U20s v Celtic
Monday, 16th Mar 2015SPFL Development League: Gregor Buchanan (14) 0-1; Jack Breslin (88) 1-1
Dunfermline travelled all the way to Greenock to play Celtic in the SPFL Development League on Tuesday night. The Pars kicked off with Finn Graham sitting in front of a back four with Faissal El Bakhtaoui, Shaun Byrne, Ryan Thomson and Cammy McClair in midfield with Allan Smith on his own upfront.
Smith had the first attempt at goal inside two minutes when he cut in from the left hand side and hit a low shot that the goalkeeper Leo Fasan stopped low to his right. Three minutes later Thomson had a shot from the right hand side of goal, but straight to the keeper.
Celtic had the first corner of the game when Jack Breslin hit the ball off McClair but it came to nothing and El Bakhtaoui made the clearance. Shaun Byrne won a free kick outside the Celtic box after he had been fouled by McIlduff after a run and cross by Williamson that had been cleared out to him. Byrne stepped up to take the 14th minute free kick himself and from it Gregor BUCHANAN headed the ball low into the bottom right corner of the Celtic goal. 0-1
Celtic won a free kick 25 years out when Buchanan was judged to have fouled McGrath. McManus took the kick but hit it straight at the Pars wall and the ball was cleared. With quarter of an hour gone, Jamie Wilson in the Pars goal had not had a save to make.
A good run and cross by Ryan Williamson evaded the Pars players in the box and the Celtic defence cleared the ball. Next it was the Pars defence to do similar after a run and cross by Breslin. In 24 minutes Celtic won a corner on the left, but O’Kane was there to head the ball out and when El Bakhtaoui cleared the ball but it went straight to McCart whose shot from distance went well wide of goal.
Jordan Orru was booked in 29 minutes when he held back Duffy, but the resultant free kick was cleared by Buchanan. Next Wilson came out of his goal to clear the danger from a Celtic attack on the left. Smith had a shot at the other end blocked and when Celtic broke away, again Wilson was quick to cut out the danger. El Bakhtaoui then went down the right hand side of the Celtic half, but decided to shoot from an acute angle when maybe he could have held on and crossed for the incoming Smith and McClair.
In 42 minutes Byrne won the ball around half way and his well struck pass to Smith resulted in him winning a corner on the left. Byrne took the corner short to McClair but was caught offside when he received the return ball. Next it was Celtic’s turn to be caught offside when Michael Duffy had a shot blocked by Wilson.
Half Time: Celtic 0 Dunfermline 1
Celtic were first on the attack at the start of the second half and when they won a free kick on the left of the Pars box, Thomson’s free kick was palmed away by Wilson in 47 minutes. The Celtic bench were getting very animated and when Jamie Lindsay made a good run his pass found Thomson in the box, but his shot just missed the goal to the right.
Byrne was next to win the ball and his pass to El Bakhtaoui was returned but before he could do any damage, was crowded out by the Celtic defence. Smith won a free kick on the right hand side of the park in 57 minutes which Byrne took, but it cleared the Celtic box and then when El Bakhtaoui and McManus tussled for the ball they were spoken to by the referee.
Two minutes later a move involving El Bakhtaoui and Smith resulted in Thomson having a chance in front of goal, but Fasan made the save. The double substitution in 62 minutes injected more urgency into the Celtic play but from another Byrne free kick in 75 minutes, O’Kane had a header that went wide left of the goal.
Celtic had a couple of corners in quick succession, the first was cleared off the line and the second was palmed away by Wilson. Just when it looked like the Fifers would take all three points, Celtic got an 88th minute equaliser when BRESLIN headed in to same corner that Buchanan had done in the first half from a corner on the right.
In added on time Buchanan had two chances blocked from a corner on the right and when the ball went over the goal line, the referee gave a goal kick when it possibly should have been another corner.
This had been a great workmanlike performance from the Pars and they were unfortunate to lose a goal in the final minutes of the match. The Pars players all worked their proverbial socks off, covering for each other and attacking at every opportunity.
SUBS NOT USED: Luke Donnelly, Colin McCabe, Sam Wardrop.
SCORERS: Breslin (88)
DUNFERMLINE: Jamie Wilson, Ryan Williamson, Declan O'Kane, Gregor Buchanan, Jordan Orru, Finn Graham, Shaun Byrne, Ryan Thomson, Allan Smith, Faissal El Bakhtaoui, Cammy McClair (Gavin McMillan 81).
SUBS NOT USED: James Thomas, Paul Joseph Crossan, Cammy Gill (GK)
SCORERS: Buchanan (14)
YELLOW CARD: Orru (29)
REFEREE: David Lowe
WEATHER: Cloudy 4C
ATTENDANCE
NEXT MATCH: SPFL Development League (home) v Dundee
Tuesday 24th March 2015, kick off and venue TBC
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