Martin O'Neill watched from the stand as three of his fringe men were given a runout in a B team clash, but they were given a reality check as £3.5million summer signing Joel van der Berg, striker Shim Mheuka and defender Landon Emenalo all featured in the 2-0 defeat to Ross County.
Fringe Players Feature in Dingwall
O'Neill made the long trip north to Dingwall along with coaches Mark Fotheringham and Stephen McManus for the KDM Evolution Trophy clash. The trio featured for 72 minutes of the game at the Global Energy Stadium, with the hosts in impressive form this season with 11 wins out of 13 Scottish League One games.
Van der Berg, 19, has yet to feature for the first team since his arrival from PSV Eindhoven in the summer with injuries hampering the midfielder. Mheuka and Emenalo are both on loan from Chelsea with the latter featuring just twice and striker Mheuka making eight appearances.
Ross County Boss Reflects on Win
After the game, Staggies boss Stuart Kettlewell told Ross County TV: "It was a competitive game. We were a bit frustrated at half-time because we didn't feel we'd handled the ball particularly well and we didn't think we'd quite got our pressing right. We knew Celtic would be comfortable in possession and would look to retain the ball, but we felt there were more opportunities for us to turn it over.
"That said, we scored a brilliant goal in the first half. The run from Dean Cornelius, the cross from Lewis Jamieson and the finish was first class. We were really pleased with that. We also had three, four or five other good opportunities, hit the woodwork a couple of times and, despite not playing as well as we would have liked, still created plenty of chances while limiting Celtic to very little.
"I thought we were better in the second half. We won the ball back more often, had a bit more composure in possession and created a lot of opportunities. Their young goalkeeper made some outstanding saves and, on another night, we probably score a few more goals. We hit the woodwork again and had numerous efforts on goal.
"You have to give credit to Celtic. They're a young side, but they're a good side. They've brought in players from elsewhere and have talented homegrown players as well. We always knew it would be a good test and another challenge for us to solve in this competition."
Europa League Focus
O'Neill now turns his attention to Thursday's Europa League clash against Besiktas - but the trio aren't included in the squad.
