East Kilbride 0-3 Celtic B

East Kilbride 0-3 Celtic B
Lowland League
Tuesday 21st December 2021

This was actually a much closer game than the scoreline suggests between two teams who've been doing alright in the Lowland League this term.

East Kilbride certainly gave a decent account of themselves. They threatened often but were just unable to convert any of the multiple chances which fell their way - and if they'd breached the Celtic defence on just one occasion it may have changed momentum and paved the way for a different outcome.

Ultimately, the finishing of the two teams was the key difference as Celtic were ruthless and clinical in comparison - partly thanks to Joey Dawson who has developed plenty since I last watched him when he was playing for Scunthorpe United's Under 18s.

Tall, troublesome and a serious threat inside the box, twice Dawson converted before half-time with instinctive first-time finishes on the back of some good build-up play. After plenty of missed chances, Ben Doak then put the result beyond doubt when he made it 3-0 midway through the second period - thus inflicting East Kilbride's first defeat in 15 outings.

It's always a pleasure to visit Scotland and, having completed all 42 SPFL grounds when I paid a visit to Kelty Hearts a few months ago, then it's a natural progression to move onto visiting some places in the Lowland League. That, plus the fact 'youth football' is more my forte nowadays anyway, is why I didn't give a second thought to a 500-mile round trip to watch this game.

The game was nearly put in doubt thanks to Nicola Sturgeon who waited until 2.00pm before announcing the latest bullsh*t Covid-19 restrictions (where attendances at Scottish games will be capped at a maximum of 500 people) won't take effect into Boxing Day! Thank God!

Following a steady start to the season, Celtic's youngsters have been in good, progressive form in the Lowland League in recent weeks - narrowing the gap on Old Firm rivals Rangers who began the campaign well but whose results have tailed off to some extent. The Hoops went into this game having conceded the fewest goals in the division (and knowing a win would put them joint-second behind runaway leaders Bonnyrigg Rose) but they knew they'd be in for a decent test with East Kilbride unbeaten in their previous 15 matches.

K:Park, where this game was played, is a very modest venue located some two miles from the town's railway station from which it was a solid 35-40 minute walk. The 4G playing surface ensures only severe weather conditions will put games in doubt and the two stands on offer are certainly better than the home grounds of some of East Kilbride's counterparts in the Lowland League - notably Caledonian Braves, Civil Service Strollers and Edinburgh University.

Celtic were their traditional green and white hoops and were backed by a small but noisy contingent of a couple of hundred travelling fans who were located behind the goal.

After a sluggish first few minutes where East Kilbride put a couple of efforts over the upright, the visitors began to get a foothold and their pattern play, movement in possession, speed of their transitions from defence to attack and willingness to switch the ball out wide and then deliver into the box to pose problems, was both quite obvious and of a high standard.

A couple of early Celtic corners came to nothing before one such move which had good build-up play led to the opener just past the quarter-hour mark - the ball being well-worked by the visiting youngsters inside East Kilbride's half before a right-sided ball was put into the feet of Joey Dawson who'd took up a clever central-position inside the box. His first-time shot from about eight yards was actually towards the 'keeper but the power of the effort ensured the ball still ended up in the net. 1-0.

In response to the setback, East Kilbride went close with a curling free-kick which was just off-target and they had other good chances to grab a quick equaliser too but a combination of poor finishing, not enough movement from the front players and 'bad luck' in certain scenarios meant they remained behind.

Some of Celtic's play was aggressive and good and Dylan Corr almost netted what would have been a spectacular effort with a zippy, slalom-type run from deep which culminated with a powerful drive that the home 'keeper did well to palm away.

It was a great example of the pace, energy and fluidity in the transition and more pressure just beyond the half-hour mark culminated in a second goal for Celtic (and Dawson). Having won a corner - which actually came from one of his shot's being deflected wide - the ball was delivered into the box, then recycled towards the tall striker at the near-post who delivered a deft back-heel finish to bamboozle the 'keeper and make it 2-0.

Matty Anderson saw an effort kept out as Celtic searched for a third goal before half-time and by the interval, it was clear that it would take something bordering on an extraordinary effort for East Kilbride to pick up anything from the game.

In fairness, the hosts give it a damn good go after the re-start as they forced a plethora of openings (some from aggressive play of their own and some from individual defensive errors) but the goal, which their play deserved, alluded them right up until the end.

Celtic also created more opportunities and Rocco Vata looked odds on to score when he was left in acres of space out wide and afforded a free run into the box on 49 minutes but, again, the East Kilby 'keeper made a miraculous save at the expense of a corner to keep his team in with a fighting chance.

A sustained spell of pressure followed by the senior outfit with Jack Stainrod just about being the hosts' best player - although he was always closely attended to by the Hoops' defenders. Plenty of chances came to pass without a breakthrough goal to halve the deficit as Ryan Mullen tipped a shot wide from Neil McLaughlin, Cammy Elliott was off-target in a separate move, the woodwork was struck and Celtic's clean-sheet lived something of a charmed existence as they were caught playing out dangerously from the back on more than one occasion.

The Hoops could have still put the game to bed at the other end though as Dawson (not long before going down for treatment) selflessly put an inviting ball across the six-yard box on a silver plateau but nobody was there to make a telling connection with the goal absolutely gaping.

Substitutions were made by the visitors during the 55-65 minute period when East Kilbride were pressing menacingly and it was one of the new faces - namely Ben Doak - who made a positive impression by making it 3-0 with a ruthless drive into the far corner, on the back of a clever interception, within only minutes of his introduction.

Thereafter, there were a few more changes as both benches sought to get minutes into players' legs and, in return, there was plenty of energy and endeavour shown. Doak looked dangerous and made a good impression as Celtic pressed in search of a fourth goal, whilst East Kilbride couldn't get a goal which, on the balance of chances, they deserved.

The highlight of the closing stages was free Scotch Pies, fresh out the oven, being given out (which is always a delight during trips up north) but overall it was a good game of a surprisingly decent standard and quite a few players performed very well.

There was lots of good team-play from Celtic on things I've touched on already such as speed of transitions, energy, movement and willingness to get the ball out wide and drive forward with it when the opportunity allowed but players who deserve a special mention are Joey Dawson who showed a menacing presence up top, was a constant threat, had predatory instincts infront of goal but was also involved in quite a fair bit of selfless build-up play to the benefit of others. His subsequent appearance on the subs bench for Celtic's first team against St Johnstone on Boxing Day (irrespective of the fact he later got on due to Kyogo Furuhashi's injury) was probably in no small part down to how he performed in this game.

Ben Doak made a good impression as well from the bench; two centre-backs - Dane Murphy and Joseph Murray (though difficult to distinguish who was who because of the numbering on the backs of the shirts) showed quite a bit of aggression and Brody Paterson, the skipper, though not heavily involved at times demonstrated a really measured and calming approach and looks a decent player.