The Celtic under-18s absolutely ripped Ross County apart in the Scottish Youth Cup last night, and there were some absolute belters to throw into the bargain.
Indeed, the young Hoops dismantled the Staggies in impressive fashion on Tuesday night to ease into the 4th round of the competition, with the quality on show mightily impressive.
Daniel Kelly rifled home the opener with a stunning finish before a sumptuous free-kick from Adam Brooks doubled the advantage. The latter would bag another before the break before another superb finish from Ben Summers made it 4. Corr and Thomson wrapped things up with late strikes. And below, you can see some of the absolute toppers yourself:
The first goal from Kelly really set the tone here. An absolute thunderbolt off the crossbar and in. Not the kind of everyday finish you expect to see at youth level.
But we can’t not give a big shoutout to Brooks for that howitzer of a free-kick. The height and the dip he gets on the ball is absolutely fantastic. The keeper has no chance and you’d do well to find a stopper in Scottish football that would’ve kept that one out.
The other standout strike was clearly Summers’ second-half rasped. Arrowing a fine finish into the top corner with the right peg, the young Celts certainly dazzled in an eye-catching display.
Celtic under-18s progress in Youth Cup as they catch supporters’ attention
A big win and a big night for the Celtic youth players here. It’s the kind of performance and quality of goals that won’t just catch the supporters’ eyes, but the manager’s too.
Granted, a couple of standout displays doesn’t make you first-team ready. The under-18s will know they’re a long way from being in contention for a starting berth in Ange Postecoglou’s squad.
But what they have shown is that they have undoubted technical quality. It wasn’t so long ago that County were winning the Scottish Youth League with the talent they had at their disposal. To dismantle them so comfortably is an extremely promising sign.
The ability looks like it’s there in that under-18s side. It’s all about whether they have the mental capability and the desire to continue learning at such a high-intensity rate. That’s what will give them the best chance of succeeding not just at Celtic but in football as a whole.
But hats off to them for what they produced on Tuesday night, it was brilliant stuff. Fingers crossed they continue to impress as the Youth Cup continues.
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