New Celtic B signing Josh Clarke made his debut for the young Bhoys this afternoon, goalkeeping a clean sheet in a 5-0 victory at home to Dalbeattie Star in the Scottish Lowland Football League.
Clarke signed from Glenavon earlier this month after spells in the Chelsea and Bournemouth academies, bolstering the options available to Stephen McManus and Darren O’Dea.
He’s competing for a place between the sticks with Tobi Oluwayemi, although will get plenty of minutes with the B coaches often choosing to rotate line-ups.
It was a strong eleven this afternoon with regulars such as Bosun Lawal, Matthew Anderson, Ewan Otoo and Rocco Vata all starting.
Defender Lawal was at the heart of the victory, both getting on the scoresheet for the second match in a row as well as setting up Vata’s first effort after the interval with a delightful pass to the young attacker.
It was forward Adam Brooks who got the team on their way to the comprehensive win, another who netted in his second successive appearance. It’s a pleasing return to the set-up for Brooks, who had struggled with injury in the weeks prior.
Tsoanelo Letsosa added a fourth late on with a fantastic top corner shot from outside the box. Vata then completed the rout with his second goal of the match in stoppage time.
The three points keep Celtic B in the hunt for the top spots in the division, with East Kilbride and Rangers B also getting off to strong starts in the fifth-tier.
It’s an exciting time for the group with the UEFA Youth League also on the horizon, mirroring the senior fixtures against Real Madrid, RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk.
Next up, however, is another league match at home to University of Stirling on Wednesday night.
In other news, Celtic’s biggest week for years just arrived.
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