Celtic Academy: One man’s loss is another man’s gain

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - DECEMBER 15: Roy Keane attends a press conference to announce his signing for Glasgow Celtic on December 15, 2005 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Alan Peebles/Getty Images)
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - DECEMBER 15: Roy Keane attends a press conference to announce his signing for Glasgow Celtic on December 15, 2005 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Alan Peebles/Getty Images)

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Big news coming out of the Academy as of yesterday for Celtic.

Let’s start with the bad news, shall we? Celtic’s reserve side dropped to ten-men against Kilmarnock, and also dropped the fixture as a result.

A goal for the opposition came through Alex Samizadeh as he drove a strike home in the 11th minute. The Celts’ own Daniel Church leveled the fixture up before the half, but only for Ally Taylor to score and spoil the party for the Hoops.

The Celts did fairly well controlling the momentum early on. The young Bhoys kept good possession numbers despite Kilmarnock’s first goal, which usually results in a great deal of momentum.

However, a majority of the chances were too weak and straight at the opposing keeper. It doesn’t help that Stephen Welsh took a straight red card for a tackle on Samizadeh, which only set up the Kilmarnock goal about 20 minutes later.

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The loss only makes the battle for at least fifth place much more interesting. At the moment, a Celtic win would propel them to sixth in the table, and only a couple of points behind Hearts for the fourth spot.

The Hoops will have to do work to get there though. A tough contest against league-leaders Hibernian dawns upon the young Bhoys this Saturday, Mar. 10.

Transition

Feeling a bit down after that? There’s some great news to make your morning that much better.

The U-17 squad gave us a hopeful preview of what is to come in the derby Sunday, as they defeated Rangers 5-2 in the Glasgow Cup.

Two goals in the opening ten minutes came from Scott Robertson and Paul Kennedy. The contest finished with promising talents Karamoko Dembele and Barry Coffey sealing the scoring.

A dominant win for the Hoops as they look for their sixth trophy in the tournament.

Opinion

Overall, it’s great to recap the youth sides. Celtic fans need to know what’s going on in all aspects of the club, not just the men’s first-team.

If you have nothing to do over the weekend, definitely try to catch the Hibs and Celtic development game. It’s an entertaining chase in the standings down the stretch, and the Hibs youth team against the spirit of the Bhoys should be a great contest.

And no, the fixture won’t get in the way of the Rangers and Celtic derby.

The Hoops will have some decisions to make around an array of youth players soon. As the big squad gets older, the time for these lads to step in will be very soon.

It’s never a bad time to keep an eye on the future. Stay tuned ladies and gentlemen.

Next: Patrick Roberts returns in Celtic Academy win

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