Celtic are Dun in by King Jon

UNITED boss Craig Levein saluted unsung hero Jon Daly as his Tangerines shocked the champions.

The close-fought affair drifted into injury time when former Hartlepool striker Daly powered in his first goal since moving north in January. The hosts appeared to have lost any chance of a return when skipper Barry Robson got himself red-carded two minutes earlier.

The hot-headed midfielder aimed a head butt at Lee Naylor - but it was all about late scoring hero Daly as the title-chasers slipped to a third league outing without a win. And gaffer Levein pointed the finger at his striker before launching into high praise for his efforts since moving north of the border.

He said: "Jon gives us everything he has, with much of his work going unrecognised at times. But if ever a player deserved to score his first goal then it was him." Celtic's hiccups appeared to have ended in glory after Shunsuke Nakamura fired them in front in the second half with a glorious freekick.

But in the end - late as the equaliser came - there were few who could deny United their point as the hosts halted a 10-game losing streak against Celtic at Tannadice. In fact, had it not been for some alert work by the visiting rear guard -- goalkeeper Artur Boruc in particular - then United could have registered a first win over the Hoops in eight years. Advertisement

Celtic manager Gordon Strachan was disappointed at his side's failure to take all three points and blamed it on slack finishing. He said: "At 1-0 you are always open to the possibility that someone will come away with a smashing goal like that one. "I was happy with the way we performed in the second half after we restricted the number of chances they had - and then we had more scoring opportunities ourselves but we didn't take them.

"We are not scoring as many goals and the chances we are getting deserve better. "The reason we upped our display after the interval was we got things sorted out in midfield." Despite the delight in the home dressing room after Daly's equaliser, Levein admitted Robson was not part of the celebrations. He said: "Barry has apologised to his teammates and he has not protested his innocence. "In fact, he is sitting in there with his head in his hands."

Strachan could only watch in utter disbelief at the end as Daly chested a long ball down before turning to hook the perfect finish into the back of the net from 18 yards. HOW THEY RATED DUNDEE UTD Stillie 6, Dillon 6, Wilkie 7, Mc-Cracken 7, Duff 6, Robb 6 (Goodwillie 3), Kerr 7, Gomis 6 (Cameron 3), Robson 7, Samuel 5, (Easton 2) DALY 8. MANAGER Levein 6 CELTIC Boruc 7, Caldwell 7, Pressley 6, O'Dea 6, Naylor 6, Nakamura 7, Lennon 6, Hartley 5, Mc-Gady 6, Beattie 5 (Zarawski 4), Vennegoor of Hesselink 6. MANAGER Strachan 6 REFEREE I Brines 7 MAN OF THE MATCH JON DALY Industry was rewarded with late equaliser DUNDEEUTD CELTIC 6 Shots on target 2 6 Shots off target 5 3 Shots blocked 1 2 Corners 5 12 Fouls conceded 17 2 Offsides 4 1 Yellow cards 3 1 Red cards 0