AN action-packed final ten minutes of this Newcastle League Premier Division encounter ensured both Celtic Bhoys and Dundrum United came away with an equal share of the spoils.
Despite falling two goals behind in the opening half, Celtic Bhoys rallied to pull ahead with just five minutes remaining before Dundrum equalised to conclude a truly enthralling encounter at a bitterly cold Ballyhornan venue.
The Hoops kicked off the contest, although it wouldn’t be long until the visitors had possession of the ball and immediately they made it count.
With just two minutes on the clock, Dundrum’s Chris Mulholland opened the scoring courtesy of a sweetly struck and lowly driven first time strike on the edge of the Celtic box.
The away side kept their foot firmly on the pedal and just seconds later they were appealing for a penalty after Patrick Cunningham was tackled inside the area.
However, referee Colm Gribben adjudged the last ditch effort to be a fair one and Dundrum had to settle for a corner kick that was duly cleared from danger.
Celtic responded with a Stephen Galbraith free kick that thumped the crossbar in what was an early sign of resilience from the home side.
The hosts continued to push for an equaliser, in a match that was quickly becoming an end to end affair, as Peter Casey saw his long range left-footed effort gathered at the second time of asking by Dundrum ‘keeper Johnny McGreevy.
Casey came close to scoring again after his free kick from 40 yards deflected off a Dundrum body and smacked an upright before bouncing out wide.
Celtic were relentless in their search for an equaliser with Casey leading the charge, as this time the veteran’s volley sailed over the bar following a nice layoff from team-mate Sean Ferris.
Despite Celtic’s attempts on goal, Dundrum stood firm and played some very intelligent football as they bided their time for the perfect opportunity to launch a counter attack.
With 16 minutes played, the visitors doubled their lead after one such breakaway allowed the dangerous Cunningham to square the ball across the box for Shane Todd to coolly dispatch into the bottom left corner.
Dundrum were enjoying their passages of play and managed to keep any Celtic chances to a minimum, with the closest the home side coming to pulling a goal back being Conor Doherty’s headed effort that was cleared from the line.
The visitors were troubling The Hoops whenever they played a long ball over the top of the Celtic defence and it was from a similar pass that Dundrum were presented the chance to score a third.
Mulholland managed to wriggle free inside the danger area and was given a glorious chance to add his second goal of the game.
However, Celtic custodian Nathan Curran impressively denied the Dundrum striker with a strong one handed save.
The hosts had the majority of the ensuing chances, including a wayward Gerard Collins effort and three Sean Ferris attempts, the last of which did end up the net but was promptly chalked off after an offside ruling.
This was the last significant piece of action in the half, leaving the travelling Dundrum side satisfied at the break.
Celtic began with intent upon the restart, perhaps signalling that the halftime team talk had an impact on the players.
Dundrum’s Kyle Glavin picked up a yellow card for a trip on Casey in the middle of the pitch as The Hoops continued to press up the field.
Soon after, Casey’s inviting delivery whisked past the six yard line with none of his team-mates able to get the decisive touch.
Dundrum defender Darryl Russell had a particularly impressive spell at the back, sweeping up any loose balls and commanding his area to leave his Celtic counterparts frustrated.
Chris Hogg saw his free-kick for the visitors glance past the post on the hour mark, before Celtic ‘keeper Curran made a vital interception to thwart a golden opportunity for the visitors to put the game beyond reach.
With Celtic still two goals down and just over 20 minutes of regulation time to play, the home side knew they quickly needed to put the ball in the net.
After persistent attacks, Celtic midfielder Corey McCartan hit a hopefully cross into the box that didn’t look as if it would materialise into anything of substance.
However, Dundrum defender Jordan Kennedy crossed his wires and was unfortunate to see his attempted headed clearance end up in the back of his own net.
This spurred the Celtic side to go in search of an equaliser as Dundrum deployed all of their players behind the ball.
Dundrum ‘keeper McGreevy was forced into making multiple eye-catching saves before team-mate Brent Gibson entered referee Gribben’s book for pulling the shirt of Celtic’s Collins.
As the clock ticked down and the match entered the final ten minutes, Celtic continued to push as Ferris saw his effort denied once again by the impressive McGreevy.
Celtic finally got their leveller after 83 minutes when Casey’s pass made it to the feet of substitute Conaill Kerr, who smartly fired low into the bottom left corner with McGreevy blindsided by his defence.
Just two minutes later, Celtic would take the lead for the first time in the match.
Barry Treacy played a cross field pass into the Dundrum box where striker Ferris would chest the ball past the opposing McGreevy to finish into the open net.
With the home support now bursting into scenes of pandemonium, it seemed as if Celtic would be on their way to recording a memorable comeback win.
However, Dundrum’s Chris Mulholland would rip up the on the 87th minute by finishing resoundingly into the Celtic net following a counter attack that caught the hosts at sixes and sevens.
Both sides continued to desperately push for the winner but it was not meant to be as Gribben blew his whistle for the last time.
After the match, Dundrum head coach Richard Gibson reflected on his team’s performance and was satisfied leaving the Ballyhornan venue with a point.
“Celtic was always going to have a lot of the ball, that’s their game and it’s hard to get it off them,” he said.
“We came up with a plan today and we almost pulled it off, we are downhearted but at the end of the day a point away to Celtic Bhoys is a good point.
“You don’t win games in 45 minutes and they broke us down a couple of times, but most of the game we kept them out so we are pleased.”
Celtic Bhoys: N Curran, S Megahey (capt), C Doherty, R Fitzpatrick, B Connolly, G Collins, C McCartan, P Casey, S Ferris, S Galbraith, B Treacy.
Subs: E Kelly, R Quinn, C Kerr.
Dundrum: J McGreevy, J Kennedy, S Keenan, D Russell, K Glavin, B Gibson, S Todd, A Smyth, C Hogg (capt), P Cunningham, C Mulholland.
Subs: J Carroll, D Fitzpatrick.
Yellow cards: K Glavin, B Gibson.
Referee: Colm Gribben.