The £17m Celtic reason Tony Docherty is gushing with pride as Dundee 'heroes' drink in the praise
Tony Docherty hailed his Dundee performance as they caused Celtic to wobble.
The Dark Blues boss felt his side deserved a famous win but were denied by a 93rd minute penalty from Arne Engels. Dundee bounced back from losing an early goal as Oluwaseun Adewumi, an own goal from Cameron Carter-Vickers and a header from Aaron Donnelly almost gave them a famous win - which Docherty felt his team deserved.
The Dundee boss highlighted the chasm in finances as three of Celtic's subs in Nicolas Kuhn, Luis Palma and Arne Engels – the latter of whom scored the crucial equalising penalty – cost around £17m between them. Meanwhile he was forced to throw on Lyall Cameron from the bench who had told him he was only fit to play ten minutes.
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Docherty said: “I'm coming in here and I am disappointed because we had absolutely done enough to win the match. I thought the word I would use for the players was heroic. When you see the substitutes that Celtic are bringing on, Kuhn, Engels and Palma, multi-million worth of talent.
“I was bringing on Lyall Cameron, who wasn’t fit to play. He came out of his bed. He said 'I can give you 10 minutes gaffer.' I had to put him on because Fin Robertson is another one who hasn’t trained all week.
“He ran his race and so did Cesar Garza. I put Scott Tiffoney on to play a midfield role. That types the mentality and spirit of the squad. I am highly proud of them.”
Docherty reckons the character of his squad was there for all to see. He added: “To go a goal behind against Celtic some teams can buckle but I thought we stood up to it. I don’t think you will see a better goal than that first goal from Adewumi on the counter attack.
"The thing that really pleased me in the second half was that the players sensed they could get something for the game. After we equalised we looked more like the team who could go on and win it.
“I would describe that performance as a bit heroic. I am just gutted to lose that in the 93rd minute.”
