Liam Scales has said that Celtic lost the three points in one sloppy period in their 2-2 draw with Dundee United.

The points were shared on an entertaining evening in Glasgow, which saw the Hoops take the lead before being forced to come from behind in order to claim a point.

It was Scales who popped up with the goal to secure that point, heading accurately beyond Jack Walton after a short corner. Despite a second-half push, the winner wasn’t to come.

Results elsewhere however guaranteed that Martin O’Neill’s four-point lead remains intact, with the next international break now just over a week away.

Liam Scales on Celtic draw: ‘The ball didn’t fall for us’

Scales said speaking on CelticPlayer: “It’s a bit disappointing, I think. We started the game quite well, and then a sloppy sort of ten-fifteen minutes, and we’ve kind of lost the game because of that.

“It’s disappointing, but I think we showed a lot of character in the second half to take control of the game. I think the ball just didn’t drop for us certain times in the box to go and get that winner, but I think it’s just a sloppy ten-fifteen minutes first half that’s cost us there.”

On whether he thought the winner would come after his equaliser, Scales continued: “Yeah, definitely. I thought once we’d get the first we’d get the other, we did it a lot last season. It was just that the ball didn’t fall for us.

“But credit to Dundee United. They’ve been really good this season so far. They’re quite robust, hard to break down and obviously can score goals as well, so I think all-in-all they deserved the point from us.”

On whether it was a point gained, the defender added: “Yeah, definitely. It’s disappointing that we couldn’t go on and get the winner, but to have a second half like that, at least we have the positive to take into the next game.

He was finally asked on Jota, who assisted his goal with a fine cross. He said of the winger: “It’s brilliant to have him back. You can tell how eager he is to play, create and go by people.

“He really looks sharp, and he’s going to be massive for us now, because we have so many games. We’re going to need everyone, and he’s going to play a big part, hopefully.”