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Matty Hughes seals dramatic youth team win

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Matty Hughes Celtic newsCaptain Matty Hughes headed a dramatic 81st minute winner against Hamiltion Accies to keep Celtic on course to retain the SPL title.

After a goal-less first half Celtic twice took the lead through Jackson Irvine and Greig Spence but on each occasion the advantage was short lived with Hamilton quickly equalising.

However with time running out Hughes timed his run brilliantly to power a Callum Bagshaw corner into the net to the delight and relief of the Celtic bench.

In the second minute an inswinging Bagshaw corner struck the face of the bar but there were no takers and it took Celtic until midway through the first half to carve out some clear cut chances.

A surging run down the right by Stephen O’Donnell took him into the Hamilton penalty box but after cutting onto his left foot his shot from 15 yards out hit the bar.

James Keatings fired over from a similar distance shortly afterwards then sent a low drive inches past the post after cutting in from the right ten minutes from the interval.

A heavy challenge on Keats just before the interval ended his involvement in the match but it did give Spence the opportunity to make his first competitive appearance of the season.

Ten minutes into the second half Irvine opened the scoring when he diverted a corner from Callum McGregor in at the front post but within six minutes Accies levelled from the spot through Connor McGlinchy.

Celtic made a couple of changes at that stage with Patrik Twardzik replacing brother Filip and Bahrudin Atajic coming on for Tony Watt.

In the 67th minute a  cross from O’Donnell was stabbed goalwards by Atajic and although former Celt Andy Kennedy got a hand to the ball Spence popped up in the six yard box to bundle the ball into the net.

Hamilton were in no mood to accept defeat and levelled the scores in the 73rd minute when Bagshaw was dispossessed on the edge of the box with Stephen Hendrie taking advantage and drilling a low shot past Nick Feely.

The game could have gone either way but with Celtic powerful down the left flank through Jordan Lowdon they forced a corner with nine minutes left to play.

Bagshaw’s inviting corner deep into the box was met by Hughes who powered his header low into the net to secure all three points ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Murray Park to face Rangers.

CELTIC: Feely, ODonnell, Hughes, Toshney, Lowdon; Irvine, Bagshaw, F Twardzik (P Twardzik 52), Keatings (Spence 43), Watt (Atajic 66)

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  • John says:

    As poor a performance as I have seen from youth team in ages. I would envisage that a number of guys leaving at end of season due to lack of commitment shown. If that time is good enough to win Youth league, God help Scottish football.

  • Joe McHugh says:

    I can see where you are coming from John but think you are being very harsh.

    This team have won quite a lot of games by six or and eight goals this season and don’t get much credit for that.

    Yesterday wasn’t sweet flowing football but other qualities emerged, they weren’t at their best but kept on pushing and bounced back from two equalisers.

    You are looking at 18 and 19 year old’s in a very harsh professional environment, playing for contracts, uncertainty over their future’s and in a three way battle for the title.

    If there is a James Forrest to emerge from this squad it will have been a success. Forrest is finding the first team demands quite tough just now but is working hard and came on to a good game in the second half yesterday without much help around him.

    I’m confident that most of these players will mark out a decent career for themselves in the game, hopefully one or two of them will be at Celtic.

    The grounding and demands of being a Celtic youth team player will stand them in good stead in the years ahead.

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