Written by Cameron Wanstall

Storm Malik battered Excelsior Stadium with an ominous, whistling wind for a full 90 minutes but the gusts were not fierce enough to force a postponement - as it did at a number of Scottish football grounds on Saturday afternoon.

Robbie Horn made four changes to the starting squad that triumphed over local rivals Tranent Juniors last weekend. Skipper Jonny Stewart slotted back into midfield, while Al Horne, Bradley Barrett, and Ross Gray all also returned. Furthermore, loanee striker Sean Brown - who signed on Friday evening - started from the bench.

It took seven minutes for a shot on goal to occur, with Kerr Young the instigator and Celtic shot-stopper Tobi Oluwayemi the thwarter. Lee Currie, struggling to deliver a corner without the ball blowing away, managed to whip a fine cross in Young’s feet at the second time of asking, allowing the centre-back to take aim and force a strong parry from Oluwayemi.

With Celtic matching Rose’s excellent passing and pressing, it did not take long for the hosts to create chances of their own. A hopeful cross from Joseph Murphy was found by a keen Owen Moffat at the back post, though the forward couldn’t make clean contact with the cross and fumbled his effort wide.

Rose were zipping the ball about with confidence and looking on top in the opening stages, but it was the young Bhoys who would take the lead. Ben Wylie sauntered through the Rose defence before tripping over a trailing leg of a Bonnyrigg defender in the visitor’s penalty area. Adam Brooks stepped up to slam home the ensuing penalty despite Mikey Andrews getting excruciatingly close to the effort with his attempted save.

Robbie Horn’s men did not deviate from the game plan despite going behind and one man in particular, Barrett, fought back immediately. The flying wing-back created two chances in quick succession following the goal. First, Barrett whipped in an inviting cross that George Hunter headed over, before teeing up Lee Currie on the edge but the playmaker couldn’t hit the target.

That eagerness to push for an equaliser paid off just moments after Currie’s close call. Some confusion in the Celtic box led to the ball bouncing off a defender’s body cleanly into the path of Callum Connolly, who hastily swept the ball home with a dreamy, driven half-volley to level things up.

Celtic took control for the remainder of the half as a Dane Murray header and a Ben Summers strike, following a lovely jinking dribble from the forward, both managing to test Andrews. And yet, it was Rose who took the lead on the very brink of half-time.

Connolly, the hero of just ten minutes before, fought hard in the final third to win a corner, which allowed Currie to characteristically curl in a phenomenal back-post delivery from the resulting set piece. That cross was met by a brave Neil Martyniuk, who threw himself at the ball with a daring diving header to grab his first league goal of the campaign as well as the lead for the Rose.

The clash very much carried on as it had been once the teams came out for the second 45. There was still a howling gale creeping past the four stands at Excelsior, some exciting play from both sides and the feeling that a goal could come at any moment for either team.

Following some half-chances came the last twenty minutes and we saw a defiant Rose defence (as well as midfield and attack who all did their fair share of quelling attacks) stand strong against a Celtic B side who have proven in the past how capable they are of breaking down rigid backlines in the closing stages of tense, tight matches.

Hunter nearly wrapped things up when he capitalised on an error from Dylan Corr after the defender, and only Celtic outfielder not in the final third as the hosts desperately threw men forward, was too lax in possession. The persistent striker dispossessed the youngster, advanced on goal and attempted to chip Oluwayemi.

Unfortunately for Hunter, not only did the shot-stopper do his job but the clattering collision he made with the ‘keeper and Corr left him needing lengthy medical treatment. As he made way to rousing support from the typically fantastic travelling Rose fans, Sean Brown came on in his place to make his Rose debut.

Despite suffering through an additional eight minutes of stoppage time, the lads did not yield even a half-chance to the hosts. The exceptional, unflinching team performance pushes Rose further ahead at the top of the Lowland League but attention quickly turns to the South Challenge Cup as Arthurlie await in the fourth round next weekend.

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