United visited the fantastic Lennoxtown facility to play Celtic in their final pre-season friendly of the summer today and it was an afternoon of high drama which eventually went the way of the home side.
Striker Kyle Soper was the man of the match for the young Blues as he grabbed an impressive hat-trick, but it wasn't quite enough to keep the Hoops at bay as they edged the game by the odd goal in nine.
Youth boss Darren Edmondson said: "Celtic have looked after us really well and they have an excellent facility up there.
"It was a very hard fought game and it could have gone either way. We're delighted for Kyle that he got his goals, and we also had an under-16 player who added to the score sheet, which was good for him.
"The lads will have enjoyed the experience and they'll go into the first game of the season on Friday with confidence. They've started to put a lot of things together over this last few weeks so we're looking forward to adding to that as we head into the season proper."
Next up: United v Shrewsbury Town, Brunton Park, Friday 3 August, kick off 1pm