Hibs forward Ethan Laidlaw scores hat-trick on international debut as Scotland Under-17s edged out by Wales

The two nations had played out a 1-1 draw on Thursday with the Easter Road kid an unused sub, but the 16-year-old was given a start up top as manager Brian McLaughlin shuffled his pack for the second friendly at Stirling Albion’s Forthbank Stadium.

Wales took the lead midway through the first half from a Toby Snook penalty before doubling their advantage via an own goal.

However, Laidlaw reduced the deficit shortly after the half-hour mark and notched his and Scotland’s second ten minutes before the break in an action-packed first half.

The teams went in at half-time level but the wee Scots took the lead for the first time early in the second period as Laidlaw completed his hat-trick.

However, Wales squared the game again through Japhet Matondo before Alex Roberts converted a rebound in the closing stages to hand the visitors a 4-3 victory.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our sports coverage with a digital sports subscription.