Rangers Under-19s 3, Celtic Under-19s 3

THE brave, battling wee Bhoys of Celtic managed to negate a strong Rangers youth team and an infuriatingly biased referee to secure a 3-3 draw at Murray Park.
Scrambled efforts from Kevin Cawley and Luca Santonocito had put the young Celts in a good position to go on and secure the three points.
But a ridiculous penalty decision from a referee who had displayed his bias from the opening minutes left Celtic glad to salvage a draw from an evenly-matched and entertaining encounter.
The Hoops had started with Paul Skinner in goal and his fellow Irishman Richard Towell at right back.
Carlo Monti was left back, with Laurence Gaughan and Jason Marr in central defence.
Kevin Cawley, who had done so well at striker this season, started at the right of midfield, with Ross Hepburn and Michael Tidser in the centre, and Graham Carey out on the left.
Up front, with Paul Cahillane and Cillian Sheridan injured, were the very young pairing of Michael Graham and Belfast Bhoy Declan Bunting.
After a slow start in which the referee turned a blind eye to several meaty challenges, Andrew Shinnie came close with a free-kick from 20 yards out.
After 16 minutes, a poor Carey free-kick saw John Fleck sprint forward 60 yards and skin Monti, but just as he was about to shoot, Towell thwarted him with a great tackle.
It was about now, with the game in the balance, that the referee, Alasdair Ross, began his prolonged bid to win favour with any watching SFA supervisors.
He booked Kevin Cawley for an innocuous foul, then also yellow-carded Bunting for an ill-advised lunge at Giorios Efrem, the Rangers left winger from Greece.
It was from that conceded free-kick on 34 minutes that Rangers took the lead, a long ball being flicked on to allow Andrew Shinnie to slot the ball under the hesitant Skinner.
Two minutes later Celtic equalised.
A free-kick rebounded to Michel Tidser 25 yards out, and his powerful drive almost broke the bar. The ball rebounded to Jason Marr, whose sclaffed shot gave Cawley the chance to net at the second attempt.
Before the break, Shinnie headed just wide for Rangers and Hepburn had a header blocked after a great Monti cross.
But, in all honesty, Celtic had struggled for 45 minutes due to the inability of their very young forward line to retain possession.
Things got worse at the start of the second half when the right-footed Efrem ran away from Towell, then played a great reverse pass which allowed Isa Bagci to net low past Skinner.
At this stage Rangers were on top. But the whole nature of the game changed with one substitution.
Michael Graham was replaced by Luca Santonocito, with the former Inter Milan youngster going to left of midfield, Graham Carey to right of midfield, and Kevin Cawley to striker.
All of a sudden Celtic had a player up front who was looking for passes from defenders and midfielders and confident enough to take on the towering Rangers defenders.
And the hitherto anonymous Carey began to torture the Rangers left back Steven Kinniburgh.
On 58 minutes Carey fired a shot just over the bar. Then the increasingly frustrated Fleck was booked after a couple of wild lunges.
Efrem had been a major figure for Rangers at the start of the second half, but that ceased after 61 minutes when Danny Lafferty came on for Richard Towell. The Derry lad went to the left of central defence beside Gaughan, but, more significantly, Jason Marr went to right back.
Efrem was not a force from that point onwards.
Celtic were now in total control of the game. A curling Carey free-kick missed the goal by inches. Then a Cawley corner was headed off the line.
There was time for the ref to give Lafferty a pathetically soft booking before the Celts equalised.
Cawley did well to set up Santonicito, who was halted by a two-footed, studs-up challenge which the referee deemed to be fair.
Rather than argue, the ball was shuttled right to Carey, whose cheeky back-heel set up the rampaging Marr for a cross that eventually fell for Santonocito to net at the second attempt.
At that stage, 73 minutes in, there appeared to be only one team liable to win.
Craig Connell came on for Michael Tidser, who was suffering from cramp. But a minute later Mr Ross continued his bid for a free pint in his local lodge with a ridiculously soft penalty which Fleck netted to make the score 3-2 to the home team.
Our brave young Bhoys could have been forgiven for feeling they were up against 12 men, yet once again they came charging back, with the ever-diligent Ross Hepburn firing just over.
Taking his cue, Graham Carey then cut in from the right and thumped in a 25-yard fizzing drive which Rangers keeper Scott Gallacher allowed to slip through his hands to make the score 3-3.
Celtic striker Declan Bunting hit the post late on as both teams - who were clearly greatly tired on a heavy pitch - battled for the winner.
In the end, both sets of supporters greeted the players with an appreciative round of applause.
If I have to be honest, a draw was a fair result. But I genuinely felt the refereeing was far from fair.
Alasdair Ross: remember the name!

Celtic:

PAUL SKINNER
A couple of times I would have liked to have seen him quicker off his line to claim long crosses. But he had no chance with the goals, and made a couple of good saves late on. Needs an attitude. Can Artur put him up in his flat and teach him aggression and arrogance?

RICHARD TOWELL
Young 16-year-old Irish right back who clearly has a bit of growing to do. Defended well in the first half against Efrem but struggled at the start of the second half. Looked a bit nervous about going forward. Hopefully he will have learned a lot from this match.

CARLO MONTI
Talented left back, but struggled at times to match the pace of John Fleck. Good left foot, but still tons of learning to go. Needs to work very hard on his physique and pace.

JASON MARR
Tall, athletic and totally committed defender. Won header after header in central defence, where he reminded me of McManus. But he transformed the game when he moved to right back and totally bossed Efrem and set up the second goal. A certainty to move into the Reserves this season. A very good central defender, but a potentially GREAT right back.

LAURENCE GAUGHAN
Powerful centre half. Almost gave away a goal by taking one chance too many at the back. But his physique and commitment make him an essential player for this squad. Taking his time to settle in, but he will be a great addition once he stops trying too hard and sticks to his strengths.

KEVIN CAWLEY
Started at right midfield, but spent much of his time trying to play two positions; he was over-keen to switch inside and try to link up with his mis-firing forwards. At times this made it hard for Towell at right back to link up with him. But all this changed when he switched to striker and began to show for the ball, hold it up, bring other players into the game and generally terrorise the Rangers defence. Scored the first goal, but I was more impressed by the influence he clearly has on this team - he is THE player that the defenders and midfielders look to link up with. Kevin has definitely had better games, yet his influence on this game was still immense. Never stops running, totally aggressive, great first touch, out-jumps players six inches taller than him. Should I tell you about the senior Celtic coach who has likened him to Larsson?

ROSS HEPBURN
Once again asked to play the holding role in central midfield, with his chances of getting forward curtailed. Yet he still came close twice to scoring. He and Michael Tidser went toe-to-toe with the much-vaunted Rangers midfielders and came out on top. Any team would be happy to have this selfless, talented and determined young lad in their team. One of his tough tackles near the end was bone-crunchingly superb. Another great performance from a great team player.

MICHEL TIDSER
Totally mature and controlled performance. Set up the first goal with a magnificent 25-yarder which almost broke the bar. Ended up with cramp, which obviously means he has to work harder on his fitness. But he has much to be proud of from a great perfromance.

GRAHAM CAREY
I'll not beat about the bush here: on a number of occasions that I've seen this young Irish lad I've considered him to be more about pose than delivery. And in the first half of this game, it was pretty much business as usual. But when Graham was switched to the right wing in the second half he REALLY came to life. He tortured the Rangers left back, Steven Kinniburgh, and was at the heart of many attacks. Then he cut inside and sent in a thunderous 25-yarder which the keeper made a mess of to secure the draw. If Graham can regularly repeat that 30 magical minutes of aggression, pace, skill and delivery, he really has a chance.

MICHAEL GRAHAM
Skillful striker who had one or two jinking runs but rarely troubled the giant Rangers defenders. Has to work hard on physique and pace, stop blaming others, and get some aggression into his play.

DECLAN BUNTING
Tall, skinny Belfast lad won a few headers against the big Rangers defenders but rarely held the ball up well. Hit the post late on, but then had another chance and decided to pass rather than shoot. A big step-up for him, and at times he looked over-awed. Has to work very hard, but has youth and enthusiasm on his side.

LUCA SANTONOCITO
Came on at left of midfield, which is clearly not his position. I'm told he prefers to play in the middle, but will take some time to adjust to the hectic nature of that role in Scottish fitba. Showed great enthusiasm to get into the box, and was rewarded with the second goal, which he celebrated with gusto. Just a boy, but now on a steep learning curve.

DANNY LAFFERTY
Came on as a left-sided central defender and made some great challenges. Booked for next to nothing by a clown of a referee, but played a key part in changing the game around, not least by allowing Jason Marr to move to right back. It's impossible not to like Danny's Rogan-esque enthusiasm, but he probably knows himself that he has to work very hard on the technical side of the game.

CRAIG CONNELL
Unlucky not to start, and did a great job for the team as a late replacement for Tidser in the centre of midfield.