ByAmy Canavan

BBC Sport Scotland at Boston Stadium

With 54 minutes on the clock, Ben Gannon-Doak let out a roar, clenched his fist and punched the air after shielding the ball out for a Scotland goal-kick.

The winger celebrated the moment like he'd just scored the winning goal at the World Cup. This was seen as Scotland's final, after all.

The authentic, passionate outburst galvanised the Tartan Army spread throughout the Boston Stadium stands who were perhaps - and understandably - a little concerned at what was unfolding in their tournament opener against Haiti.

He got it, though. The "wee man" got it. He got what it meant to the many travelling Scots in Massachusetts. He typified them.

Scott McTominay had recovered from a stomach bug to start in Scotland's first men's World Cup game in 28 years. John McGinn - the eventual matchwinner - was given the nod from the off, too. Lawrence Shankland, the goal machine, led the line.

And yet the show was stolen by a 20-year-old who wasn't even born when Scotland last featured on the biggest stage of all.

Two years ago, Gannon-Doak was something of a surprise inclusion in Steve Clarke's squad for Euro 2024.

The teenager never made the plane to Germany, though, as he was forced to pull out through injury. That's kind of been his story until now.

"The Euros probably came a bit too early, but I don't think I would have played if I was there," he told Sky Sports, external recently.

"I think if I did go and play, I wouldn't have given the best account of myself that I know that I could have done."

There needn't be any such worries here.

Electric and exciting on the international stage, the Bournemouth wideman showed the world why so many Scotland supporters were scunnered when he hirpled off against Denmark - after teeing up McTominay's overhead kick - in their final qualifier back in November.

That injury - his third major one in as many years - left his hamstring "hanging on by a thread".

Such spells on the sidelines have kept the eyes of the world at arm's length, but on his major finals debut he was in full focus.

'I pray before games & read the Bible on my own'

Being in the spotlight is not new to Gannon-Doak.

At 16, he left Celtic for the bright lights of the Premier League with Liverpool.

It was far from a seamless move south, though, with the boy from North Ayrshire discovering football can be a lonely place when injured and away from home.

Then, he rediscovered God.

Brought up a Catholic, Gannon-Doak admits he "strayed away from it" for a while, before "hearing God call me, with an urge to get back into it".

"I just felt God calling me," the 20-year-old revealed in a film for BBC Scotland's A View from the Terrace earlier this year.

"I realised I started to feel a bit better and stronger and started coping better with things, and I just thought, 'Oh, that's not a coincidence'. I think that's the way it happened for me."

With God on his side, Gannon-Doak - who received a Bible from his gran - feels "strong and grounded" but it's something he practices in private.

"I'm praying before games, I read the Bible on my own - I won't really do that in the dressing room because there's a lot of different faiths in football.

"It's also just better to do it in private as you can really focus. A dressing room can be quite chaotic at times, but it's at the root of everything, including my football."

'He's what you want a Scotland player to be'

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.

It was evident early doors against Haiti that if anything was going to happen, Gannon-Doak would be at the heart of it.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Gannon-Doak departed with 15 minutes to go against the Haitians. A collective gulp was inhaled.

"He had a cracker tonight," former Scotland winger Pat Nevin said on BBC Sportsound.

"He's what you want a Scotland player to be," added ex-captain Scott Brown on BBC One.

Like few others, Gannon-Doak gets the faithful going. Believing. Hoping.

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.

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