ROUT OF SERVICE

Dundee suffer bus calamity and their night only gets worse as rampant Celts prove they're geared up to go distance in title race

- KEITH JACKSON

CELTIC.........7 DUNDEE.........1

IF Celtic turned a corner in added time at Fir Park on Sunday this was the night they planted a foot back on the title accelerator.

Six goals before the half-time whistle had reduced Dundee's defence to a write-off and that seemed perfectly fitting given their own journey to Glasgow's east end included a breakdown just a few miles out from the scene of this car crash.

Indeed it was difficult not to rubberneck at the carnage the champions were leaving in their rear-view mirror such was the extent of the damage being done to anyone daft enough to turn up in a dark blue shirt.

A seventh goal was added in the second half by youngster Daniel Kelly as Brendan Rodgers and his team roared out a message to their rivals that this season's race has some distance left to go yet.

Tony Docherty probably suspected it wasn't going to be his night when the team bus clapped out somewhere along London Road, an hour or so before kick-off.

The hosts had to come to the rescue by sending Celtic's own coach to shuttle Docherty and his players safely into the ground. But it didn't bode well.

Nor for the matter did the fact this midweek road trip south coincided with the return to Celtic's starting line-up of Cameron Carter-Vickers, adding a bit of American steel to a defence that has been wobbling generously for almost everyone else since the turn of the year.

Not on this night though, despite all of the gloom that has descended around the place in recent weeks.

Perhaps sensing the unusual lack of energy in the stands, Dundee went straight onto the front foot with two shots and a half hearted penalty claim within a 60-second blitz.

First, Jordan McGhee forced Joe Hart into a sharp flying save after Amadou Bakayoko had managed to play him in behind despite losing his footing in a tussle with Greg Taylor.