By Paul Cooper

Scotland manager Steve Clarke reaped the rewards of starting 19-year-old Liverpool starlet Ben Doak in the vital Nations league double header against Croatia and Poland.

The youngsters’ constant energy to take on defenders and give the fans exciting examples of wing play not seen in a dark blue jersey for many a year, rubbed off on his teammates, winning Scotland a precious six points.

Doak was hailed by the nation after the Croatia game last week at Hampden (Friday 15 November), when a brilliant performance by the boy wonder was capped off with an assist for John McGinn’s late winner.

Ayrshire man Doak remained grounded after the match, saying: “Before the game there’s a bit of butterflies, bit of nerves, but once on the pitch, I don’t see names or faces.”

“I just see another team there to try and beat us, so we need to go and try and beat them.”

“When I’m on the ball, I don’t notice who I’m against it’s just a kit, so I just try and do my best.”

In last nights’ (Monday 18) meeting with Poland in Warsaw, Doak again looked lively on the right from the start, setting up John McGinn’s opener on 3 minutes with a tidy cutback.

Although he was replaced by Ryan Christie on 66 minutes, his youthful enthusiasm got Scotland off to a flier and the team seemed to retain that attacking outlook, coming back from the setback of losing an equaliser to win the game in injury time, thanks to El Capitano Andy Robertson’s back post header from a John Souttar cross.

Rangers player Souttar had another big performance at the heart of the Scotland defence, adding to some impressive recent form for the national team.

Proud manager Clarke said: “It’s nice to have a smile on my face after a tough game.”

“We’ve spoken a lot about coming away from home and getting big results against teams that are on a similar level, if not better than us.”

Although the team fell just short of second place in League A group 1 by a point, Scotland’s heroic displays have given them a chance of remaining in the top league, when they face one of four group runners up from Nations League B in a two-legged play off in March 2025.