Speaking after the game, Joe Hart said: “It was a really important goal, and speaking on behalf of Liel, he wants to thank everyone for the reception. It’s a special moment for him doing that in the last minute.

“It was a big goal, a big moment, but there’s still a long way to go.

'We showed a lot of character. It’s a different conversation if Liel didn’t do what he did, but he did, so they’re the facts of the game and we’ve put ourselves in a good position.'

The goal was Abada’s 12th of an already impressive first season in the green and white Hoops, and came as the game entered five minutes of added time.

The Hoops had passed up a number of opportunities to break the deadlock, with Dundee United goalkeeper, Benjamin Siegrist, producing a number of impressive saves to deny Celtic the goal their efforts deserved.

But there was nothing the Swiss stopper could do when Abada controlled Jota’s cross and fired the ball into the net.

Now attention turns to Wednesday’s derby, which will be played in front of a full house at Celtic Park, and it’s match that Joe Hart and his team-mates are looking forward to.

“It’s going to be a big night,” the goalkeeper said. “Everyone’s pumped, everyone’s excited.

“It’s our next game so we can actually focus on it, but it’s one game, it’s one game we need to perform to the levels that we set ourselves that we maybe didn’t quite reach today, so I think that’s more important.”

Joe Hart: That goal was a special moment for Liel Abada