\n<\/p>\n
Though he’s “not praying for hat-tricks”, many would have been asking the man above for a favour or two as Scotland eyed up their first World Cup win in 36 years.<\/p>\n
It was evident early doors against Haiti that if anything was going to happen, Gannon-Doak would be at the heart of it.<\/p>\n
Keeping it simple, when he received the ball down the right, he looked to attack. A sight that makes Scotland supporters rejoice, such has been its rarity in recent times.<\/p>\n
When McTominay skelped a post, it was on the end of another dazzling Gannon-Doak burst. He set up Che Adams shortly after for a shot that would be parried right in the path of McGinn, who was wheeling away in ecstasy seconds later as Scotland scored their first World Cup goal since 1998.<\/p>\n
For 83 minutes, Gannon-Doak was the youngest man to appear at a World Cup for Scotland. That’s until his 19-year-old pal Findlay Curtis came on.<\/p>\n
The pair play in a care-free manner. They don’t carry the years of missed qualifications or even the recent disappointments at the Euros. And it shows.<\/p>\n
Gannon-Doak departed with 15 minutes to go against the Haitians. A collective gulp was inhaled.<\/p>\n
“He had a cracker tonight,” former Scotland winger Pat Nevin said on BBC Sportsound.<\/p>\n
“He’s what you want a Scotland player to be,” added ex-captain Scott Brown on BBC One.<\/p>\n
Like few others, Gannon-Doak gets the faithful going. Believing. Hoping. <\/p>\n
Like the rest of his generation, we’ve grown up believing ‘it’s the hope that kills you’, but with this 20-year-old driving the team, it’s difficult not to.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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