Ben Doak impressed in front of Steve Clarke as Scotland Under-21 recorded a vital 3-1 win over Hungary in their Euro 2025 qualification campaign.
All eyes were on Doak and Clarke left minutes after the Liverpool youngster's substitution on the hour mark amid speculation about a potential call-up to the senior squad for the friendly with France in midweek.
Hungary visited Fir Park with a perfect record from their opening two group stage games but Scotland made a scintillating start to establish a two-goal lead within seven minutes courtesy of Kieran Bowie’s quick-fire double.
Doak showcased his prodigious talent as the Liverpool starlet notched his first competitive goal for the Under-21s to extend Scotland’s lead before Barnabas Kovacs reduced the deficit just before the interval.
The second half was a subdued affair as Scotland defended resolutely to secure all three points and they’ll be confident of bolstering their qualification hopes with another win over Malta on Tuesday night.
Under-21 boss Scot Gemmill, however, sidestepped questions over Doak's potential senior call-up as he expressed his delight at his side's performance.
“That’s Steve’s decision," Gemmill said. "We speak about it all the time. Steve knows he can take any player he wants at any time. Steve and his staff will decide when that is.
“Everybody is excited to see Ben developing. We all agree he is doing really well and his potential is enormous. We all have a massive responsibility to help him fulfil that potential.
“It is really exciting and he won’t be happy because he feels he could have done better in certain moments tonight but it’s great to see a young player that can excite the fans. He wasn’t the only one though. A lot of players put in really good performances.
"Credit to the players, it was a terrific start. You can ask for that start, but it's very hard to go and do it so credit to them for carrying it out. That performance carried on from our display in Spain which was a really high level. "The game was in the balance at that point before halftime. But you have to remember these are very young players and it was a great experience for them to play in games where they sense that and have to deal with that. You have to step up and push, fight and play hard and they did that."
The talk revolved around Doak pre-match but it was his striker partner Bowie who shone brightest as he opened the scoring within two minutes with an excellent solo strike.
The Fulham striker, on loan at Northampton, capitalised on a ricochet to burst past three Hungarian defenders before arrowing a pinpoint finish across goal into the bottom corner.
The 21-year-old looked eager to impress and he added his second just four minutes later. Max Johnston delivered a pinpoint cross from the right and Bowie rose highest to bullet a header home.
There’s a promising crop of youngsters progressing through the youth ranks in Scotland, gaining exposure to first-team football on loan this season.
Fulham’s Ibane Bowat and Celtic’s Matthew Anderson are impressing in Austria and Bayern Munich’s Liam Morrison is a regular at Wigan Athletic.
Connor Barron is beginning to refind his best form at Aberdeen and Josh Mulligan is highly regarded at Dundee by Tony Docherty. Mulligan almost added Scotland’s third on 16 minutes but he was initially denied by the Hungary goalkeeper before blazing the rebound over the bar.
While Doak was relatively subdued during the opening half hour, the 17-year-old always looked capable of sparking into life and that moment arrived on 31 minutes.
Doak danced past one defender inside the box before being clipped by another and referee Joey Kooij showed no hesitation in pointing to the spot.
There was no debate over the penalty taker, despite Bowie being on a hat-trick, as Doak stepped up confidently to roll the ball into the bottom corner.
Scotland were excellent throughout the first half but Hungary reduced the deficit just before the break when Kovacs fired home after the hosts failed to clear their lines.
Gemmill withdrew Doak on the hour mark with one eye on Malta in midweek and Scotland looked content to defend their lead as they starved the Hungarians of any goalscoring opportunities.
Max Johnston’s return to Fir Park after his summer move to Sturm Graz ended in disappointment when he picked up his second booking at the death but it was a positive night for Scotland.
