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Page last updated at 09:49 GMT, Wednesday, 17 November 2010

Jamie Mackie wants to score more goals for Scotland

Levein delighted by debutants

Jamie Mackie says he has a thirst for goals after scoring in Scotland's 3-0 win against the Faroe Islands.

The Queens Park Rangers winger added to first-half strikes by Liverpool's Danny Wilson and Derby's Kris Commons to secure a friendly win at Pittodrie.

"I'm delighted to get my first goal," said Mackie. "I want to get many more for Scotland now.

"It gives us confidence. We have a massive year coming up, and we need to take it into that."

Wilson, Commons and Mackie's goals all arrived in the first-half to record manager Craig Levein's third win in his seventh match in charge of the national side.

It's a long time since a Scottish team has created so many chances

Scotland manager Craig Levein

In the second half, with the game already won, Kilmarnock's Cammy Bell and Craig Bryson, James McArthur of Wigan, Motherwell's Steven Saunders and David Goodwillie of Dundee United earned their first senior caps.

Critics had questioned the value of the game at Pittodrie against the world's 133rd-ranked nation, especially given the raft of late call-offs, but Levein insisted the match was a worthwhile exercise.

"The people who were cynical beforehand probably still won't agree it was worthwhile," Levein told BBC Scotland.

"But the players are happy - the guys who made their debuts in particular - and I hope the fans were happy."

During the weekend prior to the match almost half of Levein's original squad selection pulled out through injury.

Danny Wilson of Liverpool and Barry Bannan of Aston Villa made their Scotland debuts, the former marking his with a goal in the 3-0 victory.

And the Scotland manager was very happy with what he saw over the 90 minutes.

"It was pleasing and there are guys who have firmly established themselves in my thoughts for future matches," he said.

"I think I saw some performances tonight that gave me encouragement and that was the purpose of the match," said Levein.

"People may say we're only playing against the Faroes, but we've been here before playing against teams of a similar standard and haven't performed to a decent level."It's a long time since a Scottish team has created so many chances."

MY SPORT: DEBATE

Levein stressed that the whole team played their part in the win, but took time to mention some notable performers.

"Winning the game was the most important thing, but I thought the two lads starting for their debuts were excellent," he said.

"Danny Wilson got a good goal and young Bannan had a fantastic match.

"The rest were good too. I thought Phil Bardsley was fantastic, Mackie did really well and Shaun Maloney was excellent.

"I could go through the whole team."

Mackie agreed with his manager's assessment of the match and pointed towards Bannan as a special talent to watch out for in future.

"It was a good chance to get to know the lads," said Mackie. "We've got really talented side coming through now, with some good players playing at a brilliant standard.

"We know about Barry from watching the Premier League. He's going to be a top player - you can see that. - he wants the ball anywhere on the park and I reckon he's going to be a big player for Scotland in the future."

Scotland will next participate in the inaugural Celtic Nations Cup in February, but face a lengthy wait before their next Euro 2012 qualifier against the Czech Republic in September 2011.

The Scots are currently third in Group I, two points behind the Czechs, but Mackie remains confident that qualification lies within the grasp of Levein's men.

"I firmly believe we can do it," said Mackie. "We've got some quality going forward - if we utilise that, we have a great chance of qualifying.

"These games give you confidence, and it's all about building confidence. A few new faces in the squad can only help, in my opinion."



see also
Scotland 3-0 Faroe Islands
16 Nov 10 |  Scotland


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