Celtic II secured a 4-3 victory over Stranraer in the Call Cup Group Stage-3 fixture on September 1st. The match ended with the visitors edging the hosts in a game that swung between the two sides before the visitors pulled away in the closing stages. A. Traynor saw red in the 87th minute, but the result was already decided by then.
J. Dolan opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 36th minute, giving Stranraer an early lead. L. Clearie equalised from the spot just after the break in the 47th minute. A. Healy restored the hosts' advantage in the 50th minute, and R. Foster made it 3-1 in the 56th minute before the visitors began to claw back.
Clearie turned in his second penalty in the 60th minute to bring Celtic II within a goal. He completed his hat-trick in the 85th minute, and S. Mcardle added the winner in the 86th minute. The away side had carved them open at will in the final quarter despite going down to ten men, and the visitors came from the dead to take all three points.
Both teams shared possession evenly at 50%, but Celtic II registered more attacks with 83 compared to 69. The visitors also found the target more often with 11 shots on target to 8, though both sides had eight attempts off target. Stranraer's red card came late and did not change the outcome, but it reflected the intensity of a game that could have gone either way.
The result ends Stranraer's unbeaten run, which had extended to eight matches. They had won four and drawn one in their previous five outings, including victories over Kelty Hearts and Gala Fairydean Rovers. Celtic II's away form remains uneven, with mixed results against sides of varying quality.