Celtic B twice came from behind to claim a stirring victory over Rangers B in a pulsating Lowland League derby at Parkhead.
The Ibrox youngsters, sitting top of the division, spectacularly collapsed after taking a second half advantage as Darren O'Dea's Hoops rallied to earn a stunning 5-2 victory. Goals from Rocco Vata, Mackenzie Carse, an own goal from Charlie McCann and Joey Dawson's late double meant McCann's penalty at the other end and a James Graham strike counted for nothing.
A thrilling 90 minutes, with the likes of Ange Postecoglou, Stephen Welsh and Ross Wilson in attendance, set a high bar for the senior sides ahead of a crucial Premiership clash at Ibrox on Monday. Victory for Celtic moves them to within three points of Rangers at the fifth tier summit and, crucially, they have a game in hand with which to further close the gap.
Ross McCausland had the first sight of goal, cannoning a shot against Bosun Lawal from the edge of the box after Dylan Corr's errant clearance put Celtic in a spot of bother.
It got worse for Corr shortly after as his tackle brought down Zak Lovelace in the box, the Rangers forward cleverly cutting inside and drawing a foul. Jeers from the home fans failed to put McCann off as he stepped up and swept his spot-kick down the middle.
Celtic responded well to going behind, however, and Adam Brooks came within a whisker of levelling, but Ben McPherson's ball across the box was just too heavy. A brilliant spin in midfield from Brooks then set Celtic off again, the forward bearing down on centre-back Greig Allen before rolling the ball left to Rocco Vata, but he dragged a first-time shot wide of the target.
Ewan Otoo was next to go close, turning in the box and lashing a high shot that brushed the outside of the post. The hosts were dominating, and yet almost found themselves two down as keeper Tobi Oluwayemi, to put it mildly, took his time following a passback and it very nearly allowed Lovelace to poke into the net from close range.
It would have been harsh on Celtic, who were threatening regularly and nullifying a disjointed Rangers. The league leaders' midfield trio of McCann, Bailey Rice and Lewis MacKinnon were seeing very little of the ball, and their full-backs Connor Allan and Robbie Fraser could hardly get up the pitch. Celtic deserved an equaliser and it duly arrived seven minutes before the break.
Ben Summers dazzled his way into the box and his cutback found the arriving Vata, whose first-time effort looped up and over Lewis Budinauckas.
It too Rangers until the cusp of half-time to register anything else of note. A sweeping move found McCausland at the edge of the box, but he couldn't shape his shot into Oluwayemi's bottom corner and the keeper saved comfortably. The interval's arrival was a welcome one for the visitors, who had been unable to capitalise on their early opener.
Celtic, a tad slow to get going, had taken full control of proceedings and may just have been disappointed in returning to the dressing room without a decisive advantage. Rangers needed a response, and found one moments after the restart.
McCann's deep free-kick cross found Robbie Ure lurking at the back post, and he should've done better with a close range header. A swift Rangers break sent Lovelace driving into the box, but after some neat footwork to fashion half a yard, he too fluffed his lines with a poor effort scuffed harmlessly wide.
As we passed the hour mark, another cross landed on the head of Ure in almost the exact same area but again he couldn't capitalise, this time missing the target entirely. The tide, however, had certainly started to turn in Rangers' favour.
They were now sniffing out chances to catch Celtic on the break, but a few missed opportunities to deliver the final pass began to leave McCallum cutting an exasperated figure on the touchline.
Next time, though, they got it spot on. Charlie Lindsay's perfectly weighted through pass released substitute Graham in behind Celtic's high line, and he coolly slotted beyond the onrushing Oluwayemi. But their lead, as it had done in the first-half, wasn't to last.
Urged on by the home crowd, Celtic shot up the other end to level. Carse, breaking forward from midfield, found himself in the box and he finished smartly into the far corner despite Rangers' last ditch efforts to halt him. An already topsy-turvy affair, Celtic suddenly were on the up, and they made their resurgence count with a slick move that ended with Charlie McCann diverting a cut-back from the right into his own net for what proved to be the winning goal.
The drama was far from over, however, as substitute Dawson twice popped up to pile the pain on their rivals with well-taken, close range finishes in the final minutes.
