Ireland 3

Scotland 0

STEPHEN KENNY'S vision and trust in the new generation of Irish players came to the fore at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday as Ireland's new kids on the block produced a performance of great potential to destroy Scotland in the Nations League.

This was Kenny's first win at his 13th attempt in this competition, but it was the manner of the performance from the opening minute until the end of the game that impressed the most.

It was Ireland's first win over a team ranked higher than them in the FIFA world ranking since 2015 and Scotland who are ranked 39 to Ireland's 47th place, came into this game in great form.

They had won seven of their previous 10 games, only losing once and that was to Ukraine in that great run that brought them to the verge of World Cup qualification.

So this should have been a real test of nerve for Kenny, whose side was under all sorts of pressure from the media and the fans to get a win.

In their previous 12 games in this competition they had failed to win a game.

The players, both young and old, did not leave their manager down.

And the tone and the best performances came from the younger players.  

Caoimhin Kelleher (23) was superb in goal.  

His calmness and ability with the ball at his feet is incredible.  

Cork's Alan Browne (27) is the oldest of the new breed and he opened the scoring for the Irish, but showed his versatility by playing wing back and keeping Andy Robertson very quiet. 

Troy Barrett (20) scored a great goal to make it two nil thanks to a very clever ball over the top from Obafemi and that was how it was at the break.

Michael Obafemi (21) on his first start played superbly until he went off and if he plays for another 10 years for his country he will not strike a ball as well again.

It was Ireland's third goal and it was a great strike and it ended the game as a serious contest.

Nathan Collins (21) is getting better with every game he plays for his country.

Jason Knight (21) had another fine game while Jason Molumby (22) also played very well in the midfield area for Kenny.

Manager Stephen Kenny will have enjoyed this win.  He had taken huge flack over the previous two performances and losses to Armenia and Ukraine, but on Saturday we got a glimpse of what he thought Ireland were capable of delivering on the international arena.

Yes, there were several stupid moments and if Scotland had been more on their game, they would have taken some of the chances gifted to them by Ireland's miss-placed passes, but overall Kelleher had very little to do and that will please the manager greatly.

Attention now turns to Ukraine on Tuesday night and if Ireland play with the same aggression and skill, they have a great chance of getting something from the game.

Republic of Ireland: Caoimhín Kelleher; Nathan Collins, Shane Duffy, John Egan (captain); Alan Browne; Josh Cullen, Jayson Molumby (Jeff Hendrick, 83′); James McClean; Jason Knight (Conor Hourihane, 70′), Troy Parrott (Callum Robinson, 83′); Michael Obafemi (Scott Hogan, 55′).

Scotland: Craig Gordon; Scott McKenna (John Soutar, 73′), Grant Hanley, Jack Hendry (Billy Gilmour, HT); Anthony Ralston; Scott McTominay, Callum McGregor; Andy Robertson (captain); John McGinn (Stuart Armstrong, 59′) , Ryan Christie (Jacob Brown, 59′); Che Adams (Ross Stewart, 59′) 

Referee: Marco Di Bello (Italy) 

Attendance: 46,947.