Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Ewan Paton

Ally McCoist makes Rangers vs Celtic Youth Cup final admission

Ally McCoist was left stunned by the scoreline in the Scottish Youth Cup final.

That's because the Rangers legend missed his former side's U18s in action against Celtic's young guns.

It was the Hoops who prevailed victorious from a sensational 11-goal thriller at Hampden.

The game was finely poised throughout, with the scoreline 3-3 at half-time and then 4-4 at full-time.

Zak Lovelace was sent off after the Gers attacker received two yellow cards for diving. 

And Celtic made their man advantage count in extra time, eventually winning 6-5 at the national stadium, with Lewis Dobbie's cheeky backheel clinching the victory.

McCoist appeared on talkSPORT this morning alongside Alan Brazil.

And he couldn't believe it when he heard about the end-to-end game.

When told how it panned out, McCoist said: "Really? Wow! What a game that must have been."

Rangers midfielder Cameron Campbell was left reeling by the defeat for his Gers side.

He said: "There are definitely positives in that game if you look at the attacking play but we can't stand here and look at the positives when we've conceded six goals against Celtic in a cup final.

"The days for reflecting back and picking apart the game will come but right now it is about managing the players' emotions and getting them to learn and deal with these situations."

Meanwhile, a good luck message from Ange Postecoglou and Callum McGregor provided the motivation for Celtic’s youngsters to triumph at Hampden.

Youth team coach Stuart McLaren reckons the 120 minute thriller was a great opportunity for Postecoglou to witness the talent coming through the academy, and an important for the teenagers on their road to making the grade at Celtic Park.

"I'm just so proud of the boys,” said McLaren. "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."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.