PROMISING young Sunderland striker Kevin Kyle got his first start for Scotland yesterday - and scorned three chances to open his international scoring account.

New Scottish coach Berti Vogts decided to give the bustling 20-year-old his chance in a friendly against South Africa, but saw his side crash to a fourth consecutive defeat under the former German coach's direction.

World Cup-bound South Africa won 2-0, but Kyle - a second half substitute in the previous game against South Korea - had his moments and one of his efforts rebounded off the underside of the crossbar.

Now the 6ft 3ins tall centre-forward must wait to see if he did enough to hold on to his place in Scotland's final friendly match in their short tour of the Far East against a Hong Kong League Select X1 on Thursday.

Middlesbrough's Robbie Stockdale gave am improved display on last week's defeat to South Korean, Riverside teammate Alan Johnston failed to impress, and Newcastle's Gary Caldwell was replaced at half-time.

Meanwhile, Sunderland boss Peter Reid has had to strike the name of Swedish forward Marcus Allback off his list of potential transfer targets.

The 28-year-old Heerenveen striker, who has been tracked by the Wearsiders for several months, has opted to join Aston Villa because he considers them a bigger club than Sunderland.

Sunderland midfielder Claudio Reyna, captain of the United States World Cup team, has warned his teammates they must remain alert in the competition after losing 2-0 in a friendly against Holland in Massachusetts.

He said: "There is a very fine line at this level between success and failure and you cannot afford any mental lapses - it has got to be concentration for the whole 90 minutes."