Morton Under-17s beat Celtic at Barrowfield

Morton Under-17s continued their strong start to their Club Academy Scotland South-West campaign with a memorable 2-1 win over Celtic at Barrowfield yesterday afternoon.

Pat McIlvogue‘s side fought back from behind against their Parkhead counterparts and picked up all three points thanks to goals from teenage hitkids Ryan Wallace and Sean Trewavas (pictured, above).

It means that the Ton academy’s oldest age group have now won four of their first five fuxtures, which included victories over Dumbarton, Montrose, and Stirling Albion prior to the weekend triumph at Celtic.

Coach McIlvogue told gmfc.net: “The Morton 17s continued their rich vein of form with a memorable victory over Celtic yesterday. It was a great team performance and the energy and determination levels were tremendous in an evenly matched game.

“Celtic drew first blood on the 25-minute mark. A raking diagonal pass from their goalkeeper breached the Morton back three. From there a cross came in from out wide and the Celtic centre forward converted what was their first attempt on target.

“Morton fought back, though, and a clever corner routine ended with Alexander Easdale seeing a shot cleared off the line. The boys kept pressing and got their reward when they equalised five minutes from half-time through Ryan Wallace, who controlled a Reece Lyon free-kick inside the six-yard box and slotted past the Celtic keeper.

“The second half started with our boys still on the front foot, and Sean Trewavas scored a quality strike from 20 yards after outmuscling a Celtic centre-half to give Morton the lead.

“The remainder of the contest was even, with Celtic’s efforts on goal all coming from outside the box due to the defensive shape of the Morton team, for whom Ciaran Gavin was resolute as he delivered a faultless performance in the centre of defence.

“We finished the game the stronger team and could have scored more if not for some good Celtic goalkeeping. Overall, the result was tremendous and no more than we deserved for what was a fantastic team performance.

“The work rate and the disciplined way the players carried out our tactical instructions was most pleasing. This group of players are progressing very well, and we said to them prior to the game that we expected them to deliver against Celtic – and they did!”