five-star showing for reserves
Gregor Kyle
THE reserves had to contend with injury concerns and international call-ups ahead of their game against Gretna this afternoon.
But they showed character, spirit and ability in abundance, with Derek Riordan grabbing a double and Mark Millar, Kevin Cawley and Chris Killen scoring in a 5-0 win at the Excelsior Stadium.
While this win launches Celtic right back into contention in this season’s Reserve League title race, the game as a whole proved to be a particularly valuable exercise, with Mark Wilson, Jean-Joel Perrier-Doumbe and winger, Nicky Riley all making their comebacks from long-term injury.
Wilson actually started the game at centre-back, before moving to the flanks after Doumbe was taken off a precaution at half-time and every player showed the right attitude in what McStay described as "a very good performance".
“We had a problem in the centre-back area with Bobo receiving an international call-up, Steven Pressley and Scott Cuthbert off with Scotland and our two youth centre-backs, Jason Marr and Laurence Gaughan out injured,” explained McStay.
“We looked at the situation and thought that Diarmuid O’Carroll would be versatile enough alongside Mark Wilson and the two of them did very well for us.
“We had a great start to the game and we spoke before about allowing Gretna into the game and giving them encouragement. So to counter that, we had to start with a high tempo, moving the ball quickly and aggressively. We did that and created two chances in the first three minutes and then took our third chance three minutes in.
“That rattled them and we followed it up with goals in six and 11 minutes. It was great play, great finishing by Derek and in the midfield we controlled the game,” continued McStay.
“Koki Mizuno was having a smashing game, really effective and direct with real quality in his touch and passing.
“Kevin Cawley and Mark Millar were also outstanding, Derek was causing all sorts of problems high and wide on the left and Paul Caddis was fantastic in that first half hour on the right – it was a first class start to the game.
“Then, when we had to perform at the back, we tidied up quickly and moved the ball on. I couldn’t have asked for more in terms of quality, creative play and real attitude in that first half as a whole.”
There was just one negative in that outstanding first 45 minutes, with Koki Mizuno going over on his ankle as he ran unchallenged down the flank, and he had to be substituted.
Nicky Riley came on as a straight replacement, with the 20-year-old making his first appearance after the injury problems that have plagued his own season and he nearly scored with his first touch of the ball.
There were further changes during the half-time interval, with Jean-Joel Perrier-Doumbe replaced by Under-19 centre-back Kevin Ross , with Mark Wilson switching to left-back and putting in a faultless second half performance.
The changes did, however, lead to a slight dip in the team’s standards in the second half and McStay continued: “The hardest thing is to continue that in the second half and here you have to give credit to Gretna, who hung in and made it a game from start to finish in terms of their commitment.
“But I was really delighted to see Chris Killen get his goal. He was honest and hardworking from start to finish and you can talk about all the clever things that happen in a game, but for him to get his reward with minutes to go says a lot about him and his performance. That typified the attitude we displayed."
Scottish Reserve League
Monday, March 24, 2008
Excelsior Stadium, Airdrie
CELTIC… 5
(Riordan 3, 6, Millar 11, Cawley 30, Killen 84)
GRETNA… 0
CELTIC (4-4-2) Fox; Caddis, O’Carroll, Wilson, Perrier-Doumbe (Ross 46); Mizuno (Riley 40), Millar, McGlinchey, Riordan; Cawley, Killen.