James McPake said he enjoyed the tactical battle against some of the best young talent in the country.
Celtic B gave as good as they got at points in Tuesday’s match in the SPFL Trust Trophy.
By then Dunfermline had given themselves a two-goal advantage before Johnny Kenny pulled one back for the Glasgow side.
Nikolay Todorov made half-volleyed the Pars into a two-goal lead after Taylor Sutherland opened the scoring in the opening minutes.
🎥 Watch the goals from yesterday's 2-1 win over Celtic B.
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— Dunfermline Athletic (@officialdafc) November 16, 2022
He was one of two 16-year-olds to make his senior debut, along with defender Sam Young.
Andrew Tod, also 16, made his first start for the senior side.
Amazing
The Dunfermline manager couldn’t hide his smile when being asked about watching youth products perform in the way they did.
“It is amazing,” he said. “It is my background and something that I am still really passionate about.”
McPake cut his teeth as a coach in the Dundee under-18s along with his current assistant Dave Mackay and Celtic B coach Darren O’Dea.
It is the reason he is “so close” with the man he went up against in the dugout on Tuesday.
He helped a bunch of Dens Park teenagers rack up more than a hundred appearances between them – and he wants to do the same at East End Park.
“They played in high pressure games and we want to do that here,” added the Pars boss.
“It starts with the younger ones and then [academy head coach] Greg [Shields] is the one that then turns them into being able to go out and do what they did.
“Sam Young being able to handle playing in a first team game, Andrew Tod being able to handle it tactically.
“Taylor Sutherland is not even full-time just now but he came in and showed that movement and can last the 90 minutes in a physically demanding game because Celtic B are super fit with the way they play.”
‘If they’re good enough, they’ll play’
McPake said he wants the club to “pride itself on its academy”, which is still in its infancy – created after the dissolution of the Fife Elite Football Academy.
He also warned that the players will need to be protected when they inevitably hit steep points on their learning curve.
“If they are good enough they will play,” said the Dunfermline manager.
“Mistakes hurt them a wee bit more than, say, a Kyle Benedictus because it takes them longer to get over it, that’s where we have got to support them.
“That is where Greg is great with them and the club is great with them. We have got to be patient but we believe in what we do.”
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