How Ange's Sunday wildcard Owen Moffat made a name for himself in the Celtic B Team

By Euan Davidson

December 11, 2021

We all surely remember a wild-haired Owen Moffat getting off the mark for Celtic against Sheffield Wednesday in pre-season – Ange Postecoglou certainly will.

With the ball ricocheting across the edge of the penalty box, Moffat asserted himself, and took an unerring shot at goal [Celtic FC]. In a summer riddled with anxiety yet still so full of hope, it was a great moment.

Because we’d heard about Owen Moffat, but hadn’t really seen a great deal of him. The Celtic B Team, set up to compete in the SLFL, would prove a great opportunity for players like him to develop. And Moffat has done so, rapidly.

It took him absolutely no time to adapt to playing against lads often twice his age. In August, barely into the existence of the B Team, Moffat put five past Vale of Leithen in a single game [Celtic FC].

“It’s a different test every week”, Moffat told Celtic TV after that game. “Different teams, different oppositions, and they’re men. It’s good for all of us to learn different things about the game.”

Comfortable playing on the left of the attack, or more centrally, there’s real optimism about Owen Moffat. Before the likes of Kyogo and Giakoumakis were brought in, there was even speculation that the Academy player would be involved more integrally in the first-team. Instead, Celtic brought in the J League and Eredivisie’s top scorers.

Moffat, though, was undeterred. He’s got 11 goals in this SLFL campaign. If the B Team was meant for player development, then it’s time to see what more of these players can do.

Ange has Celtic wildcard option in Owen Moffat

It’s important not to put any pressure on the guy, though. Especially if, indeed, Ange Postecoglou turns to the young striker against Motherwell from the start tomorrow. Given the lack of options at Celtic’s disposal currently, it’s not entirely unlikely.

He’ll have the backing of some senior players, too. Callum McGregor, speaking after Moffat’s goal against Sheffield Wednesday in pre-season, said [Celtic TV]: “For young Moffat, his attitude’s been first class.

“I remember watching him at the end of last season, training on the astro himself. Every day, they would do finishing, and I was walking by thinking “he’s got a finish on him, the boy”.

He’s only improved in Tommy McIntyre’s set-up.

With service from the likes of Vata, Davidson, Wylie and more, a team of players who’d get ID’d buying a lottery ticket sit sixth in the SLFL. That’s seriously impressive, even if the Celtic Academy coaching far exceeds the kind of training that Celtic B’s league peers will have.

There’ll be narratives that emerge if he does play. Comparisons to former strikers, perhaps. Contemplations on when Celtic last produced a good striker. That’s all inevitable.

But the potential really is there. In a season where he was expected to shine, he has.

He’s a wildcard, but he’s one Ange will want in his deck tomorrow.

Read more: The forgotten Academy talent who re-emerged at exactly the right time for Celtic boss