Two goal Bahrudin Atajic edged Celtic closer to the SPL title as the u-20 side beat Dundee 3-0 at Firhill.
Atajic missed out on the trip to Abu Dhabi last week but was at his instinctive best to tuck away two goals as the young Celtic moved to six points away from clinching the title.
The sunshine break certainly seemed to have given the side a lift with some great passing moves delivered with an attacking edge especially down the right where Darnell Fisher and Paul George gave the visitors a torrid time.
As an added bonus Callum McGregor made his first competitive appearance in six months, lasting an hour before being replaced by Lewis Kidd.
There was little of note in the opening exchanges but once Patrik Twardzik had flashed an 18th minute shot across goal Celtic began to assert themselves on the game, taking the lead three minutes later.
George picked up a pass from Twardzik on the right flank and was sent crashing to the deck by his marker as he jinked into the penalty box. Almost effortlessly Atajic stroked his penalty into the net as the Dundee keeper dived to his left.
McGregor and Fisher opened up the Dundee defence five minutes later but the defender was off target with his shot finding the side net.
Five minutes from the interval Eoghan O’Connell tried his luck collecting a corner from George 20 yards from goal and firing in a spectacular shot that the visiting keeper managed to hold.
The second goal was only delayed with Jamie Lindsay netting from eight yards out after McGregor had cut the ball back from the bye-line.
Celtic continued to set the pace after the break with most of the danger coming from George down the right wing Atajic and Twardzik came close to adding to the lead but the Dundee goal survived until the 75th minute.
Great passing between George and Fisher cut the Dunde defence wide open with Atajic side footing home Fsher’s cut back from 10 yards out.
CELTIC: Fasan; Fisher, O’Connell, Findlay, Miller; Lindsay, Irvine, McGregor (Kidd 60), George (Kirwan 82), P Twardzik (Johnstone 75), Atajic,
SUBS:Â Hart, McNally,
I don’t really agree with the cry for young players getting a run out while were still actually still chasing the title and that goes doubly for Scottish Cup semis.
Neil really has to play his strongest team for these games. Attractive as it may be to think our young guns could step up and tear whichever team a new one, but in reality if Neil were to put out a rack of our young talent, remembering players like McGeoch, Forest, Watt……..etc….are already breaking into the first team, and get pumped in the SC final with the bench full of regular first team players, he would be torn appart not only in the SMSM, but on every Celtic website and blog on the web.
What I am looking forward to is getting the league wrapped up then playing all the best young talent we’ve got, I reckon it would make for an exciting last few games, and that they would deliver.
Giving them the chance to show what they’re capable of and set the squad up nicely for another exciting season for 2013/14.
If we can win the league and Scottish Cup double next season, as Im confident we will this season, and have such an exciting and successful run in Europe, I’ll be more than happy, as I would have been for the last three.