Aidan Nesbitt was the hero of Arsenal yesterday with the goal that defeated the KZN Academy to allow the Gunners to clinch a semi-final place in the Durban u-19 International Cup.
With Arsenal losing 1-0 to PSV Eindhoven earlier in the day a draw would have been enough for KZN to reach the semi-final but a late goal from Nesbitt denied the local side a place in the last four.
A 4-2 defeat to Arsenal followed by a 1-0 loss to PSV Eindhoven ended Celtic’s hopes of reaching the semi-final’s but the young hoops were anything but downcast as they tackled their last match.
“The first two results were frustrating, it may sound strange, but the performances that we put in were first class,” Development coach Stevie Frail said.
“A draw would have been a fair result after coming back from 2-0 against Arsenal, against PSV we had so much possession but were unable to find the net.
“The locals at the matches have really taken to the team, they like to see teams attacking and playing with flair and that’s what we’ve provided.
“Aidan has played well but I don’t like highlighting any individual. Technically we had nothing to play for against KZN but we’ll never go into any match thinking that way.
“I watched KZN against PSV and knew that they were a top side. They were desperate to go through but we wanted to get a win just as much and I’m delighted that we got the result.
“We’ve kept the squad tight and I’ve been pleased with the way the players have reacted to three different challenges.”
CELTIC v KZN: Doohan; Wardrop, Breslin, McCart, McIlduff; Thomson, Hill; Murray, Nesbitt, Hendry; Lafferty.
The semi finals of the tournament will be played on Wednesday with Celtic arranging a friendly against AC Milan for Friday.