Scottish Lowland League
Friday, October 6, 2023
Excelsior Stadium, Airdrie

CELTIC… 1
(Thomson 11)

EAST STIRLINGSHIRE... 2
(Rankin 7, Coutts 47)

A young Celtic FC B squad suffered a 2-1 defeat against East Stirlingshire at the Excelsior Stadium tonight (Friday), just 48 hours on from their last outing in the UEFA Youth League against Lazio.

After falling behind early in the match, the Celts produced the perfect response, quickly levelling up the scoring through Corey Thomson just four minutes later.

However, an early strike in the second half from the visitors saw the Hoops slump to defeat on Friday evening.

Following on from Wednesday’s huge effort against the Italian side, which saw the Celts come away with their first European point of the season thanks to a late Mackenzie Carse strike, Stephen McManus and Darren O’Dea made wholesale changes to the squad.

Only one player remained in the starting XI from Wednesday’s game, with defender Mitchell Robertson captaining the side, as several youngsters from the Under-18s stepped up to be involved in the B team for the first time.

One of Celtic’s brightest performers on the evening was right winger, Thomas Hatton, who was making only his second appearance for the B side.

The youngster was looking to cause trouble for the East Stirlingshire full-back, and in the early stages he came desperately close to sending Lewis Dobbie through one-on-one, but his pass was cut out.

Despite a positive start, it was East Stirlingshire who took the lead in the game through Luke Rankin. The striker pounced on an early defensive error and tucked the ball into the bottom corner of the net.

Following that early setback, the young Hoops side produced the perfect response, grabbing an equaliser within a few minutes.

As a chance fell to Hatton at the back post, the goalkeeper did well to deny the winger from close-range. However, Corey Thomson was quickest to react, slamming the ball into the net off the underside the crossbar.

The Bhoys pushed forward in search of a second goal and Thomson almost scored again. Some nice work down the left from Bonnar saw a ball delivered into the path of the midfielder, who couldn’t connect well enough to direct it on target.

Heading into the second half, it was East Stirlingshire who restored their lead as Anthony Coutts scored with a strike from the edge of the area.

For the majority of the second-half, the Hoops enjoyed large spells of possession and created some gilt-edged opportunities.

Substitutes Robert Rachwal and Ronan Ferns both had big chances to level up the scoring from inside the area. However, the East Stirlingshire goalkeeper was ultimately a match for their efforts and the young Celts lost out 2-1 on the night.

Although it was ultimately a disappointing result, there were still positives and plenty of learnings to take away for such a young squad.

Following a busy week of action, the Hoops have a brief break from their busy fixture schedule due to the upcoming international break.

CELTIC: Morrison, Cannon, Mackenzie, Robertson (Agbaire 46), Osagie (Kyle 72), McArdle, Hatton (Haddow 81), Turley (Ferns 61), Dobbie, Thomson, Bonnar.
Subs: McLean

Young Celts lose out in Friday night clash with East Stirlingshire