Dundee United boss Tam Courts says one defensive lapse cost his side a deserved point against Celtic.
His team had defended brilliantly for 90 minutes before failing to deal with a Jota cross which Liel Abada buried to win it late on.
But Courts was proud of their display and praised ‘keeper Benjamin Siegrist who pulled off a wonder save to deny Hoops striker Giorgos Giakoumakis.
After the 1-0 defeat at Parkhead, the United gaffer said: “I think we were probably worthy of a point in terms of executing a game plan really well.
“Celtic had a lot of control, crosses and attempts at goal. But we were comfortable in our shape.
“So I’m bitterly disappointed that we’ve lost it so late.
“My frustration is that we didn’t sustain enough attacks and cause Celtic problems.
“We caused them more problems at Parkhead earlier in the season.
“But in terms of endeavour and what we put in, we merited a point.
“Your goalkeeper has to perform really well when you come to Celtic Park.
“Benji is a top shot stopper and the save he made with his foot was probably the pick of the bunch.
“But one lapse in defence cost us. There were so many crosses coming into our box and Celtic threw everything at us.”
Despite the late loss, Courts believes United can go into Tuesday night’s derby against Dundee at Dens Park in a positive frame of mind.
And he hasn’t ruled out adding new faces to his squad before the transfer window shuts tomorrow.
He said: “We’re in decent form and that was a strong enough performance today to make us feel optimistic going into the derby.
“In a week, we’ve played 120 minutes in the Scottish Cup and won, came from behind on Wednesday to win a big three points and performed admirably today.
“This has to be a catalyst for the derby.
“We’ll focus on ourselves because we’re in a good place and excited about going to Dens.
“The key thing is to be calm and clear on Tuesday night so the players bring their quality.
“That has served us well in big games including the derby we won earlier this season at Tannadice.
“Things can change quickly before Tuesday in the window.
“It’ll depend on who goes out whether we get new faces in. If nothing happens I’m happy with the squad we’ve got.
“We’ve unearthed more young players today who can add value. But if we get a chance to strengthen we’ll take it.”
