Celtic of Scotland attacker, Kelechi Iheanacho got an 82nd minute goal on Sunday, which gave his side victory away to Dundee FC and brought a huge dose of relief for his coach, Martin O’Neil, Sports247 reports.
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Iheanacho got off The Bhoys’ bench in the 58th minute of Sunday’s fixture and struck home his fourth goal of the season in the 82nd minute, much to the delight of O’Neil, who was getting uncomfortable on the sideline.
With the visitors’ gaffer knowing that every goal counts gravely in their search for the Scottish Premiership title, O’Neil simply acknowledged that ‘Kelz’ had crucially secured all three points for Celtic.
The goal also came at a point when Dundee had taken control of the game on their home turf, thereby pushing O’Neil to rack his brain in search of fresh ideas, and the veteran tactician looked the way of injury-ravaged Iheanacho.
The Super Eagles’ outcast, who last played on loan at Middlesbrough of England from Sevilla of Spain, faced torrid days under two previous managers at Pittodrie, where fitness issues have kept him out of the squad since his arrival in January.
However, with O’Neil showing lots of patience for the former Manchester City and Leicester City of England left-footed ace, it was just fitting that ‘Seniorman’ rewarded his gaffer with a winning goal.
Iheanacho’s sizzler helped Celtic take full advantage of an earlier slip-up by league leaders, Hearts, as The Bhoys moved up to three points behind the pacesetters on top of the log.
O’Neil later took another look at the run of play before Iheanacho slammed in the dramatic late winner at Dens Park, which had a total of 9,007 spectators in attendance, and gave kudos to the Nigerian lad for making victory possible for the visitors.
The product of Taye Football Academy of Owerri, who earlier played on loan at Columbus Crew of USA after emerging gold medalist and most valuable player at UAE 2013 FIFA U17 World Cup, was adjudged Celtics’ third best performer during Sunday’s win.
Iheanacho’s haul of 5.61 points put him well ahead of former Arsenal of England winger, Alexander Oxlade-Chamberlain’s 5.30, thereby reflecting a return to the mainframe for Nigeria’s erstwhile glamour boy.
Iheanacho’s late stunner also helped to keep Celtic in contention for the Scottish Premiership title, with analysts noting that, despite their shaky performance at Dens Park, The Bhoys still found a way to win.
Incidentally, they had lost on their three previous visits to the city this season, hence the huge sigh of relief from their coach, especially after Hearts drew away to Livingston earlier the same day.
Scotland’s three-horse race remains open, because Iheanacho’s goal helped Celtic narrow the gap between them and the Tynecastle leaders, while keeping them only two points behind fellow-Glasgow-based rivals, Rangers, who are in second.
Celtics’ coach took a closer look at the scenario, then warmly admitted that things were getting pretty tough and quite tense on Sunday, until Iheanacho’s goal came like a soothing balm.
O’Neil recounted, “I thought we played brilliantly in the first half, got our goal … and should have got two, three or four. You always felt it would come back to haunt you, and it did.
“But we created another chance or two – and Iheanacho puts one in the net. I think, overall, we deserved to win the game, but it was always going to be tight.”
