Celtic FC B may have been on the losing side in their third Premier League International Cup outing, but it was a performance to be proud of as the Bhoys faced off against Chelsea.

With each game in the competition, the confidence and level of performance has continued to grow, following a difficult start back in September against West Ham United.

Last time out, the young Hoops were unfortunate to lose out against Brighton after coming from three goals down, before narrowly suffering defeat in the closing stages.

Following a positive few weeks for the Celts, they travelled down south once more on Wednesday evening to face off against Chelsea. And although they were on the losing side at Kingsmeadow Stadium, it was a performance which the players could be proud of.

Speaking in the immediate aftermath of the match, B Team coach Darren O’Dea said: “I’m honestly so, so proud of the players. Over the last month or six weeks, we have had so many top games.

“From playing Atletico Madrid home and away, Feyenoord at home, Lazio away, Brighton down at the Amex Stadium, and now Chelsea here.

'These are top-end games playing against really top opposition and the boys have equipped themselves seriously well.'

“We’ve just come off on the wrong side of results. If you look back at the Feyenoord game, you are 10 seconds away from a draw or even a win.

“At Brighton, we are 3-0 down, we produce an unbelievable comeback and look like the team who goes on to make it 4-3, but we don’t.

“Even tonight (Wednesday), I thought we had the better of the first half when we were 1-0 down, and in the second half we get our equaliser.

“We looked strong, but then we concede a poor second goal. But then we go hit the post, and we look like we’re going to come back into it.”

The Chelsea Academy is renowned for creating the next generation of talent, with a large number of players having moved on from the Cobham set-up to enjoy a successful career in the game.

This current side will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of the likes of first-team skipper Reece James, and there were even talents that cost upwards of £15million on display at Kingsmeadow.

Despite that, the young Celtic side put up a terrific fight, and enjoyed a number of positive spells throughout the match, striking the post twice in the second half.

Although it will once again come as a frustration for the Hoops to come away with nothing to show for their efforts, ultimately, O’Dea is hopeful that his side can continue to kick-on from their great display in London.

“I’ve mentioned before, to play at Celtic, or any level of football, if you don’t have that competitive edge, then you won’t play," he said.

“But I’m so proud of them because they are playing against Chelsea, who have players on the pitch who go for over £16million.

“We are coming down here with a younger squad, and then you are talking about players of that calibre bringing in for their B teams.

“Anyone who watched that game would say it was a very evenly contested match, where both teams gave a very entertaining game.

'So I’m really proud of them, and I keep repeating it, but the level of where we are at now compared to the start of the season is huge.'

“We’ll keep pushing now, and crank training up another notch. We’ll look forward to the second half of the season and hopefully keep making the strides forward.

“The level we have been playing at, and the teams we have been playing against, the performances we have put in have been outstanding, and tonight was one of them again.”

Darren O’Dea: I’m so proud of the boys after strong display against Chelsea