Celtic B laid down a positive omen for the senior squad tonight with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Slovan Bratislava in the UEFA Youth League league phase.
Starting swiftly, the Bhoys found themselves a goal to the good in the ninth minute after some smart approach play enabled Daniel Cummings to turn home a low Francis Turley cross.
Almost 15 minutes later, Celtic capitalised on their domination to double their lead through prolific 18-year-old Cummings, who produced a clinical finish to evade David Balog in the visiting goal.
He has been in fantastic scoring form of late domestically, scoring 10 goals in seven Lowland League appearances, and has now translated that to the European scene.
Heading in at the interval after controlling the opening 45, Northern Ireland youth international Turley got in among the action himself with a strike from outside the area to put some daylight between the two sides.
Despite making three second-half changes, Celtic kept their foot on the gas and were unlucky not to extend their lead via Colby Donovan and Cummings. Samuel Isiguzo eventually added a fourth, heading in an Aiden Haddow centre.
All in all, the young Hoops enjoyed a fantastic afternoon at Lesser Hampden where the support certainly got their money’s worth.
Celtic set themselves up nicely for league phase fixtures
With progress in mind, getting off the mark in any competition is paramount. Stephen McManus will be pleased with a brilliant afternoon’s work from the young Hoops.
Celtic have a tough schedule ahead of them, with away clashes against Borussia Dortmund to follow alongside the rest of their fixture pattern, in line with the senior squad.
While winning is important, it is equally pleasing to allow youngsters the opportunity to flourish on the continent at this stage of their development.
By the end of the day, the UEFA Youth League league phase table will have experienced its fair share of fluctuation, so despite being top of the pile at the time of writing, they won’t be too concerned about the permutations of that as of yet.
Next up, a home clash against Berwick Rangers awaits this weekend as Celtic B look to maintain their strong start in the Scottish fifth tier.
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