MORTON manager Kenny Shiels hailed his fresh-faced back four after they kept out league leaders Dundee at Cappielow on Saturday.

The youthful Ton defence comprised two 18-year-olds in Stuart Findlay and Mark Russell, right-back Thomas O’Ware, 21, and Darren Cole, who was the oldest at just 22.

They rode their luck at times against the Dark Blues but did especially well to shut out the likes of talented former Cappielow hitman Peter MacDonald and man mountain Christian Nade.

It was their third consecutive home clean sheet and drew praise from pleased boss Shiels, who was keen to pay tribute to his rearguard’s efforts in particular.

The Northern Irishman said: “I know how Dundee feel. It’s a year since all we had to do was beat them, or possibly draw, to finish in the top six with Kilmarnock. It’s amazing how things turn.

“But it was our day. You could see that. All the bad luck we’ve had since I came in was gone and we got little rubs of the green today.

“I’m not saying the boys didn’t deserve it, but Dundee are the best team we’ve probably played, in terms of efficiency and putting us under pressure.

“There were a lot of corner kicks that we had to deal with, and the boys dealt with it well. People overlook the fact we’ve got the youngest back four in the league.

“If you look at it we had an 18-year-old at left back and an 18-year-old at left centre-back, a 21-year-old at right-back, and I think Coley is 22 now. And then we lost our keeper to injury into the bargain.

“So it was great for them and their learning experience, with what they had to face up to. It was quite intense at times with balls into the box and they defended very well.

“It’s three clean sheets in a row and three wins in a row here at Cappielow and that’s encouraging certainly.” He added: “If you look at the games we should have won and we didn’t. We dominated but the ball didn’t break for us and we were getting penalties given against us.

“Things have gone against us but today the team dynamic was the best I’ve seen it, in terms of before the game. I knew there was endeavour and grit in there.

“You look in the players’ eyes and you see they’re up for it. There was a calm composure about them and you could see the fight they had in them.

“It wasn’t a classic performance, because we played better against Dumbarton and Livi, but it was a day for stepping up to the plate, and the boys did that. They’ve salvaged some pride today.”