he added.

“But the message was to keep it tight and I do think it’s a mistake on our part.

“But it took a penalty in the 55th minute to undo us.

“I’m disappointed with it, there will be debate whether it was in or out the box. I can’t really tell if it’s a definite penalty kick.

Amadou Bakayoko sends a late Dundee FC chance over the bar. Image: SNS

“We won’t be defined by losing at Celtic Park – what we will be defined by is our reaction to it.

“Listen we move on from it, there’s a lot of positives I can take from that for my team.

“They are gutted. Because they did execute the game plan really well and I just wanted it to go longer and longer into the game because I think we would then have looked a more potent threat.

“I had substitutions in mind that would come on if we could only just hold them to try and win it.

“They are a good side. They probe, and they get that first goal, disappointed to lose it and the manner we lost it but there are a lot of positives to take from my point of view.”