CRAIG GORDON has hailed cool kid Kieran Tierney as he got his teenage kicks for the first time in a Scotland jersey.

The 18-year-old Celtic left-back was handed his maiden cap by Gordon Strachan in last night’s 1-0 win over Denmark at Hampden.

In a stunning first 45 minutes, Tierney was a stand out in dark blue as he showed his mental maturity on the international stage.

He is a player that continues to surprise Scotland keeper Gordon, who has watched on in awe of the young talent as he continues to earn plaudits on a spectacular debut season.

Speaking to SportTimes, he said: “I thought he was very solid.

“He had a hand in the goal and had a great clearance in the first half when the guy was straight through. That was vitally important to the win, if we lose a goal there it could have been a long night for us.

“Kieran was a really important player at both ends of the pitch, but he’s been fantastic all season. He continues to surprise, he is so calm and takes everything in his stride. Nothing seems to phase him at all.

“Whether it is coming in to the first team at Celtic at 17 and playing the same way he did right through his youth career, or doing it for Scotland.

“He’s come up against really good players and he’s handled that, along with everything else that has been thrown at him. It’s great credit to him.”

Gordon added: “We’ve brought in a few young players who got a taste of the action and the manager now knows if he wants to use them they are capable at this level.

“He will go away from here pretty happy with what he has seen.

“In terms of people coming in and doing a job he’s certainly found that out.”

As well as having Celtic players like Tierney, Scott Brown and Charlie Mulgrew in his side, Gordon also faced up against a familiar face in the form of Erik Sviatchenko, who came on as a second-half Danish substitute.

There was a scary moment though for those of a Parkhead persuasion as the strapping defender was left crumpled in a heap as a result of a reckless challenge from Liam Bridcutt, but Gordon was relieved to find out the centre-half emerged unscathed.

“I spoke to him after the game and he said he was okay,” said the shot stopper. “It was a big challenge on him. I think Liam got a bit of the ball but he certainly got everything else with it.”

Reflecting on the performance, Gordon added: “We probably didn’t play as well as we would have liked to, we didn’t keep the ball as well as we would have wanted.

“In terms of fighting and scrapping for the victory I thought we did pretty well.

“It’s good to go and contribute to a victory. We got a clean sheet on the first game in Prague and we wanted to keep that going.”