Doak earns plaudits after debut goal in Belfast

SCOT GEMMILL praised 16-year-old Liverpool winger Ben Doak after he came off the bench to net just eight minutes into his Scotland Under-21s debut in a friendly win over Northern Ireland in Belfast. The new-look Scots were too strong for the hosts, who had four players in their team capped at a senior level, with Kieron Bowie and Josh Mulligan netting either side of the former Celtic winger. ‘I’ve seen Ben play, so I wasn’t surprised at what he can do,’ said head coach Gemmill. ‘He’s really exciting. ‘I wasn’t surprised, but it is always good to see it happen. ‘There were good things and there were things that we know we need to correct, so there was a bit of everything. ‘The new players needed to take their opportunities because there are no guarantees in the future and I told them that before the game. They had to show what they can do. ‘They have to go and show they can be trusted and are willing to do the work and I thought their application was good. ‘Of course, there were things in the game that we need to fix and we can help them with and we will. ‘The changes we made add to the experience and add an extra layer of insight to see who has got the game intelligence, who is proactive and who adjusts to the game as it’s going.’ Scotland handed debuts to five new starts — Rangers’ Adam Devine, Hearts’ Lewis Neilson, Fulham’s Connor McAvoy, Reading’s Michael Craig and Bristol City striker Tommy Conway. Neilson hobbled off after less than half-an-hour with a tight hamstring and Doak came on. Scotland took a 35th-minute lead through the simplest of routes when Hearts’ Connor Smith whipped in a freekick from the left and Fulham striker Bowie, on loan at Northampton Town, nodded into the net. That lead was doubled two minutes later when Doak tucked in a tidy, composed finish after being sent clear by an excellent pass from Craig.

The Scots made it three in the 57th minute and it was a deserved goal from the impressive Josh Mulligan. Adam Montgomery cut the ball back to Conway, who saw his shot rebound off the inside of the post, and the Dundee man thumped home the rebound. Northern Ireland grabbed a consolation in the 73rd minute when former Rangers kid Chris McKee headed past Slicker. However, the young Scots — who gave a debut to Aston Villa striker Rory Wilson off the bench — comfortably saw the game out at the home of Harland and Wolff Welders.

SCOTLAND U21S (3-5-2): Slicker; McAvoy, Neilson (Doak 29), Doig; Devine, Smith, Michael Craig (Wilson 84), Mulligan, Montgomery; Bowie (Mochrie 64), Conway (De Boille 84). Subs not used: Long, Hogarth, Clarke, Matthew Craig.