Celtic hosted Whalsay on Monday night with the town side looking to build on their positive league form and seal a fifth win in a row while Whalsay were looking to complete the double over the hoops having defeated them at Harbison earlier in the season.
Perhaps as a result of their Parish Cup exploits on Saturday, Whalsay were slow out the traps and Celtic’s youthful front three were threatening throughout the opening period.
The match’s first chance fell to the home side but Kyle Duncan saved well with his feel to thwart James Aitken’s shot from the narrowest of angles. Kennedy Moar and Saul Sim were linking up well in the wider areas with Jordan Simpson and Tom Moncrieff supporting well from full back.
And it was from one of Simpson’s forays forward that Celtic opened the scoring. The defender won the ball back in the right back position before striding forward to the edge of the box and finding the top corner with the aid of a slight deflection.
Moments later, Brian Henderson headed wide from a free-kick however neither side created much more before the half time whistle went.
The second half turned into an entertaining end-to-end affair with Whalsay pushing further forward in search of the equaliser while Celtic were looking most likely on the break.
Shane Odie was brought on at half time and injected more pace up front and nearly made an instant impact however his shot flashed wide. At the other end, Lee Irvine was also brought on with similar effect and looked to come in off the left flank and link up with Scott Anderson in attack.
Midway through the half, it was the home side who got the all-important second goal and Odie was again at the heart of the attack with the assist. Aitken broke forward from midfield and played a one-two with the striker before slotting in past the onrushing Duncan, despite the best efforts from Danny Thomson on the line.
However just minutes after opening up some breathing space, it was game on once again when, following a bit of a stramash from a corner, Dean Guthrie smashed home from close range to make it 2-1.
Further efforts from Aitken flew wide while Moncrieff also shot agonisingly wide after another mazy run forward.
But with the game moving into the final minute of added time Celtic finally sealed the win. Aitken won the ball in the wide right position and squared to Odie whose shot was saved but Kennedy Moar was at hand to power home the rebound. The match finished 3-1 to the home side with Matthew Murray and centre-backs Bradley and Clubb best for the home side. Stuart Goodlad and substitute Irvine were the pick of the bunch for Whalsay.
CELTIC TEAM: K Glaser, J Simpson, J Clubb, J Bradley, T Moncrieff, E Smith (S Odie), M Murray, J Aitken, B Johnson, S Sim, K Moar