It is the hope that may kill Scotland. As if a return to tournament football after a 23-year absence is not significant enough for a nation led by the impressive Steve Clarke, the Scots will skip towards the European Championships after backing up a draw against the Netherlands with a straightforward victory in Luxembourg. A country which revels in self-deprecation – and there was precious little alternative during decades in the international football wilderness – is now daring to dream.
As he seeks to downplay expectation, Clarke can point towards Luxembourg playing two-thirds of this game with 10 men. Yet the Scotland positives keep on rolling in. Che Adams returned to the starting XI and scored. Billy Gilmour featured in the second half and showed calmness as belied his international inexperience before his enforced withdrawal following a wild aerial challenge. Gilmour had been desperate to continue but medical advice as given to Clarke saw him replaced by James Forrest. Sitting in the stand for the closing 15 minutes, Gilmour at least did not appear groggy.
Nonetheless, and given the initial scale of his discomfort, replacing him was sensible.
“The good news is he is fine,” said Clarke. “Billy is a tough boy. The doctors will assess him over the next few days. Let’s not make that the big story. The big story is we are fully prepared for this tournament.” Barring any upcoming injury problems – and on the basis Gilmour shows no lingering effects from Olivier Thill’s lunge – Scotland will indeed host the Czech Republic in Glasgow on 14 June from as strong a position as even the Tartan Army’s most upbeat foot soldiers could have envisaged.
The complexion of this fixture changed 11 minutes before the interval. The Albanian referee, Eldorjan Hamiti, had no option but to dismiss Vahid Selimovic after the defender hauled down the marauding Lyndon Dykes. The bearded Luxembourg centre-half complained bitterly and this was, after all, a friendly but the match official had no option. Dykes was clean through on goal after a terrific reverse pass from Adams.
Scotland suffered only minor concern before that point. David Marshall had to save smartly after Grant Hanley miscued an attempted tackle from a corner towards his own goal. Whether Marshall will retain his place for the Czech encounter is one source of Scottish intrigue; moments such as this will do him no harm.
The visitors heeded that eighth-minute warning. Dykes hit the post with a header from Andy Robertson’s cross before feeding his strike partner for the only goal of the game. Dykes and Adams found themselves two against two inside the penalty area but with talent on their side. Adams received Dykes’s pass, the Southampton man subsequently providing a low finish underneath Anthony Moris.
Clarke used the break to introduce Gilmour for his just his second cap. The Chelsea teenager was immediately influential, with a run and shot which just drifted wide of Moris’s left-hand post. Gilmour had left three home players trailing in his wake. Luxembourg were noticeably physical in approach but their numerical shortage allowed the Scots to play continually on the front foot.
John McGinn was the next to test Moris, with a deflected shot on the turn as had the goalkeeper scrambling. Dykes saw a close-range header hit the back of the net just as the assistant referee’s flag signalled offside.
Gilmour displayed wonderful trickery before seeing an angled drive batted away by Moris. Adams had a goal ruled out for a push on Mica Pinto.
Wastefulness was Scotland’s only failing. “We should have done more finishing practice,” said Clarke with a smile later.
Thill had only been on the pitch for a matter of seconds when he clattered into Gilmour with shoulder dangerously prominent. The Luxembourg substitute was fortunate to escape with just a yellow card; his team lucky Scotland did not win by a wider margin. Onwards to Hampden Park, where a supporter base suddenly expects.
from Football | The Guardian https://ift.tt/34QY30T
via IFTTT
No Comment