AIDEN SAVES HOLY GOOLIE; THE Homecoming Scotland SCOTTISH CUP McGeady and Brown spare the blushes.

Byline: EUAN McLEAN reports

CELTIC 2

DUNDEE 1

AIDEN McGEADY came in from the cold to spare Celtic's blushes as his wonder winner sealed a place in the fifth round.

But the burning question for Hoops fans leaving Parkhead yesterday was howmuch longer can another wayward big name go on before he is booted out of the team?

Artur Boruc is a ticking time bomb for Gordon Strachan and yesterday the hapless Pole came perilously close to blowing up in his manager's face.

The keeper handed Dundee a shock 13th-minute lead on a silver platter then almost sold the jerseys again seconds from the final whistle with an embarrassing fumbled cross.

And this latest in a long line of howlers earned an angry reaction from fans who once worshipped him as the Holy Goalie.

Today Boruc owes a huge debt to team-mates Scott Brown and McGeady for digging deep to get the goals that hauled him out of jail.

But the Dark Blues must be kicking themselves for not having more of a go in the second half with the Hoops keeper looking so vulnerable.

The way Boruc gifted Dundee the opener was arguably his worst mistake in a Celtic jersey.

Even more calamitous than his flap at John Rankin's 45-yarder against Hibs in last month or the way he spilled a cross at the feet of Rangers striker Kenny Miller in August.

As reckless as his rush-of-blood moment at Love Street inNovember when he was lucky to escape a red card for storming out of his box to poleaxe St Mirren striker Craig Dargo.

The keeper's astounding drop in standards from his colossal first two years at the club has seen his professionalism, lifestyle and even weight questioned.

And yesterday's costly cock-up was further evidence of a liability surely running low on last chances.

It should have been bread-and-butter stuff as David O'Brien's long ball seemed more an outlet for Dundee to reorganise than a serious counter-attack.

Boruc rushed out of his box to boot it clear with Colin McMenamin rapidly bearing down on him but somehow the keeper got his body shape wrong and swiped embarrassingly at thin air.

An already subdued Parkhead then fell silent as McMenamin scampered on to roll the ball into the gaping net.

A real shocker and for a long time it seemed a big cup upset was on the cards.

The Hoops nervously threw everything forward only to see it come bouncing straight back off a resolute Dundee defence led superbly by Jim Lauchlan.

Scott McDonald shouldn't have been so greedy under pressure from the big stopper after 23 minutes though.

Shunsuke Nakamura was up in support on the right but the pass never came and the chance was wasted.

Lauchlan then denied the Aussie with a solid block after Skippy had turned Craig McKeown in the box.

Midfielder Brown was having an equally frustrating time in front of goal, seeing one header hit the side-netting and a vicious shot flash across goal.

But his luck turned spectacularly in 36 minutes to kickstart Celtic's revival.

The Scotland star drove into the Dundee box then neatly fed McDonald before continuing his run. When the striker's shot cannoned off Andrew Shinnie it fell into the path of Brown who slotted home from eight yards.

It was the break the home side needed and they grabbed a second two minutes before the break.

McGeady was desperate to make an impression on his return to the fold after a dressing-room bust-up with Strachan.

And he showed the Celtic boss his quality could save his Parkhead career.

Dashing down the left, McGeady tricked his way past David Cowan then unleashed a terrific strike past Rab Douglas.

With Celtic back on top the second half was one-way traffic - but Dundee's occasional breaks forward served as a warning the Hoops needed to make at least one of their countless chances count.

Strachan certainly appeared to think so judging by his furious outburst when McDonald ballooned a shot over.

In the end McGeady's strike was enough to see Celts through - despite the best efforts of Boruc at the death.

The goalie spilled a simple McMenamin cross and the ball almost dropped at the feet of sub Mikael-Antoine Curier.

Once again Boruc needed a team-mate, Glenn Loovens this time, to dig him out of a hole. But how much longer can they be expected to cover for his mistakes?

REF WATCH

CALUM MURRAY didn't have a great deal to trouble him in a clean game and only had to produce his yellow card once for Celtic's Scott Brown. He handled the match consistently, didn't interfere unnecessarily and was hardly noticed. A good sign for any whistler especially in a cup tie. Rating: 7/10.

CAPTION(S):

Back with a bang: McGeady cracks home the winner on his return to the Celtic first team then celebrates his goal (right)