REPTON schoolboy Johnny Gorman made his competitive international debut for Northern Ireland last night.

The 17-year-old midfielder, who is a member of the Wolverhampton Wanderers Academy, went on as a substitute one minute from the end of the Euro 2012 qualifier against Slovenia.

And the late change meant Gorman, who qualifies for Northern Ireland through his Mum Su, was on the pitch to celebrate a memorable 1-0 away win as the Irish began their Group C qualifying campaign.

And it was another substitute, Cory Evans, who grabbed the winner in the 70th minute.

The Manchester United midfielder marked his first competitive outing by getting on the end of a glorious cross from Craig Cathcart, also on his debut, to sweep the ball home at the far post.

Afterwards, Northern Ireland manager Nigel Worthington praised the youngsters, including Gorman.

Worthington said: "I'm delighted with Craig Cathcart, he did a good solid job and stuck to it – great credit to him.

"I have no fears about Corry, I've worked with him for three years. He showed what he can do and not just with his goal, while young Johnny Gorman came on and showed maturity as well.

"Overall our performance was superb.

"The players deserve all the credit because they worked hard all week and stuck to the game-plan throughout.

"It gives us a nice start to the campaign and now we'll look forward to meeting up for the Italy game at Windsor Park next month."