HE shares a surname with a goalscoring great and hearing it chanted in his direction is something Finlay Shearer finds amusing.

Just as it used to echo around St James' Park in honour of Newcastle United, and English Premier League, record goalscorer, Alan, 'Shearer, Shearer' could be heard from the Kelty Hearts fans when the teenager took to the field against Dunfermline on Saturday.

With Nathan Austin forced off 10 minutes from half-time through injury, the promising centre forward entered the fray to make his seventh senior appearance for the 'Maroon Machine' since making his debut in a home win over Queen of the South in February, and helped his team to a well-earned point.

He was given plenty of encouragement from the away fans and, as he prepares to celebrate his 18th birthday tomorrow (Friday), Shearer joked with Press Sport: "I sometimes hear that when I go on.

"It's funny, but I'm just trying to keep concentrated on the game, and my head down.

"It was a good experience, in front of loads of people, loads of fans; all the Kelty fans, the Dunfermline fans. It's just about getting more experiences and, obviously, the gaffer believing in me, and putting me on in a game like that.

"I knew it was going to be tough coming on. Dunfermline are quite good on the ball, a good side, so we just tried to stay compact, stay as a team, stay strong, and covered the distance that Dunfermline tried to break us down. Luckily, they didn't.

"I was just covering distance for the team, although the lads worked hard, and it was a pretty good result. You always have to be ready for that kind of situation. Fash (Austin) picked up the injury, unfortunately, and I had to go on and do what the team needed me to do, and help them out."

Experienced number nine Austin is just one of the players that Shearer has credited with helping his development so far and, when asked if he expected to play as much as he has so far, he replied: "Definitely not, but I always believed in myself, and so did the manager obviously.

"I'm just trying to prove myself to everyone, with the more minutes, the more experience, the more I get used to playing against grown adults. It's all new to me.

"When you're playing against adults, they're smarter, they're experienced, they've been in that situation loads of times, and I'm just having to get used to that situation.

"Everyone tries to give me pointers. All the lads in the team are always helping me to try and improve.

"Fash (Nathan Austin) helps me a lot, Kallum Higginbotham, he helps me a lot, with just wee trips. Obviously, I'm quite young, so they just try to give me little pointers and tips for situations like that, incase I need to be brought on to the pitch and play in a game like that."

Shearer is hopeful of finding his first senior goal before the name is out and, after the match, Potter, who praised the forward as a "a "positive, confident young guy" following his debut against the Doonhamers, and stressed he would get further opportunities if he continued to work hard, said that he hoped to blood more young players before the end of the season.

That could herald more game time for Shearer, who has yet to start for the first team, adding: "That's the dream, to play football, for every young boy. Luckily, I've had that opportunity to play football for Kelty."