David Turnbull hailed after Celtic star impresses on Scotland debut in 2-2 draw with Netherlands

Celtic midfielder David Turnbull was singled out for praise after helping Scotland claim a 2-2 with the Netherlands on his international debut.

Scotland's David Turnbull shoots on goal during the international friendly match against the Netherlands at the Algarve stadium outside Faro, Portugal (AP Photo/Miguel Morenatti)

Steve Clarke's side twice led the match thanks to first international goals for both Jack Hendry and Kevin Nisbet, but a Memphis Depay double, including an 88th minute free-kick equaliser, denied them a first win over the Dutch since 2003.

The performance against a side ranked 28 places above them will have given the Scots cause for optimism, particularly on the back of such a disrupted build-up, with seven players being ruled out after John Fleck's positive Covid test resulted in six others sitting out as a safety precaution as close contacts.

Celtic playmaker Turnbull was one of the players to benefit from the call-offs as the 21-year-old was handed his first senior international start, playing 81 minutes before being replaced by another young debutant, Chelsea's Billy Gilmour.

How the Scotland players rated in 2-2 draw with Netherlands

Head coach Clarke was full of praise for the Parkhead youngster's display.

"David had a good debut," he said. "Lots of good things. One or two things that we can discuss and help him to improve as a player and within the team, but listen, it was the boy's first cap.

"He's had a really good season and it's nice for him to get the cap and to give that performance. There were many good performances tonight so it's important that we don't just focus on the new guys in the squad because the senior players are very important for us as well."

For Turnbull, his first Scotland cap followed an impressive season with Celtic which resulted in him being voted the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year.

He went close to scoring a goal that would have put the Scots 3-1 ahead in the second half with a terrific strike from the edge of the box that narrowly missed the top corner.

"I really enjoyed it," Turnbull told Sky Sports. "It's obviously a great achievement to finally get it under my belt. I know it's a friendly but to do it against such a big team, and play a good part, I really enjoyed it.

"It's just about the tempo and moving the ball quicker. If you make a mistake on the ball, you're more or less punished most of the time, but I tried to do my best and I felt I done that.

"We conceded a great free-kick in the end and there's not much you can do about that. I'm not sure if it was a foul or not but I felt we were hard done by."

Scotland players will now return to the training camp in Spain ahead of the final warm-up match against Luxembourg on Sunday with the tournament opener against Czech Republic at Hampden Park 11 days away.

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