U20s: Motherwell 1-3 Celtic

By Colette Carr:

With first half goals from Atajic and Fisher, and Johnstone's solo effort in the second, Celtic picked up all three points in their midweek trip to Fir Park. Despite Motherwell pulling a goal back, it wasn't enough to beat the strong young Celtic side.  

The fiery game started with a bang, with blazing runs from Motherwell's Josh Watt down the right flank, and Celtic's Patrik Twardzik bursting through the middle, but the first clear cut chance came in 13 minutes as Twardzik's effort from 25 yards was struck low and saved by a diving Lee Hollis.

Celtic found the net in the 22nd minute only to be called offside. After Liam Henderson's low drive from the left wing was saved, Jack Kirwan's shot was also kept out, before the flag was raised as Johnstone tapped the ball over the line.

Ten minutes before the break, the deadlock was broken. Darnell Fisher's diagonal run was cut short after he was tripped on the edge of the box by Motherwell's Zaine Francis-Angol, resulting in the first booking of the match, and a freekick on the edge of the box.  Bahrudin Atajic's strike bending round the wall and past Hollis.

Celtic doubled their lead going into half-time, seeing Fisher dribble the ball from the right wing driving the ball low into the corner.

The second half saw Celtic again press for more goals, as the Steelmen began to lose composure and throw away unneccessary fouls. In the 64th minute mark, Motherwell made the first sub of the match, replacing Bob McHugh with Steven Higgins.

Motherwell soon calmed down and pulled themselves back into contention, as Craig Moore took the centre-half on from the wing to break through and steal a yard before slotting the ball across Leonardo Fasan and into the net.

While the Hoops were pushing to put the game to bed, Motherwell were pressing for an equaliser, seeing a range of shots in both directions.  

With ten minutes left, Celtic capped their win with great footwork from Denny Johnstone on the left wing, leaving his man stranded before placing the ball into the far corner.  

Motherwell desperately tried to salvage something from the game as Craig Moore headed a short corner over the bar, and fought til the end.  

Despite Celtic proving to be the better side, the end to end nature of the game entertained the crowd, and Tommy McIntyre and John Kennedy will be pleased with their side's performance.

Motherwell: Lee Hollis, Nicky Devlin, Zaine Francis-Angol, Stevie Hetherington, Fraser Kerr, Jonathon Page, Josh Watt, Stuart Carswell, Bob McHugh (Steven Higgins 64), Craig Moore, Jack Leitch.  Unused; Ross Stewart, Adam Cummins, Ewan Murray, Fraser Johnstone, Dale Shirkie, Adam Asghar

Celtic: Leonardo Fasan, Darnell Fisher, Calum Waters, Jamie Lindsay, Patrick McNally, Stuart Findlay, Denny Johnstone, Liam Henderson (Connor McManus 90), Jack Kirwan (Glen Eadie 68), Bahrudin Atajic, Patrik Twardzik (Luke Donnelly 91).  Unused; Glenn Daniels, Mark Barrowman