After seven straight victories, Celtic under 11s surrendered their 100% start to the season on Saturday drawing 1-1 with Delamere Rangers, but nobody was quite sure how.On a poor pitch, Bridge dominated the early exchanges and almost scored within the first minute when successive efforts were blocked on the line. However, they were soon in front when Daniel South's free-kick found Max Norman who converted at the second attempt for his 7th goal of the season. Max and Nathan Dunworth were proving to be very lively up front and both had opportunities to increase the lead when Celtic broke at pace.Delamere were strong in the tackle and with a couple of pacy forwards themselves got in behind the Celtic defence to equalize. It was well deserved given the pressure they put on the lads for a 10 minute spell and it needed some harsh words for Bridge to finish the half the stronger.The second half saw the majority of the game played in the opposition half, but time and again the final ball was t... Read the rest of this article...

Celtic under 11s maintained their 100% record this season with a seventh straight win to move through to the second round of the County Cup on Sunday. Although convincing in the end, Celtic made heavy weather of defeating Northside on a rain-sodden pitch, but perhaps Saturday's exertions against Glossop had an impact. Celtic took the lead when Sid Holt got his first goal of the season with a powerful shot following a short corner. And it was soon 2-0 when Sid and Macauley Eyre were involved before Bradley Jinks played a delightful through ball for Keenan Owen to finish neatly in the corner. However, two errors in defence saw Northside draw level before the break and it was time for a bit of a wake-up call for some. Bridge took control of the second half scoring five times to seal the victory. From Jack Wray's corner, Daniel South hit the bar and Elliot Handley was on hand to score from half a yard. Brad's through ball allowed Max Norman to fi... Read the rest of this article...

Celtic under 11s took all three points, just, in a thrilling see-saw encounter with Glossop North End at the Soccer Centre on Saturday. Both teams began the match with 100% records, so something had to give. And with Celtic 4-0 up after 23 minutes, it seemed a foregone conclusion. Bradley Jinks free-kick had given Bridge the lead after 11 minutes and Nathan Greenhalgh added a second from the penalty spot four minutes later, when Max Norman was brought down after a lovely ball over the top by Charlie Parnell. Interplay between Max and Tom Bennett allowed Kai Forrest to force the keeper to parry and Jack Wray was on hand to make it 3-0 and then Jack's cross was spilled by the keeper allowing Nathan Dunworth (Bomber) to poke home number four. With the referee giving free-kicks left, right and centre, Glossop got one goal back before the break from a dead ball, but no-one was expecting what was to happen in the second half. From 4-0 up Bridge found themselves 5-4 behin... Read the rest of this article...

Celtic under 11s cruised through to the next round of the Challenge Cup with an 8-0 defeat of Breaks 147 on Saturday.Playing away for the first time this season, the lads had to get used to a full size pitch and it certainly took them a little time to get to grips with it. Despite dominating possession, chances were hard to come by in the first half, although by half time they did lead 2-0 thanks to Max Norman heading in Keenan Owen's cross and Keenan volleying in a loose bouncing ball in the box.A change of formation for the second period brought it's rewards as Celtic scored a further six unanswered goals. Nathan Greenhalgh found Jack Wray down the left, he cut inside and his driven cross was directed into his own net by a defender to make it 3-0. Macauley Eyre then scored a six minute hat-trick by being in the right place in true centre forward style. Elliot Handley and Jack creating the first two for easy but neat finishes, while Macca ended a scramble from close range for his thir... Read the rest of this article...

Celtic under 11's continued their impressive start to the season in the Tameside Saturday League with a 15-1 demolition of Dukinfield Tigers at the Soccer Centre on Saturday. Bridge have won their first four games, scoring 46 goals and conceding just the one. The opening 20 minutes were a bit of a struggle despite a fine solo effort from Elliot Handley and Nathan Dunworth (Bomber) getting the important touch after a scramble to give the lads a 2-0 lead. A couple of changes brought a further four goals in the remainder of the half as Max Norman set up Jack Wray who in turn found the far corner and then Bradley Jinks played a lovely through ball to Max who finished with a delightful little chip as the keeper committed himself. Daniel South poked the ball in to the far corner for number five after good work by Tom Bennett, while Brad found the bottom corner from the edge of the box after Jack's cross. An emphasis on using the width of the pitch at half time reaped its rewa... Read the rest of this article...

Celtic under 11s retained their unbeaten start to the season and their position at the top of the Tameside Football League with a resounding 14-0 defeat of Waterloo at the Soccer Centre on Saturday morning. For the third successive week, the game was won in the opening quarter of an hour as Bridge stormed in to a 4-0 lead. Daniel South's excellent cross was headed powerfully in by Max Norman after only ninety seconds and Stalybridge doubled their lead through Nathan Greenhalgh's expertly taken penalty two minutes later. Max pounced on a loose ball to add the third, while Kai Forrest skipped past a couple of challenges before neatly making it 4-0 after 13 minutes. Keenan Owen ended a scramble in the box for number five, but despite the scoreline and some neat passing, the first half display was below the teams best. However, in the second half they stepped up a gear as Kai got his second following good work by Jack and Tom and then completed his hat-trick from a corner.&... Read the rest of this article...

Celtic under 11s followed their impressive opening day defeat of Denton Youth with a sparkling display against Withington Rangers, notching a perfect ten times without reply. Five goals in each half proved Stalybridge's dominance throughout, as the lads continued to show the move to 11-a-side football suits them down to the ground.   Bridge took the lead on five minutes when Bradley Jinks chested down a Withington goal kick, and played in Nathan Dunworth (Bomber) who supplied a good finish in the corner.  It was 2-0 four minutes later after Celtic twice hit the bar before Jack Wray made sure from close range. Another poor goal kick fell to Elliot Handley who expertly chested down before finding the far corner for 3-0, while Daniel South showed good strength to poke home following a corner for the fourth. Just before half time, Nathan Greenhalgh's ball to the near post saw the Rangers defence hesitate allowing Bomber to nip in and... Read the rest of this article...

Stalybridge Under 11s opened their Tameside Saturday League campaign with a resounding 7-0 defeat of Denton Youth at the Soccer School this morning. An excellent pre-season transferred itself into the first fixture as Celtic raced in to a 4-0 lead inside a quarter of an hour. Elliot Handley scored the first goal of the season after 3 minutes, sweeping the ball home following a corner. Nathan Dunworth a.k.a 'Bomber' found the far corner to make it 2-0, before Elliot added the third a minute later from a yard out after Kai Forrest's effort had hit the bar. Excellent pressure from Jack Wray and Elliot led to the fourth when Tom Bennett scored from the edge of the box. Bridge continued to press for the rest of the half, creating but unfortunately not finishing several chances, while James Tomkow had little to do in goal. The advantage was increased five minutes after the re-start when Sid Holt's cross from the left picked out Tom at the far post who touched it home. A nice combinatio... Read the rest of this article...

Stalybridge Under 11s defended their title at the Dukinfield Youth pre-season tournament by defeating Delamere Rangers in a tense penalty shoot-out after the final ended 1-1. Celtic were unbeaten in the group stage, but needed to recover from being a goal down with six minutes to go in the final qualifying game to progess. Three goals in those final six minutes calmed the nerves on the touchline, but there was more nail-biting to come.   Tom put Bridge ahead in the final after his shot from the edge of the box hit the bar and bounced down over the line. Delamere equalised and although Stalybridge pressed for a winner, the game ended deadlocked and both teams faced up to the pressure of penalties. Nathan, Brad, Jack and Dan all scored before Rangers missed their fourth spot kick, allowing Max to coolly step up and dispatch the winning kick. Well done lads and hopefully its a good sign ahead of the first league game next Saturday.

Next season's under 11s finished as runners-up in the Hollingworth Juniors 11-a-side tournament on Sunday despite fielding a somewhat depleted squad. Celtic swept in to the last four having won all their group games without conceding a goal, and in some games, without conceding a single chance. The semi-final proved a bit tougher, although when leading 2-1 with 90 seconds to go, Apollo Juniors were awarded a controversial penalty despite their striker clearly being in an offside position. However, Stalybridge regained the lead in extra time to win 3-2 and book their place in the final. Their opponents, Beechfield United, also took a 100% record forward from qualifying and in a close game another penalty and a headed goal decided the match although, once again, refereeing decisions definitely went against Celtic.  The lads are getting used to the bigger pitches and goals and its really good to play against lots of different oppositio... Read the rest of this article...