RONNY DEILA was delighted with the form of his Development side as he watched them overwhelm Kilmarnock 3-0 at Cappielow.
The Celtic manager and his assistant John Collins saw the team go three points clear at the top of their league, but the youngsters had to wait until after the hour mark for the breakthrough.
Jack Breslin claimed the opening goal when he headed in an Aidan Nesbitt corner-kick in the 64th minute.
Theo Archibald wrapped up the points in the 72nd minute when he pounced to score from close range after a Nesbitt shot had been blocked.
And the winger added another in the fading moments when he fired into the far corner after some nice play from substitute Calvin Miller.
However, a serious-looking injury to Mark Hill in the closing stages, which saw the midfielder carried off on a stretcher, was a late cause for concern for the Hoops.
Tommy McIntyre made three changes to the team that beat HJK Helsinki so impressively in the UEFA Youth League. Logan Bailly replaced Colin McCabe in goal while Kieran Tierney was restored at left-back at the expense of Aidan McIlduff. Up front, Luke Donnelly returned to the side after being out through injury for a lengthy period.
Deila and Collins no doubt would have been interested to get a close-up view of Nesbitt, who netted a hat-trick against Helsinki. Inside two minutes, the youngster had forced Mark Ridgers to make a good save.
Tierney, who played in the 2-2 draw with Fenerbahce in the Europa League in place of the banned Emilio Izaguirre, was withdrawn at the interval obviously with a view to some of the tough games the first team will face in the coming weeks.
But the adventurous defender wouldn’t have done his chances any harm with a solid 45 minutes against Killie. Calum Waters took his place at left-back.
Belgian keeper Logan Bailly, who will be back-up to Craig Gordon against Molde on Thursday, also had an enjoyable work-out.
