The young Gers turned the game on its head in the second half after Aberdeen made the breakthrough, with a Findlay Curtis penalty and Josh Gentles volley sealing a comeback triumph for the Light Blues.
Speaking to RangersTV after lifting the prestigious youth trophy, Smith said: “It was a tough game. When you look back over the 90 minutes, we played with quality in the first half and had some good chances. But then it changed slightly in the second half; Aberdeen became quite dominant putting set-pieces into the penalty box and looking dangerous.
“I understood the feelings and nerves before the game, but ultimately you need to enjoy it because it could be one of the biggest nights in their careers.
“To be fair to them, and rightly and wrongly, we’ve went a goal down quite a few times in the league campaign and we’ve always shown character to come back.
“But it’s different doing it on this occasion and stage when the pressure is on and everyone is watching. I take my hat off to them because they showed real resilience.”
Importantly, there were some massive individual performances in Rangers colours, with Curtis showing immense poise from 12 yards and Mason Munn producing a terrific stop in the dying embers of the contest.
Smith admits it’s those fine details which tend to determine finals, and hopes his players can use the experience of this evening to further their progression towards the first-team.
He added: “I thought we had complete control in the first half and I was delighted at how we played; we were excellent in and out of possession.
“We knew the second half was going to be different because they weren’t going to continue allowing what happened in the first half.
“But we adapted and changed shape slightly, and credit to the players because they found a way to get back into the game and eventually win it.
“It’s part of the character that we talk about. Findlay is the penalty taker, he practices them quite often, and he found a way to put it away.
“Mason, again, showed big saves in the semi-final shooutout, and we know he’s capable of that. He keeps producing big moments and, for a Rangers goalkeeper, you need to continue to do that.
“We came here to win and they’ve achieved that, so fair play to them.”