Speaking to Celtic TV after the game, Darren O’Dea said: “I have mixed emotions. We are missing nine players with injuries.

“They have all put in so much that they’ve started to pick up little niggles, but the young lads that came in were excellent and showed real personality.

“All we can ask is for them to show the courage to play and they all did that, especially in the second half.

“We had to change shape because we're lacking personnel and it did disorientate them in the first half.

'The message was that the principles of the way we play never change, regardless of the shape.'

O’Dea added: “At this club, if you don't perform, you'll move to the side and someone else will come in. The younger lads showed last night that they're ready to go.

“They've trained with us a lot as we want them to be near our environment and understand what's required.

“Josh Dede has been with us all season although not played too much, and Magnus Mackenzie is the same. Now we’ve started to bring in Daniel Cummings, Kyle Ure and Francis Turley.

“These boys are first-year professionals, and they impacted the game more than anyone.”

Next up for the young side is a trip to Newton Park this Saturday for another Lowland League test against Bo’ness United.

Reflecting on last night’s performance ahead of the clash, O’Dea said: “There are different learnings from last night for each of the players, and Bo'ness will be a completely different game.

“Their pitch is narrow and they’re a lot more physical, so they're going to need to stand up to that.

“We must play in our style, that's what will demand the ball at all times. I think we lacked that for spells in the first half, but certainly, in the second-half, we were a lot better.

“Bo'ness will probably be a bigger test in all honesty, but I think with the experience we had last night, hopefully, that stands us in good stead.”

Darren O’Dea: The young players showed that they're ready