CHRIS HAMILTON said captaining his boyhood club was a “special moment” as a much-changed Pars advanced in the SPFL Trust Trophy.

The midfielder was one of seven changes made by James McPake from the comeback draw with Clyde for Tuesday’s third-round tie with Celtic B, which Dunfermline edged by the odd-goal-in-three.

Taylor Sutherland, one of three 16-year-olds starting for Athletic, alongside Sam Young and Andrew Tod, opened the scoring on his first-team debut after just three minutes by heading in Kyle MacDonald’s cross at the near post, before Nikolay Todorov controlled a Hamilton ball into the box on his chest and firing in Dunfermline’s second in the 25th minute.

Although the young Hoops pulled one back through Johnny Kerr, the Pars progressed to round four, where they'll visit Arbroath, with whom Hamilton spent time on loan, on December 9.

“It was a special moment for me to lead the boys out, but the most important thing was getting through to the next round, and we’ve managed to do that,” Hamilton said.

“I thought they (the Pars’ young players) were excellent; they’ve deserved their opportunity. I don’t think the manager just threw them in there because it was a game that he could do that.

“They train well and they’ve been doing well in the reserve games. I thought they were excellent tonight; I thought all three of them stood up.”

Taylor takes his goal really well, Sam defended really well the full 90 minutes, so I'm really pleased for them."

When asked for his thoughts on the Celtic B side, Hamilton continued: "I thought they were really good; a few excellent players. We knew that, they're at Celtic for a reason.

"They're the best young talent in the country, so we knew it was going to be a tough game. The way they play, they play like the first team. Their movement is really good, it's something you don't come up against - any time really, unless you're playing Celtic.

"It was something we had to get to grips with in the game. I thought we did that, I thought the experienced boys - like Joe and Breeny, even myself and Nikolay - did quite well and helped the young boys through it as well.

"It's something different, you don't come up against that really any time - apart from these games. So even though it's their B team, they're still Celtic players. They're still good players - they can handle the ball, their movement is really good.

"You can see it's drilled into them - every day, exactly what they want. In terms of that, it was good to come up against something different, and I think the boys handled it well because sometimes those games can be a wee bit... the movement is different, you don't know where to go and you can get a bit lost.

"But I think we had enough experienced boys to help the young boys, and the young boys did enough. I think we showed our quality as well."

On the prospect of returning to Gayfield, he added: "It'll be strange going back up there, but I'm looking forward to it. Of course, it'll be a tough game.

"I know more than probably most how good a group they have up there, though they are struggling a wee bit this season, but I'm sure they'll come good and it'll be a tough game."

"I think they've also changed a lot since I've been there. Maybe 10 players have left since I was there and they've brought another 10 in. It's slightly different but obviously I know Dick and I know Pink and I know the way that they'll play and it'll be a really tough game."

Meanwhile, Pars' festive derby with Kelty Hearts has been handed a new kick off time.

The clubs will meet at New Central Park on Christmas Eve, and have agreed to a revised kick off time of 1pm, as opposed to its original 3pm slot.