Celtic talent puts himself on radar by scoring in strange circumstances during six-goal thriller

Dargie, 19, signed a new contract with Celtic last year that will keep him at the club until the summer of 2028, but was allowed to move to East Kilbride on a season-long loan deal in the summer as part of the two clubs’ co-operation agreement, where he will look to gain some valuable first-team experience.

However, his co-operation agreement allows Dargie to move between his parent club and East Kilbride during the season, which has allowed the teenager to continue featuring for the Celtic B team when required, including in Tuesday night’s Challenge Cup tie at the K-Park Training Academy.

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The winger has already made two appearances for East Kilbride this season, coming off the bench in defeats to Ross County and Montrose last month. He was an unused substitute in last weekend’s 2-1 away win at Alloa Athletic. However, just 72 hours later, he was named in Stephen McManus’ starting XI for Celtic B as they took on Mick Kennedy’s side in the League Phase of the competition.

The home side took the lead, with former Greenock Morton player Owen Moffat opening the scoring after just 16 minutes, though a brace from Celtic B’s Calvin Keenan (26, 41) put the visitors ahead as the game approached half-time. Former Hibs youth Owen Calder levelled the scores with just over 25 minutes remaining.

Off the pitch, a touchline incident boiled over as Kennedy protested several refereeing decisions during a back-and-forth cup tie. The host’s manager was shown a red card for dissent, sending him to the stands for the final stages of the clash.

Dargie then took a share of the headlines when he flicked on goalkeeper Cameron Patterson’s goal kick, latched onto the ball himself, and slammed it into the East Kilbride net. A muted celebration followed. There was one final sting in the tail though, as Cameron Elliott continued his impressive recent scoring streak by bagging an injury-time equaliser to hand his side a share of the points.

However, the story of the night belonged to Dargie for his peculiar strike. The youngster has come through the ranks at Celtic, making his debut for the club’s B side as a 16-year-old in the Lowland League, while he has also made appearances in the UEFA Youth League.

His strike against East Kilbride adds to his impressive goal contribution tally, with Dargie now registering 24 goals and eight assists in 41 appearances for Celtic’s B team. The result leaves East Kilbride in fourth place in the Challenge Cup table. Celtic B occupy 14th position.