Ben Gannon-Doak ba a haife shi ba lokacin da Scotland ta karshe ta shiga Gasar Cin Kofin Duniya ta maza. A ranar Talata, ɗan wasan fikafikan Bournemouth mai shekaru 20 ya tabbatar cewa babu wanda zai manta da sunansa bayan wasansu na farko a gasar a cikin shekaru 28.
A minti na 54 a kan Haiti, Gannon-Doak ya ɗaga ɗan hannu ya kuma ihu bayan ya kare ƙwallon don bugun ƙwallo na Scotland — bikin da ya kunna Boston Stadium kuma ya zaɓar Tartan Army da suka yi tafiya mai nisa. Ya gane, ta hanyar ji, abin da kowane mai goyon baya a cikin waɗancan falon yake ji. Ya wakilce su.
Fara wasa da aka dadewa ana jira
Hanyar Gannon-Doak zuwa wannan lokaci bai kasance mai sauƙi ba. Rauni uku na muhimmanci a cikin shekaru uku a jere sun dakatar da ci gabansa akai-akai, ciki har da ƙokon ƙugu da aka bayyana yana rataye «a kan zare ɗaya».
An taɓa saka shi cikin rukunin Steve Clarke mai mamaki don Euro 2024, amma ya janye kafin tafiya zuwa Jamus saboda rauni. Shi kansa ya yarda cewa wannan gasar watakila «ta zo da wuri kaɗan».
Yana da shekaru 16, ya bar Celtic zuwa Liverpool a Premier League — mataki da bai kasance mai sauƙi ba ga wannan yaro daga North Ayrshire. A lokacin wahala, nesa da gida kuma yana fama da rauni, ya sake samun hanyarsa ta komawa bangaskiya. An haife shi Katolika, kuma ya amince cewa ya daina bin addinin na ɗan lokaci kafin ya ji, a kalmominsa, «Allah yana kiran ni da in koma».
«Ina yin sallah kafin wasanni, ina karanta Littafi Mai Tsarki shi kaɗai — ba zan yi hakan a ɗakin sutura ba saboda akwai addinai daban-daban a ƙwallon ƙafa,» ya bayyana a wani fim da aka nuna a BBC Scotland's A View from the Terrace a farkon wannan shekara. «Har ila yau, yana da kyau a yi hakan a keɓe don ku iya mai da hankali sosai.»
Injin Scotland
Ya bayyana tun farkon daƙiƙu a kan Haiti cewa idan wani abu zai faru, Gannon-Doak zai kasance a tsakiyar abin. Kowane lokaci ya karɓi ƙwallon a gefen dama, ya nemi yin farmaki — wani abu da ya faranta rai ga masu goyon bayan Scotland waɗanda suka rasa wannan irin yunƙurin na dogon lokaci.
Lokacin da Scott McTominay ya buga ginshiƙi, yana ƙarshen wani iskaƙi mai ban mamaki na Gannon-Doak. Sa'an nan ya ba Che Adams kyauta, wanda ya harba harbi da aka tunkude ya sauka a hanyar John McGinn, wanda ya yi murna yayinda Scotland suka zura kwallo ta farko a Gasar Cin Kofin Duniya tun 1998.
A tsawon minti 83, Gannon-Doak shi ne ɗan wasan Scotland mafi ƙarami da ya taɓa buga Gasar Cin Kofin Duniya, har sai abokinsa mai shekaru 19 Findlay Curtis ya shigo. Dukansu suna wasa da 'yanci da fara'a, ba tare da nauyin shekaru na rashin cancantar shiga ko takaicin 'yan baya-bayan nan a Euros ba.
«Ya yi wasa mai kyau da daddare,» in ji tsohon ɗan wasan fikafikan Scotland Pat Nevin a BBC Sportsound. Tsohon kyaftin Scott Brown ya ƙara a BBC One: «Shi ne irin abin da kake so a ɗan wasan Scotland.»
Gannon-Doak ya fita filin a minti 15 kafin ƙarshe, wanda ya jawo numfashi ɗaya na damuwa. Amma a yanzu, wannan saurayi mai shekaru 20 yana da alama ya yanke shawarar sa bege ya yiwu.
