Tommy McIntyre’s Celtic B’s were held to a 1-1 draw with Rangers in the group stages of the Glasgow Cup in an entertaining afternoon of football in Airdrie.

After falling behind to a Charlie McCann strike, the Hoops responded through Mackenzie Carse and had chances to win it late on but they couldn’t find the killer touch as the points were shared with their Glasgow rivals.

The young Bhoys started in dominant fashion and almost took the lead inside the first two minutes. Brilliant trickery from Karamoko Dembele on the left opened up a crossing opportunity and his low ball found Ben Doak at the back post. His shot was kept out by Lewis Budinauckas on the goal line, with the Celts claiming it had crossed the line.

The first 15 minutes were end to end, with both sides making the goalkeepers work. On seven minutes Tobi Oluwayemi had his first work of the afternoon in the Celtic goal, getting down low to stop Ross McCausland’s curling effort from nestling in the bottom left corner.

Dembele was causing havoc and only he will have known if his effort against the bar on 11 minutes was an attempt on goal, after he was slipped through by Ben Summers and from a tight angle his ball across goal clipped the upright.

Oluwayemi had to produce a similar stop to his first just two minutes later as McCausland again hit an effort across goal low to the bottom left, but the shot-stopper reacted superbly to keep it out.

The chances kept coming, this time Owen Moffat almost sneaking the Celts into the lead on 19 minutes, reacting quickest to his blocked shot to stab another effort on goal that was kept out by the feet of Budinauckas.

After a blistering opening period to the game, both sides began to settle into the cup clash and try and add a bit more control to the proceedings.

With the half coming to a close Dembele had another effort to take the lead, but the winger could only flash his shot wide of the right post from inside the area.

Despite all the good work in the first half, it was Rangers that took the lead six minutes into the second period.

The ball bounced to Charlie McCann in the middle of the park who advanced forward unchallenged and hit a powerful shot from distance that fired into the top left corner.

But the Hoops weren’t behind for long, as on 63 minutes Mackenzie Carse levelled the scoring.

Lawal’s forward ball found the midfielder in space behind the Rangers midfield and he twisted onto his left foot and placed a brilliant strike low into the bottom left corner to get Tommy McIntyre’s side back into the cup clash.

The best chances didn’t come until the later stages of the match. The first came with six minutes remaining as a ball into the box deflected off of Rangers’ Kyle McClelland and if it weren’t for a reaction save it would have ended in the back of the net.

Then in the 89^th minute, Joey Dawson was so close to getting on a low ball across goal and with the goal at his mercy he just couldn’t stretch far enough to get onto the cross that would have sealed the victory.

Into stoppage, time and Adam Devine forced Oluwayemi into a smart stop, as the game ended in a 1-1 draw and the points shared.

CELTIC: Oluwayemi, Dede, MacKenzie, Lawal, Murray, Carse, Doak (Vata 73), Summers (Ure 90), Dawson, Moffat (Letsosa 73), Dembele.

Subs: Corr, Morrison, Easton, Davidson.

RANGERS: Budinauckas, Devine, Fraser, King, McClelland, Zukowski, Lowry (Ritchie-Hosler 81), McKinnon, Itten (Weston 46), McCann, McCausland (Lyall 68).

Subs: Miller, Strachan, McInally, Cervantes.

Young Celts earn point after 1-1 draw with Rangers in the Glasgow Cup