Hearts B were defeated 2-1 by Celtic B at the Excelsior Stadium on Friday night in their final league match of the season.
Liam Fox made one change to the side that saw off Bo’ness United last Friday as Finlay Pollock replaced Mackenzie Ross at right wing.
With only league champions East Kilbride sitting higher than these two sides in the goalscoring charts, this match did have a high chance of producing goals and it was a lively start in Airdrie as Bobby McLuckie cut inside off the left-wing, before curling just wide after only three minutes.
Both sides were breaking in numbers in the early stages with lots of turnovers and transitions, but neither goalkeeper was tested in the opening 15 minutes.
The opening goal arrived just a minute later and it was Celtic who struck first. A nice through ball picked out Ben Quinn on the left and he unselfishly squared the ball for Lewis Dobbie to tap into the empty net.
The hosts had a brilliant chance to double their lead out of nowhere just a minute later when Bruno Davidson was sent through on Liam McFarlane, but he was out smartly to deny him.
Up the other end, the Wee Jambos were searching for a response, and they almost found it when Bailey Dall floated a deep cross to his opposite full back Adam Forrester, but he could only side-foot over at the back post.
There hadn’t been a lot in the game, but the men in maroon found themselves two behind ten minutes before the interval as Colby Donovan fired home a powerful strike from the edge of the box.
Half-time: Celtic B 2-0 Hearts
The Wee Jambos produced a stunning comeback against Bo’ness last Friday night and McLuckie halved the deficit ten minutes after the break. It was a good press from James Wilson, who threaded a neat ball into the path of the number seven, to dink the ball over Joe Morrison and into the empty net.
The men in maroon almost restored parity on 67 minutes. A nicely timed run from Callum Sandilands saw him in behind the Celtic backline, he pulled the ball for Gus Stevenson, who called Morrison into a smart stop.
From the resulting corner, the Celtic stopper was again in action, beating away McLuckie’s effort from the edge of the box after a clever short corner routine.
The Wee Jambos huffed and puffed as the game entered its closing stages, but they couldn’t fashion an equaliser as Celtic held on to take all three points.
Hearts: McFarlane, Dall, McLuckie, Wilson (Thomas, 60), Sandilands, Stevenson, Gordon, Forrester, Smutek, Gillies (Smith, 69), Pollock (Ross, 38)
Subs: McConnell, Thomas, Friel, Ross, Thompson, Smith, Muirhead
Celtic: Morrison, Donovan, Mackenzie, Robertson ©, Agbaire, Ure, Davidson, Bonnar, Dobbie, Turley, Quinn
Subs: Bonetig, McLean, Osagie, Jackson-Luyeye, McArdle, Cummings
