Hibs U19s 3 Celtic 2

A stoppage-time winner from Josh McDonald ensured our U19s picked up all three points over Celtic at a blustery HTC!

An own goal inside five minutes put Hibs in front, though the visitors levelled before half-time through Rocco Di Giacomo - with the Hibees seeing a penalty saved beforehand. 

Callum MacDonald would fire Hibs back ahead with a forceful header, only for a fluke own goal restoring parity to the match. 

Thankfully, a sweeping counter-attack late in the game would see Cole Shankland pick out McDonald in the mixer, with the midfielder sublimely finishing to earn the lads a hard-fought victory.

There were skirmishes following the full-time whistle as tempers flared, with Celtic's Calvin Keenan red-carded. 

Hibernian XI: Mallon, McSporran, Riddell, Gillie (Shankland 72'), Buckley, Bruce, McMurdo, McDonald, MacDonald (Gallacher 76'), Davidson (Downie 30'), Calder.

Substitutes: Brown, Shankland, Gallacher, Burns, Downie.

The wee Hibees started strong on home turf, with Adam Buckley having a header inside the first minute deflected behind after meeting a Jamie McMurdo corner at the back post.

Three minutes later, McDonald performed a dazzling run to breeze past multiple Celtic defenders before firing low - though his attempt was blocked wide. 

Our dominant start paid off on five minutes, with the Celtic keeper Jamie Meikle's punched clearance bouncing off his own defender's back and into the net. 

Luke Davidson, like McDonald not long before, skipped past multiple Celtic bodies before firing low into the arms of Meikle on 12 minutes.

Nathan Meechan felled MacDonald in the box after 15 minutes following slack play at the back, though McDonald's subsequent spot-kick was saved low by Meikle. 

An equaliser was found by Di Giacomo on 23 minutes. The Celtic number 10 excellently took down a fizzed pass into feet from the left-side and lashed in on the half-volley.

This strike would see the tide begin to turn in the fiercely-contested match, with Celtic immediately growing more into the game.

10 minutes later, Di Giacomo intercepted an underhit pass across the backline and quickly bore down on goal. Gillie and Buckley raced back to put great pressure on the forward, as Mallon rushed out to deny Di Giacomo with a brave stop.  

Hibs were closest to taking the lead heading into half-time, as Owen Calder lashed wide while looking to finish off a terrific attack with a first-time effort.

Celtic number one Meikle was called upon on the cusp of half-time, pulling off a strong save to deny McDonald following the midfielder's swift spin-and-shot attempt. 

We started the second half as strongly as the first, with McMurdo curling a neat strike into the arms of Meikle inside the first 60 seconds of the restart. 

On 53 minutes, we would retake the lead with a powerful header. A clever channel ball from Riddell clipped down the line found McMurdo, whose floated cross was expertly nodded in by MacDonald. 

The lead would not last long, however, as Celtic levelled once more on 61 minutes. A corner whipped in towards the near post was mis-hit by the Hibs body in the area, with the ball flukily looping over Ryan Mallon and into our net. 

Celtic attacker Lennon Watt would twice threaten in the next 20 minutes; blazing over from 20 yards out before forcing a low save from Mallon after darting in behind the Hibs defence from a long throw.

Hibs would continue to push forward for a winner after a weakened second-half showing. Zach Bruce would head into the arms of Meikle, before the ball potentially creep over the Celtic goal-line following a stramash in the box - though no goal was awarded. 

The clincher would be found deep into stoppage-time through McDonald. The visitors would throw the bulk of their squad forward in a last-ditch attempt to snatch the winner from a set-piece, but a rapid breakaway spearheaded by McMurdo would cost them dearly.

Cole Shankland was picked out as we reached Celtic's penalty area and he was quick to pick out McDonald, who took a terrific touch and slammed in the all-important goal to secure all three points.