Gutted Dundee United forward Gary Mackay-Steven suggested the future’s looking bright for his side despite their heart-breaking Scottish Cup semi-final loss to Celtic at Hampden.
The Tangerines went into the tie as underdogs but Jackie McNamara’s battlers belied that tag by pushing the Hoops all the way in an end-to-end encounter which eventually ended 4-3 after extra-time.
United had led 2-1 on the half-hour after goals from Mackay-Steven and skipper Jon Daly had overturned Kris Commons’ early strike for Celtic, but a Victor Wanyama effort made it 2-2 at the break.
After Commons’ second on the hour looked to have won it for Neil Lennon’s men, United fought back again to take the game into extra-time courtesy of Daly’s second of the afternoon but a winner from substitute Anthony Stokes finally broke their stubborn resistance.
Despite the defeat though, Mackay-Steven firmly believes United who fielded teenagers Ryan Gauld and John Souttar in their starting line-up will be all the better for their experience.
“Obviously it was a great game for the fans but it was a sickener for us to lose it in extra-time,” he said.
“We kept coming back at them and scoring goals, but it was just unfortunate they got the goal in extra-time to win it. After Daly’s header in normal time we were just thinking we could maybe take it to penalties, but it wasn’t to be.
“They scored a great last goal to win it and it was unlucky for us in the end.”
“We’ve given it everything and I think a few of us were running on empty in extra-time,” said Mackay-Steven.
“But it’s unbelievable for a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old to not just come in and play but to play really well. They’ve showed maturity beyond their years and they’ve got unbelievable futures ahead of them.
“Hopefully they can keep it going. I’m sure they will Ryan (Gauld) and John (Souttar) are two level-headed boys and they’ve got the world at their feet.
“There are other good players coming through as well, so it’s great for United. That kind of experience will help them massively in their future careers.
“The manager has shown faith in them, thrown them in in a game like this, and they’ve handled it really well so that can only help them and they’ll mature quicker than ever.”
Mackay-Steven felt he was denied a first-half penalty when Wanyama barged into his back in the box an incident that his boss McNamara also believed should have resulted in a spot-kick.
However, Mackay-Steven was happier to focus on the positives from his first Hampden experience.
“I thought it maybe should have been a penalty but I would need to see it again to make proper judgement,” he admitted.
“I felt contact on my back, but it’s just one of those things you get decisions that go for you and sometimes you don’t.
“It’s one of those things that makes football good, when there’s controversy like that. It obviously wasn’t to be our day but we gave it a good go and I think we were unlucky not to have won.”