Celtic’s u-17 side turned on the style tonight to beat Partick Thistle 4-0 at Lennoxtown in the Glasgow Cup.
Darnell Fisher, Mo Yaqub and Paul George put Celtic three up before half time with Islam Feruz completing the scoring after the break.
The Glasgow Cup gives the players a competitive edge running alongside the u-17 league where results and league tables aren’t kept.
“We played excellently tonight, I thoroughly enjoyed the game,” coach Tommy McIntyre admitted. “The passing was short and sharp, we played at a good pace and scored some great goals.
“I could pick out players all over the park to highlight but every part of the team worked well.
“John Herron played a captain’s part in the middle of the park and Paul George put in a good shift. He played the full 90 minutes for the u-19s on Sunday against Airdrie and was happy to play again tonight.”
McIntyre added: “The beauty of the Glasgow Cup means that there are points at stake and that brings an edge to the games.
“We don’t play friendlies but these cup ties give us a different focus from our league matches. We want to work on things, develop players, take things from the training pitch and try them out in matches.
“We’re trying to get them playing in a certain style. We’re trying to nurture young talent, there’s a long way to go, sometimes it can be a rollercoaster with players of this age.
“Some of them have been involved with our development (reserve) squad and equipped themselves well.
“We have to manage them well, we never forget how young they are but they have their feet on the ground and know that they have a lot to learn.
“They were in at 4 o’clock today, did some training with them then went through a proper pre-match with a team talk to prepare them for the game.
CELTIC: Whiteman: Â Fulton, Trialist, O’Brien, Chalmers; Moffat, Herron, Fisher, Yaqub; George, Feruz SUBS Jamie Lindsay, Stuart Finlay, Paul McClellan