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 as the young Scots cruised to a friendly win in Belfast.
The new look were too strong for the hosts - who had four players in their team who had been capped at a senior level - at the Danny Blanchflower Stadium with Kieron Bowie and Josh Mulligan netting either side of the former Celtic winger.
And Gemmill was impressed with the impact of Doak, who moved to Anfield in the summer.
He said: "I've seen Ben play so I wasn't surprised at what he can do. 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."
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 Liverpool's former Celtic starlet Doak came on for his memorable Under 21s debut.
Scotland took a 35th minute lead through the simplest of routes when Hearts' Connor Smith whipped in a free kick from the left and Fulham striker Bowie, who is on loan at Northampton Town, nodded into the net.
And 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 Mulligan, who had impressed. A cutback from Adam Montgomery to Conway saw his shot rebound off the inside of the post and the Dundee man thumped home the rebound to
Northern Ireland grabbed a consolation in the 73rd minute when former Rangers kid Chris McKee headed past Slicker, but the young Scots comfortably saw the game out at the home of Harland and Wolff Welders and gave a debut to Aston Villa striker Rory Wilson off the bench.
