Youth/Development Team Thread

full time the Bhoys win 2-0

Regan and Jack with the goals.

 

Well done the Hoops!!!

Thanks for the updates Crow as always

 

EARLY goals from Regan Hendry and Jack Aitchison secured a dominant 2-0 victory for Celtic’s Development Side over their St Johnstone counterparts tonight in Airdrie.

Hendry opened the scoring with a deflected shot after the Bhoys had taken the game to the hosts from the first whistle at the Exclesior Stadium.

Aitchison quickly provided the young Hoops two-goal cushion in the 14th minute from the penalty spot after being brought down by goalkeeper Ben McKenzie in the box.

And although Tommy McIntyre’s side failed to add to their tally, their grip on the three points never looked in doubt as they controlled the remainder of the contest, with goalkeeper Ross Doohan never called into serious action.

Aitchison returned to lead the attack in tonight’s league in one of three changes to the team that defeated Inverness Caley Thistle 1-0 last week.

The striker replaced Calvin Miller in the starting XI as the wide-man stepped up to make his first-team bow. Anthony Ralston and Josh Kerr also came into McIntyre’s team.

In blustery and wet conditions, the young Hoops quickly took the initiative, playing at a high tempo and moving the ball round with purpose.

It didn’t take long for them to threaten the home side’s goal as Aitchison beat the offside trap but he couldn’t generate enough power in his header to loft it over McKenzie.

Hendry was also bright in the opening exchanges and after some positive play from the winger, Mikey Johnston lashed in a 20-yard shot that was straight down the throat of McKenzie.

And it didn’t take long for the young Hoops to profit from their early pressure as Hendry handed them the lead. After a quick interchange of passes near the edge of the box, the 18-year-old took aim and his shot deflected beyond McKenize and into the net.

It only took another four minutes for McIntyre’s side to double their advantage. Connor McManus was the architect, driving forward down the middle and sliding a precise pass through for Aitchison.

The speedy striker was upended by McKenzie as he rounded the keeper and the referee immediately pointed to the spot and booked the Saints shot-stopper. Aitchison took the spot kick himself and made no mistake.

Johnston had also been lively presence for the visitors, drifting in from his ring-wing position and linking up with fellow forwards Luke Donnelly, Hendry and Aitchison, and he came closest to inflicting further punishment.

First, he brought out a smart save from McKenzie from distance and then he showed his speed and skill with two jinking runs into the box and only some last-ditch blocks prevented him from hitting the target.

The one-way traffic continued for the remainder of the half as the Bhoys fashioned several promising positions through some sweeping passages of play, with McKenzie saving from Hill and Aitchison to keep his side in the game.

Celtic resumed where they left off following the restart and Aitchison had an early opportunity to make it 3-0 but he couldn’t keep his shot down from Hill’s cut-back.

Aitchison then turned provider, getting in behind the Perth side’s backline and picking out Johnston in the middle but he was crowded out before he could shoot.

The home side had failed to pose a meaningful threat and when striker George Hunter did get a volley away following a ball in from the right, Josh Kerr was on hand to charge it down.

While the Saints were battling hard to find a route back into the contest, all the clear openings were continuing to fall Celtic’s way.

Substitute Theo Archibald curled a free-kick narrowly wide from 30 yards, before McKenzie made an excellent one-handed save to thwart Ralston after the full-back had fastened onto Kerr’s pass and burst into the box.

And PJ Crossan, on from the bench for Donnelly, had the final effort of a one-sided match, the striker firing over after good work from Archibald down the left as the Bhoys banked a thoroughly-deserved three points.

 

REGAN Hendry reckons that Calvin Miller’s sudden elevation to the first team was in the minds of Celtic’s Development Side tonight as they blew away St Johnstone in the opening minutes of their league match in Airdrie to claim a dominant away victory.

The Bhoys burst from the blocks at the Excelsior Stadium and were 2-0 ahead inside the opening 15 minutes thanks Hendry’s deflected strike and a penalty from Jack Aitchison.

Having established control of contest, Tommy McIntyre’s team remained in command throughout, creating a number of excellent openings as they cruised to a well-deserved three points.

Just as the final whistle was sounding in Lanarkshire, Miller was making his competitive bow for Brendan Rodgers’ side at Celtic Park against Partick Thistle.

And Hendry told the official website that the winger’s promotion and some words of encouragement from the manager had given them fresh incentive to turn in a top performance against Saints in a bid to follow in Miller’s footsteps.

“It was quite surprising for us but a very good thing - it gives us all hope,” said Hendry in an exclusive interview. “The manager came in and he said he wanted to promote youth players and he has done it tonight, and it’s all about taking the chance when you are given it.

“He (Calvin) has been doing well and he deserves it. We will all be looking towards that now as at the end of the day we all want to be doing what he is doing right now, similar to KT and Hendo.

“We had a meeting with the manager recently where he talked about how he wanted to promote the youth players into the first team as much as he can, which is obviously encouraging for us to hear, and he also has a reputation for playing young players.

“It was only last week that he pulled us into a meeting so it was good reaction for us towards that. We want as many of us to get into the first team as we can and that’s the aim at the end of the day.

“It was the best we have played in a while,” continued the 18-year-old. “It was good to get a good performance. From the first whistle we pressed like we have never pressed before which was pleasing to see as we have been working on that quite a bit.

“We have been working on pressing in training and Tommy and the manager have been emphasising how it’s a key part of the game – winning the ball back as quickly as we can. That set the tone as we started very quick and they couldn’t get into the game which was good.”

Not only did Hendry find the back of the net but he was prominent throughout match, causing the Perth side problems with his movement, link-up play and thrusts into the box. Now he just wants to continue in this vein as he attempts to emulate his team-mate Miller and earn promotion to the top team.

“I felt quite good out there and it was probably the best I played in a while,” said the attacking midfielder. “I obviously got a goal – it might be seen as own goal but I will be taking it anyway! It was good to get back to scoring and hopefully I can continue doing that.

“I just need to keep myself in the game and influence it as much as I can. You saw Calvin start for the first time tonight and hopefully a couple more of us will get the chance as well.”

And the young Celt and his colleagues will have further of opportunities to impress Brendan Rodgers over the festive period, with two more league matches to contest against Dunfermline and Hibernian

“Now that the UEFA Youth League is over for us now, we just need to get as many points as we can and this was a good win tonight,” added Hendry.

 

Youths are taking on Dunfermline tonight in the development league kick off at 6


McAdams; Ralston; Kerr, McCart, Miller; Hill, Ajer; Johnston, Donnelly, Hendry; Aitchison

subs: Fasan, Crossan, Wardrop, Archibald, Duffy, McIlduff

 

2-0 to Dunfermline.

Is it just me or has the development team been really disappointing this season?

 

McIntyre out!

Added the youths as part of an accumulator and they are the only team didn't come up.

 

Thought that myself. Don't know if we've loaned boys out or they're getting complacent. Same perso in charge of the team ? Maybe a change in tactics due to BR standards ? Struggling to adjust ?

 

Couple of players out on loan but we should surely still be doing a lot better. By the sound of what Rodgers was saying in the papers today, he isn't too impressed with our academy.

3-0 now, humping.

 

Was it their Christmas party last night or something ?

 

Nobodies saying it's a disaster but there's been a few bad results this season. Couple of defeats in the league and a couple of draws, plus a 2 or 3 scrappy 1-0 wins. Then you have the UEFA Youth League and the Irn Bru cup.

 

Noticed they havent been winning much. Probably slipped up more times this season than they usually do over a whole season domestically, most of the time they barely lose a game.

Not seen them playing so don't know what it is.

 

I'm not one who thinks results really matter at youth levels, but we're 9 points behind with 5 games in hand.

It's as if people are actively looking for * to moan about because Rodgers has done so much right.

 

TOMMY McIntyre’s Development Squad suffered a rare home defeat at the hands of Dunfermline at Lennoxtown, going down 3-0 to a clinical and experienced Pars side despite dominating most of the game.

The Bhoys controlled possession throughout, particularly in the first-half, but found themselves 2-0 down 10 minutes into the second-half as the visitors pounced twice on the counter-attack in quick succession.

The Pars keeper, Cammy Gill, then pulled out a string of saves as the young Hoops tried desperately to get back into the game but they were soon 3-0 with 20 minutes left after the visitors capitalised on a mistake from the Celts backline, consigning the Bhoys to a defeat on home turf.

It was an uncharacteristic loss for the young Hoops, particularly considering their utter domination of the opening 45 minutes but they will look to a succession of missed chances and fine saves from Gill in the second-half as to why they fell short of an experienced Dunfermline outfit.

The Hoops’ pace on the flanks through Calvin Miller and Anthony Ralston gave them their best route of attack in the first-half against a packed Pars midfield but neither full-back could supply the right kind of delivery to truly pierce Dunfermline’s backline.

Mikey Johnston had one of the better chances of the half when he took aim from just outside the box but his angled drive flew wide of the post after a nice lay-off from Ralston. A penalty shout for the Bhoys was then waved away shortly after when striker Jack Aitchison looked to have been felled in the box as the Hoops’ frustrations continued.

Celtic’s relentless attacking play and pressing tactics kept Dunfermline pinned in, with the visitors restricted to rare counter-attacks, but the Celts still couldn’t find a way to break the deadlock and it was the Pars who ended the half with the best chance of the first 45 minutes, but Aidan McAdams made an excellent save to deny Connor Duthie’s swerving effort to keep it level at the interval.

That all changed within 10 minutes of the restart when Dunfermline scored a quick-fire double to give themselves a firm foothold in the match.

Celtic were first undone by a fine solo strike from David Hopkirk, who found himself one on one with Ralston and created enough space to arch a shot into the far corner from the edge of the box to make it one-nil on 48 minutes.

The Bhoys were then 2-0 down five minutes later when Gavin Reilly picked the ball up in space 30 yards out and pushed forward before sending a low, driven shot beyond McAdam’s outstretched right hand, putting the Pars firmly in charge.

Luke Donnelly tried to drag his team right back into proceedings but Cammy Gill saved bravely at the feet of the forward, to keep his team well in front.

McIntyre’s side continued to dominate possession as the half wore on but even the introduction of PJ Crossan and Theo Archibald for Donnelly and Johnston couldn’t carve a way back into the match, with Gill denying the Celts at every turn. Dunfermline, meanwhile, were clinical, seizing every loose pass and piling men forward at the exposed Celts backline.

And their tactics provided dividends once again with just less than 20 minutes left when Reilly pounced on a slack back-pass from Josh Kerr to tee up Michael Paton, who fired in Dunfermline’s third with a low, angled finish.

Celtic threw Calvin Miller up into attack in response and persevered with their game plan of passing and moving valiantly against the experienced Pars side but they couldn’t find the final ball or opening to make a dent in the Dunfermline defence.

Even a late free-kick chance from Regan Hendry, which would have normally opened up a sight of goal for the Celts was uncharacteristically sent well over the bar, summing up his team’s night overall.


The Bhoys will now look to bounce back against Hibernian at Lennoxtown in their next league fixture on Monday January 2

 

I don't think anyone actually cares tbh, just noticing they arent winning too much. Its probably been bad for our youth teams that they've been winning too much, basically been clearing up everything for over a decade. So youngsters at Celtic might be believing they are the bees knees when we sign them then they are used to winning almost everything all the way through the age groups pumping Sevco for fun but barely anyone actually becoming good first team players.

Won't do them any harm to recieve some big pumping and to lose a lot more to be brought down to earth all the time that they aren't that good and that 90% of them will be lucky to end up playing for Albion Rovers.

 

Hopefully more concerned with player results and development than match results..

Clearly it was in motions with Ronny, but Hoping Brendan takes it to another level. Watches them closely, talks about what he wants from the academy and is hand's on in term's of identifying youngster's and where he sees them. (Calvin Miller example)..

We've a lot of kid's on loan. Had the champion's youth league back. That continental one in England. Newly in to the Ramsden/Irn Bru cup against senior's, plus our domestic cups..

That's a helluva lot of football for a core group not even at new year, mixed up with a few coming back now and again from loan's, and some coming up from the younger group's. No surprise we've got 5 game's in hand is it?

We've hammered these levels for ages now overall and barely had anything. I've seen enough from some of the kid's and the way we're trying to play away at the likes of City for example, to know that despite being beaten, we've got some good one's coming up and we're playing the way BRENDAN will be happy with..