Luke Armstrong admits he was left sweating over his debut goal for Motherwell against Celtic, but it has him flying.

The 28-year-old striker was clearly buzzing after netting against the Scottish champions, if not the result as Motherwell fell to a 3-1 home defeat on Sunday.

But getting the chance to go toe-to-toe with Celtic was a brilliant experience for the on-loan Carlisle striker, even if a cheeky shove on Cameron Carter-Vickers nearly saw the goal disallowed.

And it's a far cry from his younger days at Cowdenbeath, when he was baffled by the presence of stock cars at Central Park.

Armstrong, who made his debut off the bench during a 2-1 Premiership defeat at St Johnstone a fortnight ago, said: “It doesn’t get any bigger than playing against Celtic in this league.

“It was great to get a goal. I was a bit scared it was going to get ruled out with VAR, but luckily it was all clear and I was over the moon with that.

“I was just trying to put him [Cameron Carter-Vickers] off a little bit!

“I think he just got caught under it to be honest and then it just fell for us and that’s exactly what you want on your debut.

“What a way to start my career here by scoring a goal.

“It just shows the quality they have, though, they’ve reacted so well.

“Once you step one foot out of line they cut you open and then they get the second.

“Looking at it as a team point of view, we contained them as much as we could – obviously we know the quality they have.

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“I think first half we still created a few chances, a few half chances, but second half we couldn’t get out.

“It was a performance to be proud of in part, but obviously we want to come away and win the game.”

Clashing with Celtic was a far cry from Armstrong’s first taste of Scottish football, as a 19-year-old at Cowdenbeath.

Armstrong, son of former Stockport, Middlesbrough and Ipswich striker Alun, said: “It’s chalk and cheese, isn’t it? It’s so different.

“It was a long time ago at Cowdenbeath, and it’s unbelievable to make your home debut against Celtic.

“There aren’t too many memories from Cowdenbeath. It was only part-time, I used to travel up a couple of times a wee to train.

“I think it was costing me more to actually get there and play, than what I was getting paid!

“It was a great experience and stuff like that builds you and gets you ready for men’s football, when you’re a young kid.

“My dad used to play, so he drilled into me how important it is to just go out and play in a club, stay in football and get minutes.

“He has been able to help me out massively with that.

“I know the importance of just playing games and doing well, and that’s why I’m here, now.”