Joe Chalmers set Scotland on the way to a 4-0 win over Armenia in the opening match of the u-19 European Championship qualifying group.
After a goal-less first half the left-back stepped up to send a 25 yard free kick around the defensive wall into the net.
Within twenty minutes Ricky Sbragia’s side had added a further three goals with the defence- featuring three Celtic players- keeping a clean sheet to help Scotland get off to the best possible start.
With Romania and Switzerland drawing 1-1 Scotland are in the driving seat going into Thursday’s match against the Romanian’s at Falkirk.
Captained by Marcus Fraser Scotland started strongly with John Herron first to test the Armenian’s with a snap shot in the 11th minute.
Despite having the bulk of possession the first half ended goal-less but Chalmers’ free kick in the 48th minute opened the gates with Matt Kennedy, Barrie McKay and Lewis MacLeod also on target.
Sbragia said: “I wasn’t happy at half-time. We were struggling a little bit but we changed it and it worked so overall I’m delighted.
“This game is over now and we have to focus on Romania on Thursday because that is a game we must win. “
While Chalmers, Fraser, Herron and Stuart Findlay look forward to tomorrow’s match with Romania two of their Celtic team-mates will be enjoying some sunshine on u-21 duty.
Callum McGregor and Tony Watt are includuded in Billy Stark’s u-21 squad to face Canada and the USA over the weekend in the Marbella Cup with Stark having high hopes for the Celtic striker who is eligible to play at u-19 level.
“Tony has taken to first-team football very well at Celtic,” the Scotland coach revealed. “That was the first big test for him.
“He’s not the type who would worry about playing against anyone – or be intimidated. When his mind is on it and he’s on his game, he can be unstoppable. He has everything in front of him and will want to be the best.
“He has a gallus streak about him. It’s unusual for a Scottish striker to be big and strong, but quick and powerful as well.
“Tony reminds me of the original Yogi Hughes, he was a big, marauding front player.
“Tony isn’t an identikit Scottish centre forward, we haven’t had one like him for a number of years. But he has to handle breaking into the Celtic first team, scoring goals and being the centre of attention. We need to judge him over a longer period of time but he’s doing well right now and hopefully it continues.
“Yogi had an off-the-cuff style and Tony has it too. He’s unpredictable. I say to players if they are in the opposition’s half, they have licence to go and express themselves and do something different.
“He’s one who does that. The goal he scored in the NextGen Series against Barcelona at Celtic Park – he picked it up on the halfway line, ran up the left wing, cut across and drilled it past the keeper. It wasn’t an easy goal to score but he hits all types of goals.”
CLICK HERE for Celtic’s perfect week
Follow Video Celts on Twitter and Facebook
