Motherwell U19s crashed to a heavy 5-2 defeat at the hands of Celtic this afternoon, bringing to an end a five-month unbeaten run.
The Steelmen hadn’t lost a competitive game since crashing to a 3-1 defeat at Aberdeen in mid October and had won five out of their last six matches.
But it was Celtic, chasing table-toppers Hearts, who came flying out the blocks, netting three times in the opening sixteen minutes.
They took the lead after just four, Tony Watt heading home a Paul George cross. The same player grabbed his, and Celtic’s, second some seven minutes later before Callum McGregor added a decisive third, slotting home after Darnell Fisher’s shot was blocked by Ross Stewart.
Motherwell were on the ropes, Celtic rampant, and the visitors netted a fourth with Watt grabbing a hat-trick with a fine header.
It went from bad to worse on 34th minutes when John Kennedy’s side added their fifth. In what was becoming the story of the match, Watt was again the scorer and it again came from a header.
Half-time couldn’t come quick enough for Young’s side and to their credit, they came out and battled in the second half, making the score more respectable.
Craig Moore pulled one back after 58 minutes, Francis-Angol’s cutback ended up at the feet of the young striker via Lee Erwin and he slotted home.
Erwin and Josh Watt passed up decent chances to add a second before Moore eventually did with twelve minutes left to play. Substitute Adam Asghar threw over a terrific cross from the right and Moore found himself unmarked to head home from eight yards out.
The Steelmen battled on but couldn’t add any further goals. The youths have a chance to bounce back when they take on Dundee Utd in three days time.
Motherwell: Stewart, Devlin, Brownlie, Murray, Francis-Angol, Watt, Carswell (Asghar – 45mins), Hetherington, Moore, McGachie, Erwin
Subs: Murray, Lynch, Green, Leitch, MacDonald, Mboa Mekongo
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