CELTIC under 18’s boss Stuart McLaren has revealed a good luck message from Ange Postecoglou and his first–team stars gave the Hoops’ youngsters a boost of confidence as they secured the Scottish Youth Cup with a victory over Rangers in an 11–goal thriller at Hampden.
The Hoops emerged with a 6–5 win in extra time against a ten–man Gers, who had striker Zak Lovelace sent off for two bookings for simulation.
The win meant that the trophy wouldn’t be returning to Ibrox, and instead would be returning to Parkhead.
McLaren expressed his pride in the players and hopes that Postecoglou saw the quality of their performance, which was the first time in six years that the trophy had been won by Celtic.
He said: [Football Scotland]
“I’m just so proud of the boys. It was a great advert and both teams showed some real quality. I’m delighted for the boys.
“Ange is quite happy to trust Darren O’Dea and Stephen McManus with their job, and me with my mine. There was a nice good luck message from him to the group, and to myself this morning, which was terrific, as well as one from all the other first-team staff and Callum McGregor.
“That was a nice touch for the boys, and I think they really appreciated that. The good thing with the manager is there is a real continuity to how we’re working now, from the first team, to the B team, to ourselves, and obviously that’s filtering down through the academy.
“Every day is an opportunity, if it’s a day at training, miles out from a game or at a cup final, it’s an opportunity to try and impress him. It was great that he was here tonight to see some of the quality we’ve got.”
It was a great watch last night, with many Celtic fans opting to tune into the youth final instead of the Premier League matches.
It was a really entertaining match, with some Celtic players standing out and looking like they could be talents who are soon to rise through the ranks. It’s just a shame that fans weren’t allowed into Hampden Park for the game.
