HAMPDEN may not hold happy memories for Neil Lennon and his Celtic players but the club's youngsters are making the National Stadium a home from home.

John Kennedy's side have swept all before them in the Under-19 league this season and completed another clean sweep of the youth silverware with an 8-0 victory over Queen of the South last night.

It is the third successive year the Scottish Cup will stay in the east end of Glasgow, with the result never in any doubt as Celtic eased to final glory. Their last two final wins have come against Rangers and, while a triumph over first division Queens will not be greeted with as much joy as those against their Old Firm rivals, the green and white hordes who flocked to the National Stadium will have rightly been impressed with the talent emerging through the Lennoxtown ranks.

Celtic went into the match as strong favourites to retain their title and the trophy engraver could have started his work with just a minute on the clock. It was to prove a bittersweet evening for Filip Twardzik, the former Hertha Berlin youngster, with his strike that got Celtic up and running after 62 seconds followed by a painful exit as he was stretchered off with an injury on 37 minutes.

By the time Twardzik departed, Celtic had doubled their lead in emphatic fashion as captain Jackson Irvine rifled home a Dylan McGeouch corner from the edge of the area. The scoreline soon mirrored Celtic's dominance as they netted twice in two minutes to confirm their status as champions. First, McGeouch embarked on a darting, mazy run at the heart of the Queen's defence and fired low into Jim Atkinson's net, before Calum McGregor did likewise seconds later from the penalty spot.

The break offered Queens some respite from the Celtic onslaught but things soon went from bad to worse as their Hampden dreams turned into a nightmare. John Herron was next to add his name to scoresheet with a neat finish from just inside the area before McGeouch enhanced his reputation with another fine individual effort.

"Tonight, I thought it was a team performance and we had goals coming from everywhere," Kennedy said. "Dylan showed a great attitude coming back from first team duty to come in and step up to the plate. He came in and gave us a different dimension. Everybody was excellent but I thought Dylan had a big part to play in that."

McGregor got his second of the night four minutes later, converting James Alabi's cross as Celtic eased their way into the record books, eclipsing Rangers 5-0 win over them in 2007. McGregor soon completed his hat trick, netting from the spot and completing the scoring after a foul on Alabi. There was some fortune, however, with the ball squirming under Atkinson.

"Through the season, the team has been exceptional. In my time here, it has been the best bunch I have seen for a while," said Kennedy.