United teen Neilson’s introduction at Pittodrie ‘Souttar-esk’

IT was a fitting venue and date for Lewis Neilson to display the resilience of the younger generation.

The 17-year-old central defender had long resigned himself to sitting on the Dundee United bench at Pittodrie on Saturday, taking part in the warm-up with his fellow subs as the first-team picks worked together elsewhere on the pitch.

Then came the shout. Ryan Edwards was injured.

Neilson looked up, acknowledged the summons, darted back down the tunnel into the away dressing-room and steeled himself to meet one of Scottish football’s toughest challenges.

The youngster faced one heck of a mental test getting his mind adjusted to the task, never mind the physical challenge of standing up to tough opponents like Curtis Main and, eventually, Sam Cosgrove in a strong Aberdeen team.

Your mind went back to exactly eight years previously on January 2, 2013, at the same stadium, when John Souttar became the Tangerines’ youngest-ever first team player at the age of just 16 years and 100 days – a record that would stand until Chris Mochrie made his debut against Morton six years later.

Just like Souttar that day, Neilson was outstanding against the Dons and contributed to a share of the spoils. You wouldn’t be surprised if, some time in the future and like Souttar, Neilson develops into a Scotland player.

He, of course, wasn’t making his debut but hadn’t featured in the side since early October following a flurry of appearances early in the campaign.

To step up and play as he did showed that 17-year-olds can be every bit as cool and composed as the older guys.

His team-mate Lawrence

Shankland, who came closest to scoring for the Tangerines when his strike hit the bar on nine minutes, made a point of praising his young colleague.

The Scotland international said: “We know what Lewis is capable of because he is in the first-team squad for a reason.

“It is important they (the younger players) are ready when the opportunity comes.

“Ryan dropped out in the warm-up and we knew Lewis would be ready.

“He shows his quality every day in training and we had no qualms about throwing him in.

“I thought he was excellent.” United boss Micky Mellon joined in with his own plaudits for Neilson.

Mellon said: “That’s what we’re all about.

“Part of our big recruitment here is the academy. We have to stay strong and true to that.

“When we get opportunities to stick them into the team, we don’t hesitate.

“We try to prepare them mentally and physically so they can come in and do what he did. “I thought he was fantastic. “Those are the type of things that we have to have happening in order to keep moving forward to the Dundee United we all want to see.”

Neilson contributed a huge amount to securing yet another precious point for United as they attempt to cling on to their top-six spot.

There is pressure building below them, with Hamilton’s 3-0 victory over Motherwell in particular showing that there are no obvious candidates for relegation this season.

Livingston’s own remarkable three-goal success at Easter Road – their fifth league win in a row – moved them above the Tangerines in the table but sixth spot is still more than acceptable at this stage for United.

Mellon’s men sit on 26 points after 22 games but there is a traffic jam below them. Only five

during his Dundee United John Souttar pictured Pittodrie in 2013. against Aberdeen at debut