MATCH REPORT | YOUNG TERRORS DEFEATED BY CELTIC DESPITE DEFENSIVE DISCIPLINE

DUNDEE UNITED 0 
CELTIC 3 (TURLEY, DOBBIE, BONNAR)
CAS UNDER-18S ELITE LEAGUE
19:00 FRIDAY 10TH MARCH
GUSSIE PARK

After last week’s defeat at Cormack Park, the Young Terrors were seeking home comforts as they hosted Celtic in the shadow of Tannadice. 

Last time out at Gussie, United claimed a confidence-boosting 3-1 win over Hibernian - the Easter Road perhaps suffering from a European hangover after exiting the UEFA Youth Champions League at the hands of Borussia Dortmund a few days prior.

Line-Up 

Two changes were made to the side which succumbed to a 3-1 loss in the Granite City as Greg Petrie and Bryan Mwangi dropped out of the squad altogether - Ollie Simpson slotted into left-back as Keir Bertie shifted back into central midfield, and Alan Domeracki was deployed in the number ten role.
 
Head Coach Ryan Moon opted for a compact 4-4-1-1, looking to reduce the space between the lines and stem the fluidity of Celtic’s attacking rotations.
 
The first ten minutes passed by without incidence, with a well-drilled United preventing any central passes from penetrating the press. Celtic were forced into the wider areas, and therefore the touchline was utilised as an extra defender by the hosts.

Visitors Forced To Think Again

With the Glasgow outfit’s plan A facing multiple challenges, they began to look longer, favouring a switch to the left side after attracting United towards the ball with short, intricate passes.
 
This pattern of play brought the first half-chance. A raking crossfield ball from Colby Donovan was cushioned nicely by Thomas Hatton in his stride. Lewis Dobbie was waiting for the cutback in the middle but a brilliantly-timed sliding interception from recovering IUnited defender Arron Donald prevented the tap-in.
 
Dobbie utilised a tactic employed by Celtic’s first-team counterparts, as he removed himself from the first phase of play by standing blatantly offside. The 17-year-old would then spring into life in the middle when the ball was zipped wide for a Hoops winger.
 
The number nine was found by Caleb Goldie after the Young Terrors switched off during the second phase of a corner, but his vicious, ten-yard effort on the turn missed the upright.
 
Despite limiting chances in the defensive half, the home side posed little to no threat going the other way, with Stuart Heenan cutting an isolated figure up against two visibly dominant centre-halfs.
 
One-way traffic continued, with Hatton driving across the elbow of the box and flashing a strike wide of the mark – the green and white frustration starting to build on the park and in the dugout.
 
Young full-back Simpson turned in an impressive performance during the opening 45. The 16-year-old kept mercurial winger Benny-Jackson Luyeye at bay whilst displaying composure and quality whilst in possession.

Trademark Opener 

On 38 minutes, however, Celtic’s pressure would tell in trademark style. Left-back Mitchell Frame had the ball zipped wide to him before picking out Hatton’s inverted, piercing run into the half-space. Hoops winger Hatton would send an inch-perfect delivery across the penalty area for Francis Turley to blast through United stopper Lewis Haldane.
 
Moon’s men did come close to levelling the arrears against the run of play with four minutes to the interval, with a speculative 25-yard strike from tenacious midfielder Bertie, who covered every blade of grass throughout the 90, smacking the top of the crossbar as Kai McLean scrambled across his goal line.

Fortuitous Strikes Settle Score

With eight minutes gone in the second period, a penalty box stramash culminated with Celtic doubling their advantage. Haldane produced two phenomenal saves from point-blank range to deny both Goldie and Turley in quick succession, but Dobbie was on hand to pick up the scraps and fire home at the third time of asking.
 
The match was essentially ended as a contest on the hour mark, once again in fortunate fashion. Substitute Jude Bonnar showed Adam Carnwath a clean pair of heels down the line before executing what was blatantly a deep cross to the back stick towards Dobbie. The number 14 slightly skewed his delivery and the ball kissed the far upright and nestled into the back of the net.
 
Celtic hit the woodwork again soon after through Kyle Ure who pulled the trigger from an acute angle after strong hold-up play from Dobbie. Luck was on United’s side this time, with the ball drifting out for a throw-in.

Youthful Reinforcements 

Moon shuffled the deck throughout the second half with the result a forgone conclusion, allowing a few of the younger members of the squad to grace the pitch. Zeke Cameron, Tiylar Low and Owen Stirton were all introduced to the match, and the latter made a positive cameo as a target man for the final ten minutes. Stirton won the majority of his aerial duels whilst simultaneously linking play nicely.
 
Captain Craig Moore stood over a wide free-kick in the attacking third, in an almost identical position to where he picked out the top corner in the Young Terrors’ aforementioned win over Hibernian, but this time the 17-year-old overcooked his effort.

This was the last action of note on a bitterly cold evening at Gussie where, for large spells, United executed their defensive gameplan exceptionally well. The quality of their opponents coupled with a couple of fortuitous goals saw the hosts convincingly defeated, however.

Teamlines

United: Haldane, Mudie, Simpson, Constable, Donald, Bertie, Borland, Moore, Carnwath, Domeracki, Heenan (Cameron, Low, Emslie, Holt, Welsh)
 
Celtic: McLean, Donovan, Frame, Goldie, Davidson, Ure, Lueyeye, Turely, Dobbie, Borland, Hatton (Easton, Patterson, Bonnar, Cannon)