Ross County manager Malky Mackay spoke with pride and a tinge of disappointment after seeing his men lose 4-1 against Premier Sports Cup holders Celtic in Dingwall.
The Staggies were knocked out of the competition they won in 2016 and will turn their attention back to Premiership matters and the visit of Aberdeen this weekend.
Goals from Callum McGregor and Georgios Giakoumakis had the holders ahead at the break.
Alex Iacovitti halved the deficit in the second period before Daizen Maeda and James Forrest ensured there was no slip-up by the Scottish champions, who recently won by the same scoreline here in the league.
Mackay had mixed feelings after seeing his side defeated.
He said: “In the first half, we let ourselves down with the two goals we conceded.
“They were soft goals to concede. It wasn’t top class goals from our point of view we conceded. But we stayed in the game. There are times Celtic do that and they can run away with the game, such as on Sunday (when they won 9-0 at Dundee United).
“We were resilient and stayed in the game. In the second half, I made a couple of changes and decided to go man for man all over the pitch.
Ross County only team to score against Celtic this season in Scotland
“We did that for 45 minutes against the league champions, who are playing Real Madrid next week, and play the way we did and cause them problems and score.
“We’re the only team to have scored against Celtic this season in Scotland. We have done it twice now. The momentum was with us at 2-1 in periods. I am proud of them for that.
“We lost a third goal, which was another poor goal to lose and that burst our bubble a little bit. At the same time, we went right to the end and they scored a fourth with a breakaway.”
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou, meanwhile, said: “I’m really pleased. We made nine changes and that could easily affect the fluidity or cohesion but these boys are training hard every day and they prepare for their opportunity.
“They showed that tonight, especially here against a difficult opponent. To win 4-1 is a credit to the players.
“All the boys looked sharp. I don’t think anyone didn’t perform to the levels we want them to.”
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