Queen's Park 0-1 Celtic: 3 talking points as Hoops begin pre-season programme with narrow win in Mount Florida

Brendan Rodgers gave a mixture of youth and experience a chance to impress as Celtic kicked off their pre-season schedule with a narrow but deserved 1-0 win over Queen’s Park at The City Stadium last night.

The Hoops boss named only four established first-team regulars in his starting XI, with skipper Callum McGregor, Auston Trusty, Arne Engels and Luke McCowan all playing 45 minutes. A multitude of stalwarts were absent. including Nicolas Kuhn who is close the completing a blockbuster €20 million transfer to Serie A.

And it was left to fringe striker Johnny Kenny, who has been linked with a move away from Parkhead in recent days, to convert the only goal of the game in the first-half on a rain-soaked evening in Mount Florida.

The Republic of Ireland youth international displayed good awareness to find space in the box and fire home after latching onto left-back Mitchel Frame’s neat cutback after 19 minutes.

As expected. the visitors dominated possession but were unable to add to the scoreline in the second half with Rodgers making 10 outfield changes at the interval. Only goalkeeper Ross Doohan and centre-back Stephen Welsh, who took over the captain’s armband from McGregor, were considered senior pros at that point with a clutch of B-team and Under-18 players handed some valuable minutes as part of a largely inexperienced team.

Teenage winger Thomas Hatton came closest to adding a second goal when his drilled effort was tipped onto the crossbar by Spiders goalkeeper Calum Ferrie, who also had to look sharp to thwart Samuel Isiguzo.

However, this was a winning start and a platform for Rodgers and his stars to build from. Here, GlasgowWorld breaks down three main talking points from the game:

Youth given chance to shine

A number of youngsters were eager to stake their claim and seize a big opportunity by attempting to catch Rodgers eye before any firm decisions are made on certain individuals development path, whether that be inclusion on the fringes of the senior squad or playing regularly with the reserves.

Earlier this week, Rodgers reiterated the importance of pre-season for up-and-coming prospects and went as far as to namecheck 16-year-old talent Conor Daly as someone who has impressive him in training at Lennoxtown, having just signed his first professional terms with the club last month.

And the Northern Irishman will have been pleased that his youthful side were able to maintain the same intensity and territory that they had for large spells during the opening 45 minutes against a full strength Queen’s team.

Kenny proves the difference maker

This match was clearly all about building up fitness and match sharpness, but Rodgers will be looking for improvement in a number of areas when he takes his players across the water to face Cork City in Ireland next Tuesday. On this occasion, it was Kenny who looked to make his mark from the outset and the former Shamrock Rovers hitman showed his goal scoring prowess by taking his early opportunity with a sharp finish.

Rodgers remains on the lookout for an established goal scorer to replace Kyogo Furuhashi, who left the club in January. And Kenny will hope to earn more chances to prove he can step up to the plate as the central striker, despite the recent arrival of Callum Osmand from Premier League side Fulham to add greater competition for a starting jersey.

Trusty looks to eradicate errors

Question marks remain over whether Auston Trusty can put a debut season strewn with mistakes behind him and prove his should be the main man to partner first-choice central defender and fellow compatriot Cameron Carter-Vickers on a consistent basis.

A lot was expected of the USA international last summer following his £6m arrival from Sheffield United an while he displayed in flashes what he is capable off in the Champions League there were too many sloppy domestic performances in his locker.

Those errors need eradicating from his game if he is to have a serious chance of becoming a regular under Rodgers. He possesses a real goal threat from set-plays, in particular, but with Hayato Inamura signing on a four-year deal just prior to kick-off, Trusty now knows he faces increased pressure to make the position his own.

How Celtic lined up vs Queen’s Park

First-Half:

Ross Doohan, Colby Donovan, Dane Murray, Auston Trusty, Mitchel Frame, Callum McGregor, Arne Engels, Luke McCowan, Jude Bonnar, Adam Montgomery, Johnny Kenny

Ross Doohan (Josh Clarke), Ben McPherson, Stephen Welsh, Mitchell Robertson, Andrew Kyle, Sean McArdle, Kyle Ure, Francis Turley (Conor Daly), Ben Summers, Thomas Hatton, Samuel Isiguzo