Ben Gannon-Doak drove Scotland forward from the right and helped set up the move that produced John McGinn's winner as Scotland beat Haiti in a World Cup match in Massachusetts. The 20-year-old Bournemouth winger had missed more than a year of football through injury since making his debut, but his pace gave Scotland the direct edge they needed.
McGinn finishes Gannon-Doak move
In the 17th minute, Gannon-Doak burst to the byline and squared for Scott McTominay, whose effort came back off a post. Twelve minutes later, he went deep again, beat Martin Expérience and fed Ché Adams, with the loose ball from that sequence falling to McGinn for a deflected finish.
Scotland's wing threat
Scotland's use of a winger like Gannon-Doak stood out because the side has not leaned on that type of player at recent World Cup tournaments. The article points back to Jimmy Johnstone, John Robertson, Archie Gemmill and Pat Nevin as part of the older Scotland tradition he is being compared with, while the 1998 World Cup side featured Christian Dailly and Darren Jackson instead.
The match also delivered Scotland's first World Cup goal since Craig Burley in 1998 and their first victory since Mo Johnston scored against Sweden in 1990. That leaves Group C with a simple requirement in the background of the result: Scotland's remaining games against Morocco and Brazil will ask for more of the same pace and direct running if they are to keep that momentum alive.
About 15 minutes into the match, the crowd in Boston Stadium had the feel of a Scotland home game, with the Tartan Army urging the side to hit the ball long for the winger. Gannon-Doak answered that demand twice, first by stretching Haiti to the byline and then by driving past Expérience to force the sequence that settled the game.
