U21 Report: Saints 1-3 Celtic
Southampton’s Under-21s ended their Premier League International Cup campaign with a defeat against Celtic at Snows Stadium.
Adam Asghar handed an Under-21s debut to 16-year-old Thierry Rohart-Brown, who opened the scoring just before the break with a well-taken finish
Lewis Dobbie equalised shortly after half-time, before two goals in quick succession - another for Dobbie and one from Mitchel Frame - gave Celtic a two-goal lead and ultimately the victory.
Rohart-Brown was one one of three changes from his side’s last outing, with Zach Awe and Tyler Dibling also returning to the starting lineup.
Tyler Dibling returned to the Saints side. (Photos: Chris Moorhouse)
With both sides looking to end the group stages with a positive result, it was Celtic who created the first opportunities in a fairly quiet start to the game.
Jude Bonnar flashed a shot wide in the opening minute, before a spell of almost 20 minutes passed with neither side able to fashion a clear-cut chance.
Adli Mohamed did well to recover when Dobbie blocked his clearance, with Saints’ goalkeeper making amends by pouncing on the ball before Celtic’s striker could convert.
The visitors had their closest chance on the half hour, when Kyle Ure won the ball high up the pitch but saw his shot blocked by Derrick Abu.
Saints needed a response and began to forge some better chances; Jayden Moore clipped a ball over the top to Abu, whose touch bounced up and forced him to attempt a bicycle kick from the edge of the box.
In the 35th minute, Celtic were spared from going behind after Dibling intercepted a pass and drove forward, found Alejandro Gomes Rodriguez who in turn teed up Sam Amo-Ameyaw, who somehow struck the post from close range.
The opener did arrive soon after though, and it was the debutant Rohart-Brown who connected with a deep Cam Bragg cross at the far post to acrobatically fire Saints ahead.
Rohart-Brown celebrates his goal.
Amo-Ameyaw almost doubled the lead before the break with a trademark run and cut inside from the right, but his shot drifted just wide of the far post.
Saints took their lead into the break but it was short lived after the restart when Dobbie squirmed in a rebound from close range to equalise, pouncing on the loose ball after Mohamed had made a good initial save.
Towering centre-back Awe, who was a threat all evening from Saints’ set pieces, was denied his first goal for the club when a header struck the crossbar just before the hour mark.
However, it was the visitors who were next to strike with a quickfire brace that all-but sealed the result.
Dobbie fired in his and Celtic’s second with a low drive from the edge of the area, before Frame followed suit from a slightly tighter angle less than a minute later.
The sucker-punch double virtually killed off the game as a blocked attempt from Saints substitute Matt Carson was the best chance of a way back into the encounter.
There was almost a fourth in the final exchanges when Bruno Davidson was denied by an impressive Jake Vokins block, but the result was already sealed as Celtic ended their cup campaign with three points to take back to Scotland.
Saints: Mohamed, Abu (Davis 57), Awe, Moore, Meghoma (Carson 46), Bragg (c), Amo-Ameyaw (Pearce 46), Dibling (Merry 46), Gomes Rodriguez, Rohart-Brown (Stepien-Iwumene 65), Vokins.
Subs not used: McNamara, Armitage.
Goals: Rohart-Brown 40.
Celtic: Clarke, MacKenzie, Robertson (c) (Davidson 62), Donovan, Agbaire, Ure, Thompson, McArdle (Quinn 81), Dobbie, Bonnar, Frame.
Subs not used: Morrison, Osagie, Turley, Kyle, Cummings.
Goals: Dobbie 48, 70, Frame 71.
Yellow Cards: Ure 44, Donovan 73, Thompson 89.
Attendance: 365.
