Celtic B stage dramatic late comeback as they return to winning ways

By Lewis Laird

December 1, 2022

Celtic B returned to winning ways on Wednesday evening, as they staged a seven-minute comeback late on to defeat Bo’ness United 2-1.

The young Hoops side were playing their second of four games in a row at the Excelsior Stadium as they look to climb up the Lowland League.

Darren O’Dea and Stephen McManus’ team were involved in a remarkable 4-4 draw last weekend and would have been looking to get back on the victory trail.

The Bhoys started the game off in their usual fashion, dominating much of the possession and looking to carve open the away side.

The best chance of the half for Celtic fell the way of Tsoanelo Letsosa, who came close to giving the Hoops the lead. Tobi Oluwayemi also had his share of action, being called upon to make an early save.

Despite starting strongly once again in the second half, the youngsters were handed a warning when Bo’ness United struck the crossbar just before the hour mark.

And despite Celtic’s dominance, it was the travelling team who grabbed the opening goal, with around 15 minutes of play left in Airdrie, through Alassan Jones.

However, the Bhoys remained patient on the ball and, just four minutes later, produced an equaliser as Ben Quinn kick-started a late comeback.

That fightback was complete when Quinn scored of his second of the game on 84 minutes, dribbling through the Bo’ness defence and scoring a great winner.

Co-manager Stephen McManus reacted to his side’s performance in the immediate aftermath, saying [Celtic FC]: “It was a difficult game; Bo’ness are well organised, they make it difficult for you and they limit the space.

“But again, we tried to play the way that we always try and play, there was loads of good stuff in the final third, and to get us into the final third, just the final pass or cross let us down at times.

“But the boys were really, really positive. They stuck at their tasks, we asked them at half-time to be patient and pick their moments, to pick the right pass, and in the second half, we did that, and we were a lot better.”

“We’ve said all along since the start of the season, at this age group, the boys need to learn resilience; they need to be resilient, they need to find a way to win football matches.

“When they are on top, when they are not on top, they need to find a way to try and get the three points and get the victory. And they were able to do that.

“But again, they didn’t panic, they stuck to their guns, there were some terrific performances. Ben Quinn was terrific again; he’s been like that now for a month.

“So the challenge for us is to go onto the next game on Saturday.”

That result takes Celtic B up to second in the table on 36 points, level with third place University of Stirling, but also having a vaster goal difference and one game in hand.

The young Hoops do have some work to do in order to catch Glasgow rivals Rangers at the top, who sit five points clear in the fifth tier.

However, with two derby games still to come, the first of which is at Celtic Park later this month, there is still plenty to play for in the Lowland League.

Next up is another home fixture for the youngsters this weekend, when they take on Edinburgh University before returning to the Excelsior Stadium on Tuesday for a match-up against Berwick Rangers.

In other news, Former Celtic prospect targeted for sixth European venture since Hoops exit.