Celtic’s u-17 side won the Loch Lomond Festival trophy over the weekend with victories over Partick Thistle and Fife Elite Academy before a 4-0 win over Sheffield United in the final.
Four matches of 30 minutes each way gave the players and coaches ideal preparation for the new season, which kick’s off away to Kilmarnock on Sunday, with the bhoys, born in 1999 and 2000 coming through the tournament impressively.
Using the 4-2-3-1 system deployed by the first team the young hoops played with power and pace with a real cutting edge in front of goal.
Coach Michael O’Halloran is working alongside George McCluskey, Rab Thompson and Tommy McIntyre with the squad, and after lifting the trophy he provided an insight into the development of the latest group of players to break through from the club academy into the professional ranks.
VIDEO CELTS: Winning a trophy seems to have rounded off a rewarding weekend?
Michael O’Halloran: “I’m absolutely delighted for the whole squad, it shows that in tournament football, round robin, a squad is really important. We’ve got quality players in every position.
VC The format of the tournament gives you a good summary, you started against Sheffield United on Friday night and met them again in the final?
M O’H: “The big picture is about the development of these boys, they showed that from the start of the first match through to the end of the final where they signed off with a fantastic fourth goal. We definitely made great progress from start to finish over the weekend
VC You could focus on lots of areas of the team but the pace of the team was obvious as was the partnerships within the team such as Daniel Church and Broque Watson on the left.
M O’H: “Pace is important in the modern game, it’s good to be a quick player. It helps when you don’t have the ball to press to get it back, when you have the ball pace helps you to play at a high tempo and keep possession, move it throughout the team.
“The combinations were excellent today, the two centre half’s worked well together, all the pairings throughout the side gelled, the partnerships were excellent, we had partnerships throughout the side.
VC It helps everyone through the team when you have someone clinical in front of goal like Ciaran Diver?
M O’H: He has certainly shown his worth over the last few games. Ciaran Diver is a really top scorer, that’s what he does best. He is a good young player, he’s developing, he’s younger than a lot of his opponents, he’s still an u-16 and still has to add things to his game. He has to work hard when he doesn’t have the ball but as long as he is in the right place at the right time to put the ball in the net.
VC When you look at him you’d think target man but there’s a lot more to him
M O’H: Definitely, he is a good link up player, because of his height you think of him in the air but he’s a focal point. He plays the game in the right manner, he wants to get the ball, take it in front of defenders. He showed that against Sheffield United, I was really pleased with him up against some strong fit defenders.
VC A good finish from Michael Johnston through one on one with the goalkeeper, he never hesitated?
M O’H: It was a real composed finish, that’s what we try to say to the boys. We want them to play at a high tempo, we want them to work hard but they need to show composure on the ball as well. They need to pick the right pass, do the right thing on the ball and ultimately they did show composure and that finish from Michael was fantastic, he drew the goalkeeper then tucked it away in the corner.
VC: How has this squad been brought together, goalkeeper Alex Crean is from Crystal Palace, have the majority come through the ranks for a few seasons?
M O’H: Alex is the exception in that group of 20, every single one has come through our academy from an early age, some from as young as 8. That is something that we want to do, promote and develop our home grown players, the proof of that was there over the weekend with boys that have been with us a long time.
NOTE At the end of April Michael Johnston replaced Tom Rogic in the Development League match against Kilmarnock and scored with his first touch of the ball.
