Celtic denied by Dundee draw

The Hoops, who were looking to open up a seven-point gap over Aberdeen with six games remaining, saw a shot from Stefan Johansen hit the post on the brink of half-time before the woodwork denied Dundee's Rory Loy in the second half.

Celtic's Mikel Lustig and Charlie Mulgrew both had headers cleared off the line as the Glasgow giants couldn't find a winner against a Dundee side that remain in the top six on goal difference ahead of Partick Thistle, who claimed a 1-0 win over bottom club Dundee United at Firhill.

Celtic manager Ronny Deila said it had been a frustrating night for his side, who were held to a second successive goalless draw against Dundee.

"We had a clean sheet and that was a positive thing. Offensively, we should have created a little bit more," Deila said.

"We had our chances and we should have been more effective when we had them."

At Dens Park, Australian international Tom Rogic failed to recover from a head knock suffered in the weekend win over Hearts, with Nir Bitton replacing him in midfield.

Dundee also made one change as goalkeeper Scott Bain returned following his one-match ban.

Celtic winger Patrick Roberts, who grabbed a double in the win over the Jambos, had the first chance of the match when his clever back-heel flick created some space for a shot from the edge of the box that he fired over the bar.

Returning goalkeeper Bain then came to the rescue for Dundee as he stood up well to deny a chance for former Dundee striker Leigh Griffiths.

A poor clearance from the Celtic defence then allowed Nick Ross to fire in a volley for Dundee that Craig Gordon did well to block, before Loy tested the Hoops keeper with a low strike.

Bitton and Gary Mackay-Steven both had efforts go narrowly wide, before the woodwork saved Dundee from going behind when Johansen's deflected shot looped off the post before being scrambled to safety.

Substitute Craig Wighton had a huge chance for Dundee moments after the break when he latched on to Greg Stewart's deflected through ball, but Gordon was quick off his line to deny the striker.

The home side were denied by the post just after the hour mark when Gordon palmed Paul McGowan's strike into the path of Loy, who slammed the rebound off the woodwork from five yards out.

Celtic were then twice denied by goal-line clearances from Dundee as Lustig and substitute Mulgrew saw efforts cleared away from successive corners.

At Firhill, a second half Kris Doolan strike secured a narrow win for Partick Thistle over Dundee United, who languish five points behind Kilmarnock with just six games remaining as they battle to avoid relegation.