Under-21 International/Scotland U-21s - 2; Republic of Ireland U-21s - 0: Shaun Maloney gave Martin O'Neill more evidence he could fill Henrik Larsson's sizeable boots at Celtic with a stunning strike in the Scotland under-21s' win over the Republic of Ireland last night.
Maloney's dead-ball kicks inspired Celtic's 2-1 fightback over Livingston on Sunday after Swedish striker Larsson had suffered a double fracture of the jaw.
And with Larsson now ruled out for at least six weeks, the speedy frontman stole the show again at Rugby Park with a sublime first-half effort in front of Celtic assistant John Robertson.
But Ireland had the Scots on the rack in the seventh minute when Wes Hoolahan's corner broke to John Thompson, but his low shot was saved by Derek Soutar from eight yards.
Sunderland striker Kevin Kyle, however, almost opened the scoring for the home side with a long-range effort in the 15th minute. He controlled a pass from Kilmarnock's Peter Canero brilliantly on his chest before hitting a right-foot shot which beat Graham Stack from almost 40 yards but also flew just over the crossbar.
The home side were let off the hook, however, in the 29th minute when a mistake by Newcastle's Brian Kerr was jumped upon by Andy Reid, but with two men with him he screwed his effort wide.
The young Scots were again fortunate two minutes later not to concede a penalty when Stephen Hammell clearly brought down Thomas Butler in the area.
Bonhof's side responded by going close themselves moments later when Kyle rose to head Williams's corner on target, but Reid made a vital block inside his six-yard box.
Clifford Byrne was the first to be shown a yellow card in the 40th minute for a reckless tackle on Canero 25 yards out, but it was well within Maloney's range.
The youngster had done very little in the first-half, but he stepped up to curl a David Beckham-like right-foot shot over a rooted Stack and into the top left corner of the net.
Boss Rainer Bonhof must have been under instructions to go easy on Maloney - with John Hartson suspended for the Stuttgart game - and he was one of five changes at the break.
But Scotland continued to look strong and they should have doubled their lead in the 55th minute when Caldwell headed a corner straight at Stark from eight yards.
Don Givens introduced Dunfermline's recent signing Noel Hunt moments later for Thompson and he was looking to make an impact in front of Jimmy Calderwood and Jimmy Nicholl.
But the Scots were handed a glorious chance to increase their margin on the hour when James McFadden was fouled in the box by substitute Sean Thornton, but the Preston targetman stepped up himself to blast his left-foot shot just past the upright.
Former Celtic youngster Simon Lynch, however, did find the net at the second attempt a minute after coming on for Kyle following good work from Canero to secure the victory.
But by that time Maloney had already overshadowed his team-mates and will now be looking to step in from Larsson's shadows during the coming weeks.
SCOTLAND: Soutar (Crainey 46), Caldwell, Hammell, Kennedy, Boyd (Hughes 46), Kerr, Canero (Lynch 65), Pearson (McGregor 46), Kyle, Williams (Duff 46), Maloney (McFadden 46). Subs Not Used: Dowie, Stewart, Mackie, Miller, Gordon. Goals: Maloney 41, Lynch 68.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Stack, Brennan, Tierney, Byrne, Goodwin, Thompson, Butler, Reid (Thornton 46), Barrett (Daly 46), Dempsey, Hoolahan (Melligan 46). Subs Not Used: Burne, Lefter, Hunt. Booked: Thompson, Reid, Butler.
Referee: B Haverkort (Holland).
