Former Celtic academy kid Ben Doak made his first start for Scotland on Saturday night in their heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Croatia.
Much like against Portugal last month, Steve Clarke’s side put in another admirable performance but couldn’t find a result.
One of the positives the manager and fans alike took away from the match was Doak’s display out wide.
The vivacious winger looked a constant threat for the Scots and was a continual thorn in the side of Manchester City’s Josko Gvardiol.
Doak was instrumental to Scotland’s only goal of the game and, post-match, took to Instagram.
The 18-year-old, who remains the second-youngest player in Celtic’s history, expressed his happiness at getting the nod for his country for the first time:
Several players currently in Celtic’s academy reacted to Doak’s post.
Jude Bonnar, who started for the first team in last week’s friendly against Sligo Rovers, wrote ‘ma boy’, while Mitchell Robertson, who also appeared in the late victory, added ‘Doakerr’.
A few players who left the club in the summer, such as Benny Jackson-Luyeye and Ben McPherson, also expressed their well-wishes to their old academy teammate.
Although he has experienced some bumps along the road, Doak’s career has only taken positive turns since he left Celtic.
The Hoops recognised his talent early on, and it is a shame he was poached by a club the size of Liverpool before he got a real opportunity to shine at his boyhood team.
