STENHOUSEMUIR boss Scott Booth admitted he was impressed with the way teenage Morton goalkeeper Jamie McGowan handled the pressure on his first-team debut.

Booth could regularly be heard demanding that his players put set-pieces in on top of the 17-year-old rookie to test his mettle.

But the former Borussia Dortmund and Aberdeen striker, who worked with McGowan in his time as Scotland Under-15s coach, felt the teenager coped well.

He said: “I know Jamie McGowan really well because I had him involved with the Scotland Under-15s at 14 years old.

“It was a big day for him to come on and I thought he did very well. It was not an easy situation for him to come on to, with his team winning but not in control in the second half. So he was always going to be put under a bit of pressure but he did great.” Booth was pleased with his side’s second-half performance but admitted it left him questioning why they had been second best before the break.

He added: “We were much more in Morton’s faces and aggressive in the second half. That was the gameplan for the first half but for some reason we were unable to create the same intensity.

“We went 4-3-3 in the second half. We did change it and you can talk about formations, but if you really want to show aggression and commitment you can do it in any shape.

“I just felt we were on the back-foot in the first half. The way we started the game was poor and you can’t afford to start as poorly as that against any of the teams in this league and expect to win.”