Under 11s Reach County Cup Semi-Finals

Celtic under 11s progressed to the semi-finals of the Manchester FA County Cup after dispatching Barhill Diamonds of the City of Salford Soccer League by 11 goals to 2 on Sunday morning at the Soccer School.

In truth, despite the scoreline, Bridge were well below par although the heavy pitch certainly didn't help their passing game, but too often poor decision making and undue haste led to the ball being given away needlessly.

It took 11 minutes for Elliot to break the deadlock, latching on to Sid's through ball. Tom then scored from the spot and saw another penalty saved, although Jack followed up to make it 3-0. Kai slotted in a fourth from Jack's corner to give Celtic a healthy half time lead, but the point was made that greater quality and effort were required for the next half an hour.

A mistake at the start of the second half presented Barhill with a goal back, but within seven minutes Celtic added a further three goals to lead 7-1. Kai poked home from Callum's pass for number five, while Dan's through ball's to first Macca and then Bomber were both finished calmly. Another perfect pass by Dan saw Bomber dispatch number eight, while Nathan's strike hit both post and keeper before dropping over the line.

Barhill pulled another goal back with a low drive following a corner, but Bomber completed his hat-trick from Keenan's pass, and the winger was on hand to tap in after Bomber's opportunity for a fourth was parried by the keeper.

Bomber picked up the champagne moment for his hat-trick, while Kai's assured performance in the centre of midfield won him the man of the match award. Celtic meet Middleton Lads in the last four on March 18th and they'll need a much better performance if they are to claim a place in the final.

FINAL SCORE: CELTIC 11 BARHILL DIAMONDS 2


Training: Thursday 6pm at St Damian's
Next match v Dukinfield Tigers (away)