It was a successful afternoon’s work for the Celtic B Team against Partick Thistle this afternoon.
Securing a semi-final spot for the City of Glasgow Cup, some familiar faces littered Tommy McIntyre’s squad, including Dane Murray, Mikey Johnston, Joey Dawson and, of course, Karamoko Dembele.
The winger was on fire, scoring two stunning goals in the 5-0 rout.
Celtic, somewhat dutifully, have provided highlights of today’s game, and they really are worth watching. There’s the Owen Moffat pass that Karamoko Dembele takes down with a flick, before scoring, that’s pretty nice. Johnny Kenny getting his first in Celtic colours is also essential watching.
The pick of the goals, though, came from that man Karamoko Dembele again. To make it 4, he bamboozles three defenders, shimmies away, and hits a peach past the Thistle goalkeeper.
Have a watch here, via Celtic FC [01.45]:
Outrageous. We’ve seen highlight reels of Dembele making defenders look like idiots, and we’ve seen him using his electric pace and technique in the first-team.
That said, this goal takes some beating. The power of the shot, the space he creates for himself, it’s divine stuff. Having been injured in pre-season, and taking until earlier this year to recover, there’s hope that Karamoko Dembele can get back into first-team contention.
And, to sign a new contract.
Karamoko Dembele can’t be far from starting for Celtic
Admittedly, there’s competition; James Forrest was back to his best against Livingston. Liel Abada has been one of the signings of the season, anywhere – for my money at least.
Yet, either on the left of the right, there’s just something about Karamoko Dembele. Whether it’s his reputation of “wonderkid” status preceding him, or actually seeing him go to work; either way, he’s a fascinating player to watch. With his low centre of gravity, and his ability to make defenders second-guess themselves, he’s must-watch.
Wingers coming through the Celtic ranks is always an exciting thing. Over the last twenty or so years, we’ve had Aiden McGeady, Ross Wallace and James Forrest exciting the fans at different stages. Given the history of wildly talented wide players at Celtic, it’s no surprise when they quickly become fan-favourites.
Karamoko Dembele, if he commits his future to Celtic, could be just that. Ange Postecoglou seems keen to get him involved in the first-team, and letting him regain match sharpness in the Celtic B Team has worked a treat.
Surely he’ll be playing to a packed Paradise again sooner rather than later. But for now, enjoy his goals from today – especially that magnificent second.
Read more: Callum McGregor recalls the fight to be a Celtic ball boy for famous European nights
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