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Justin Devenny of Crystal Palace holds aloft the FA Community Shield

Scotland may have missed out on Justin Devenny but the Crystal Palace star wasn’t going to make the same mistake from the spot at Wembley.

The former Kilmarnock academy kid slammed in the winning penalty for the Eagles as they shocked Liverpool to win the Charity Shield on the back of their incredible FA Cup triumph over Man City back in May.

And it added another chapter to the sensational story of this youngster from Irvine.

Devenny has completed a remarkable rise from the depths of Scottish football to the very pinnacle of the English game – and been poached by Northern Ireland in the process.

The 21-year-old had a spell at Broomhill in the Lowland League when part of the Rugby Park ranks and then joined Airdrie in League One before being spotted by Palace’s eagle-eyed Scottish scouts.

The £150,000 shock move down south led to him impressing with the Under-23s before breaking into the first team – where he made 23 appearances last term on his way to picking up a historic FA Cup winner’s medal.

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Devenny was at it again on Sunday, sticking up his hand to take the crucial fifth spot kick.

And he didn’t disappoint as he found the net to spark wild celebrations.

Devenny had nerves of steel – and he revealed his grit was forged in the lower leagues in Scotland.

The youngster’s only other spot kick in his pro career came in Airdrie’s 6-5 shootout win against Hamilton in 2023 to escape the third tier and claim a place in the Championship.

Devenny said: “I’ve taken one professional penalty, which was in the play-off final for Airdrie three years ago.

“It wasn’t quite this, there were a few thousand there.

Of course!”

Justin Devenny of Crystal Palace celebrates after scoring winning penalty during the 2025 FA Community Shield(Image: Nigel French/Getty Images)

Devenny has always believed he could crack the big time – and had no doubts stepping up in front of 82,000 fans at Wembley.

He said: “I was confident and I believe in myself.

I didn’t have to take a penalty, but I wanted to.

“I wanted to be the fifth one, I wanted to be the one that scored and win it.

"He (manager Oliver Glasner) was asking who wanted to take a penalty and I said: ‘I will take one’

“I was quite happy that it was in front of the Liverpool fans, you are going to get the abuse and the noise – but it is just about staying in the zone.

“Thankfully I scored, the emotions were great, I didn’t know how to celebrate, it was almost too much to take in.

These are the moments you want to be part of.

“Anyone would say yeah to have the chance to take the winning penalty in the Community Shield final.

I was lucky enough to do it.”

Devenny rammed home from the spot – and plunged another dagger in the hearts of the Tartan Army.

The midfielder was whipped away by the Northern Irish from right under his horn nation’s noses before he even got to Palace.

Devenny came through the SFA performance school system but the summons came from over the water after an instant impact with Airdrie.

Former St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright – who was part of the Northern Ireland youth set up – had been tracking the kid even longer after learning about his Belfast born granny.

Scotland missed the boat and Palace stepped in soon after – with Devenny making his senior debut in the Nations League days in the same week he became the youngster scorer for the Eagles in the top flight with his strike against Aston Villa.

The midfielder’s career has started to soar and admitted he has no regrets at flying over the Irish Sea.

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Devenny said: “Northern Ireland showed trust in me.

It was an easy enough decision for me although I am Scottish – you can hear it in my voice – I have really enjoyed my time with Northern Ireland.