James Forrest admits joy after post-match chat with John McGinn

Follow us on Google Discover

Aston Villa’s John McGinn bagged a hat-trick for Scotland on Sunday.

Celtic winger James Forrest has told The Scottish Sun that he was ‘delighted’ for John McGinn after learning his treble against San Marino was his first-ever hat-trick.

Scotland needed a response after losing 4-0 to Russia last week, and a home game with San Marino seemed like the perfect opportunity to rack up some goals.

That’s exactly what Scotland did, with Aston Villa star McGinn bagging a first-half hat-trick to put Scotland 3-0 in front and cruising towards victory.

Lawrence Shankland, Stuart Findlay and Stuart Armstrong added second half goals for Scotland, giving them a 6-0 win at a rain-soaked Hampden Park.

Midfielder McGinn unsurprisingly took most of the plaudits, with the 24-year-old taking his strong domestic start into the international scene.

McGinn has notched three goals and one assist for Villa so far this season, making the step up to the Premier League seamlessly having helped fire Villa to promotion last season.

That some Celtic fans weren’t sure McGinn could play for the Bhoys when he was starring with Hibernian now looks comical, and one Celtic star has commented on his performance.

Forrest admitted that McGinn told the Scotland side after the San Marino game that his treble was the first hat-trick of his career, which left Forrest ‘delighted’ – but quickly turned the attention back to scoring goals and getting all three points against the minnows.

“John McGinn told us it was his first-ever hat-trick and I was delighted for him,” said Forrest. “But the most important thing was banging in a few goals and getting the confidence levels back up,” he added.

Having pursued McGinn last year, the midfielder is maybe the one that got away for Celtic. Some may now wish he was playing in green and white hoops, but at least Forrest is playing with him on the international stage – and they must now combine to take Scotland forward over the coming years, even if they miss out on EURO 200.