The 10 men of Hearts B defeated Celtic B 1-0 at the Excelsior Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Tommy North’s 71st minute penalty was enough to seal all three points for the Wee Jambos, as they made it two wins in two in all competitions.
Angus Beith made five changes from the KDM Evolution trophy victory against Queen of The South.
Henry James, Aiden Haddow, Euan Glasgow, Taylor Hogarth and Tommy North all returned to the starting lineup.
The men in maroon had a positive first half in Airdrie, and had a few decent opportunities to get themselves ahead early on.
In the opening minute, Connor Dow was slipped in behind the Celtic defence and got a strike away but he was thwarted by Gill in goal for the hosts.
On 13th minutes, Henry James did brilliantly to win possession high up on the left wing, before he played a low cross into the box to Dow, but the striker’s effort was straight at Gill.
The full-back had an opportunity of his own as he sprinted down the left wing and hit a powerful strike on his left foot which crashed off the frame of the goal.
In the 37th minute, striker Tommy North found himself free in the box and aimed for the bottom left corner with his strike, but Gill got down well to make a good stop to deny him.
Half-time: Celtic 0-0 Hearts
The Jam Tarts looked to finally break the deadlock in the second 45.
On 54 minutes, Taylor Hogarth drove into the Celtic penalty area and squared it for Dow, but the striker’s effort was blocked.
Owen Muirhead was shown a second yellow card in the 66th minute as Hearts were reduced to 10 men.
But Hearts got their goal with 20 left to play in Airdrie.
The Jambos were awarded a penalty after North’s cross struck the hand of a Celtic defender, and referee James Duffy pointed to the spot.
North stepped up and coolly dispatched his penalty into the bottom right corner for 1-0, and it was no less than Hearts deserved.
In the 85th minute, Celtic also found themselves down to 10 as goalkeeper Gills was shown a straight red card.
Ultimately, it was a fairly comfortable ending to the match as Hearts went on to secure all three points in the Lowland League.
Speaking to the Official Hearts Website at full-time, Angus Beith said:
“I was really pleased with the spirit of the team today. We went down to 10 men again, which isn't ideal. I think it's a slightly harsh one on Owen (Muirhead) but we really, really dug in that moment.
“I can feel a real team spirit developing within the group. And with that, a real confidence as well about how we're playing. I think we're making pretty good decisions on the ball, understanding when we go a wee bit longer. Tommy was brilliant at holding the ball up for us today.
“When we decided to go and play, I think it could have been better today, but I was pleased with the decisions we made and obviously delighted with the result. The only disappointing thing is the chances that we had off the back of turnovers high in their defensive third, our attacking third, we didn't quite make the most of that.”
Beith was pleased to see his side get their first clean sheet of the season so far.
“That's huge. It's something that we've been mentioning a lot. There's only so many times that you can do that as well and keep referencing it, but we've been pushing towards that goal. The team has been really trying. I think it's not for a lack of effort that we haven't had that first clean sheet, but I’m delighted we got it today.
“We haven't won back-to-back and we haven't kept a clean sheet. So to do both today is hugely pleasing. I repeat, I feel a real team spirit developing in the group, which is nice. I think wins do help that, and I can see a lot of individual development as well in certain players, which is also pleasing from our perspective.”
Celtic: 1 Marcus Gill, 2 Cole Crawford, 3 Andrew Kyle, 4 Finlay Hale, 5 Isaac English, 6 Kayden Daly, 7 Robert Rachwal, 8 Samuel Isiguzo ©, 9 Filip Skorb, 10 Francis Turley, 11 Emmanuel Obidiwe
Subs: 13 Cameron Patterson GK, 12 Hayden Borland, 14 Joseph Haney, 15 Conor Daly, 16 Owen Harrington, 17 Lucas Clearie
Hearts: Tas, James, Smith, Osborne ©, Dow (Banks, 71’), Haddow (A. Wilson, 89’), Glasgow, Muirhead, Hogarth, Wilson, North (Robb, 71’)
Subs: MacDonald, Ross, Banks, Wilson, Robb
