DEREK Anderson says Morton Academy striker Stephen Adam did not look out of place among the cream of Under-14s players at the SFA’s trial day on Tuesday afternoon.

As revealed in Morton Futures a fortnight ago, the teenage frontman was selected for the training camp with a view to winning a place in the Scotland Under-14s squad.

He played two matches over the course of the day at the Excelsior Stadium in Airdrie and will discover if he earned inclusion in the final group in the coming weeks.

Head of youth Anderson, pictured, was an interested spectator in the stands and felt that Adam played well, particularly when deployed wide on the right in the first practice game.

He told the Tele: “I went up to Airdrie to watch Stephen and I was pleased with how he played. The feedback we got was positive and we were told they thought he did well.

“They played three half-hour games over the course of the day, and he played the whole of the first game and the last game. In the first game he played wide right and through the middle in the third game.

“He looked best in the first game in my opinion. He was getting at defenders and causing problems, just screwed a shot wide and got a good few crosses in.

“He was up against players from Celtic, Rangers, St Mirren and Kilmarnock — boys who have been spotted by performance coaches Brian McLaughlin and Ian Ross.

“But he did well in that company and definitely didn’t look out of place mixing it with boys at those clubs.

“It might be difficult to get in that final team because you have to stick out like a sore thumb among a lot of boys from the school of excellence, but he did well.

“We should hear back from Andy Goldie, who takes the South/West select, and discover whether Stephen has been included in the next three weeks.” HIGHLIGHTS THE Under-12s served up their outstanding performance of the season so far away at Dunfermline Athletic last week, according to coach David Garrett.

From back to front, the whole team put in an exceptional effort which left Garrett singing their praises.

He said: “We were on the Venga Bus again last week as we headed to Fife to play Dunfermline.

“It was our best team performance of the season. We passed the ball exceptionally well and the midfield four of Docherty, Crawley, Loudon and Garrett worked very hard. We were sold defensively too, with strong performances from Love, Stafford, Millar and Duffy.” CALLUM Robb has received positive feedback from his Under-13s squad’s time serving as runners for the SFA’s C Licence course assessment.

A group of Ton academy players helped out at the Toryglen Regional Football Centre in Glasgow and received a seal of approval from coaches and organisers.

Robb told the Tele: “The boys were at Toryglen on Saturday as runners for the C licence and we got some great feedback from the coaches sitting their assessments.

“They were really impressed by the attitude and application of the boys and even more impressed with their skill levels.

“Luke Mullin was one of the players who caught the attention of the coaches, who highlighted his technical ability.” SANDY MacLean has been delighted to see others step up to the mark in the absence of two of his star players.

Under-15s skipper Lewis Strapp and Mitchell Duffy have both been fast-tracked into Derek Allan’s Under-17s squad, where they have performed admirably.

However, Under-15s lead coach MacLean has told how their team-mates have embraced the opportunity presented by the pair’s promotion.

He said: “With both Lewis and Mitchell away with the Under-17s, it was an opening for others to step up and shine.

“Well step up they did! David Anderson, Ben Eardley and Blair Docherty bossed the midfield, their slick passing allowing frontmen Kieran Finlay and Scott Miller to trouble the Cowdenbeath defence.

“With Finlay’s touch and control causing havoc, it was left to Scott Miller to put Cowdenbeath to the sword by helping himself to five goals!

“It was a fantastic all-round team showing sprinkled with wonderful eye-catching individual displays.” FIXTURES Saturday 15 March: Under-11s v Inverness C.T. (a) 1pm, Under-12s v Inverness C.T. (a) 1pm.

Sunday 16 March: Under-13s v Dunfermline (a) 11.15am, Under-14s v Dunfermline (h) 2pm, Parklea, Under-15s v Dunfermline (a) 11.15am, Under-17s v Dunfermline (h) 2pm, Parklea.

Tuesday 18 March: Reserves v Queen of the South (h) 2pm, Parklea.