From Colin Smith in Toronto

IN the shadow of the big city skyline a young, inexperienced Celtic squad pushed a strong Benfica side all the way today.

It was always going to be a tough assignment for the skeleton squad Celtic assistant manager Mark Venus brought to Canada for the CNE Cup, a one-off friendly.

Benfica, who spent 25 million Euros on new players during the summer, were coming off an 8-1 thrashing of Vitoria Setubal in domestic league action on Monday and their side was not nearly as bereft of first-teamers as Celtic's.

So a final score of 3-1 to Benfica may have seemed like an inevitable outcome when the two teams kicked off in front of a boisterous 16,912 football fans at BMO Field, but Celtic's youngsters carried large portions of the match to the Portuguese giants and ultimately paid the price for three costly mistakes.

Ruben Pinto scored a second for Benfica after the interval, Paul McGowan having equalised on half-time following Keirrison's third-minute opener. Argentine Javier Saviola completed Benfica's scoring 18 minutes from the end.

One half of the compact stadium was full of Celtic supporters from North America, with the facing stand filled with a lively bunch of Benfica supporters owing to Toronto's massive Portuguese population.

Both sets of fans seemed happy with the game, though there was more red than green and white in the stadium when it came time to present man-of-the-match Angel Di Maria with the trophy after the final whistle. The 21-year-old Argentine had a hand in two of Benfica's goals and was the most creative player.

Paddy McCourt ran time and again at the Benfica defence and, five minutes into the second half, he lashed a half-volley on to Julio Cesar's crossbar from nearly 30 yards out with the outside of his right foot that would have changed the course of the game.

Mark Wilson looked strong during his 75 minutes and it was his shot that led to McGowan's goal.

Wilson, who was Celtic's man of the match, is still recovering from a pelvic injury and said he wasn't bothered by the Astroturf pitch.

"It's never nice to play on it because we're used to playing on grass," he said. "But I felt okay. Fitness-wise, I was tiring towards the end because Benfica had a lot of good players out and more subs than us."

American Dominic Cervi showed he has plenty of potential, but Venus believes he will have to play some more games to gain the experience necessary to really fight his way into the first team.

"I thought the young players we had coped well and put on a good show for the crowd," Venus said.

"I thought the atmosphere was excellent. I thought it was a great night. I had a really great time." NEED TO KNOW

Was it a good game? Celtic looked like what they were: a youngish team that hasn't really played together. The match started slowly as the teams adjusted to the artificial surface, but the second half had flashes of creative play. It was dubbed a friendly but there were moments of blood and thunder with two players from each side being cautioned.

What were the goals like? 3rd minute: Nelson Oliveira rounded Andreas Hinkel and fired a hard shot off Cervi's near post. No Celtic player moved fast enough to clear the rebound and Keirrison netted.

45th minute: Celtic's equaliser came when Wilson worked his way into the Benfica box and drilled a shot off Julio Cesar's shins. The looping rebound landing at Paul McGowan, and he tapped an easy volley.

58th minute: Ruben Pinto gave Benfica the lead, sending Cervi the wrong way from near the penalty spot. The ball ended up at Pinto's feet after an bad back-pass from Hinkel that went straight to Di Maria, who found Pinto inside the Celtic penalty area with a delicate pass.

72nd minute: Cervi could only palm a long-range shot from Di Maria into the path of Saviola, and the Argentine made no mistake.

Who was Celtic's best player? Italian Luca Santonocito looked strong in the midfield and showed he can keep possession and distribute the ball well.

Benfica's star man? Angel Di Maria, who starred for Argentina with a goal in the Olympic final against Nigeria, showed why he is one of South America's brightest stars. His pace and touch gave Celtic problems all night long.

How did the fans like it? Both sets of fans headed into the Toronto night with smiles.

With ticket prices ranging from £22-100, they seemed to feel they got their money's worth.

CELTIC: (4-5-1) Cervi; Hinkel, Thompson, Fox, Kurakins; Wilson (Vallers 76), Crosas, McCourt, Santonocito (Forrest 70), Mizuno; McGowan.