A goal on the stroke of half time from Aidan Nesbitt earned Celtic a place in the final of the SFA Youth Cup Final against Sevco.
It was a home from home for the on loan Morton winger as he turned on the style at Cappielow and showed the goal instinct that split the sides.
There wasn’t much to get excited about over the 90 minutes with Celtic hanging on in the end as Motherwell pushed for a goal to take the game into extra time.
There was a frantic about the match with both teams competing fiercely for every ball but Celtic deserved their win with Nesbitt and Mikey Johnston a cut above the rest of the players on show.
Johnston worked his way in off the right flank in the fifth minute for a pop at goal while soon afterwards Nesbitt sent an inviting cross into the six yard box from the left but Anthony Ralston headed over the bar.
Up until the half hour mark there was little of note but there were a few signs of Celtic taking control.
Ten minutes from the break Josh Kerr knocked down a Nesbitt cross from the right into the path of Joe Thomson but stretching he sent his shot just wide of the post.
It looked like the half would end goal-less but just before the break Anthony Ralston pushed the ball into the danger area, a Motherwell defender hesitated and Nesbitt pounced to poke the ball home from six yards out.
The second half opened just as frantically as the first with a low shot across goal from Motherwell’s Jack McMillan sliding past the post.
Celtic were forced into a change midway through the second half when PJ Crossan went off injured, Kerr McInroy came on into centre midfield with the shuffle seeing Calvin Miller move to centre forward.
Motherwell pushed strongly for an equaliser but it was mainly crosses into the box that Conor Hazard and his defenders coped well with.
CELTIC: Hazard; Ralston, Kerr, Wardrop, McIlduff; Hill, Thomson, Nesbitt, Johnston (Watson 88), Miller (Duffy 90); Crossan (McInroy 66)
SUBS: Doohan, Henderson, Church, Bell
MOTHERWELL: Pain, McMillan, Livingstone, Maguire, Armstrong, Campbell, Fry, Turnbull, Mackin, Hastie, Gordon
SUBS: Pettigrew, Agyemang, Brown, Semple, MacDonald