Scotland debut hero muses over “special moment” and exposes what occurred to top player Cristiano Ronaldo.

When Nicky Devlin set foot on the Hampden grass on Tuesday night, he embarked on a fairytale adventure. Originally an 88th minute replacement for Anthony Ralston, the Aberdeen right-back made his international debut and significantly contributed to Scotland’s much-needed Nations League point acquisition against Portugal. A pivotal moment in ensuring he and his colleagues avoided the unwelcome tag of being involved in a fifth straight loss for the first time in the country’s history was his amazing block just seconds after arriving on, bravely throwing his body in front of Rafeal Leao to deny the £35million AC Milan winger a close range shot on goal.

Simply wearing the Scotland jersey was a huge accomplishment for a player whose career has flown at Pittodrie following spells with Motherwell, Dumbarton, Stenhousemuir, Ayr, Walsall and Livingston. His great contribution guaranteed the 30-year-old could look back on his first cap with a great degree of pride. With his father, brothers, wife Lauren, and children all in attendance to savor the event, the evening was unforgettable for the whole

Devlin family. For my family, me, and everyone else linked with me growing up playing football, this is a unique time. “For them as well, I guess, even if I’m thrilled and incredibly proud; they have been with me when I was young and part-time in League One in Scotland. Last season, they also toured everywhere, all over the nation and all over Europe with Aberdeen; so, it is a great prize for them as well. Millions of people dream of being able to move on today. I have been granted that chance. I know it and I never take that for granted. Though it’s been ups and downs all the time, I wouldn’t alter anything. Having ups and downs has helped me to find the current state of affairs. More importantly, the club performed well, most likely deserving throughout the past several games.”

When he thought back on his big block, which kept goalie Craig Gordon from facing a goalbound shot at close range, Devlin said he was simply glad to prevent a penalty from being given. “At times, as a defender, you have to act in that manner. Watching the lads the last several games most likely inspired me. You simply have to keep on and do your share; Craigy made a couple major saves and they have had to make many blocks. Your mindful of trying to keep your arms down when I went to block it. Thank goodness I managed to keep my arms away from the block as I knew I was most likely the last line before Craigy had to preserve it. Devlin revealed he received a unique keepsake from head coach Steve Clarke to honor his first cap but was unable to obtain Cristiano Ronaldo’s shirt when the Portugal player departed the field in a rage. “I think Che [Adams] might have got his top to be fair,” he remarked. “At the end, he seemed not overly delighted. I was happy with one the manager handed me since my name was on the back and it was the number one.