After the best possible start Scotland failed to build on their lead and ended the night with that sinking feeling.
| A decent enough crowd filled the main stand at New Douglas Park on a cold night in Hamilton to watch Scotland and Northern Ireland Under 21s play out an interesting CashBack challenge game. It did not take Scotland long to warm the cockles of the collective Scottish fans heart when they opened the scoring within two minutes. Captain Paul Caddis drove down to the right hand by-line and past the ball to the unmarked Jamie Murphy to stroke the ball into the net from the middle of the box. However, the lead was short lived when the Scottish defence decided not to do their job properly and allowed Josh McQuoid to run in on the defenceless Allan Martin in goal. He lofted the ball over Martin but managed to injure the 'keeper in the process. Martin managed to carried on until the 15 minute mark before having to be replaced by Scott Gallacher. Scotland were keen to play attacking football but even with three at the back, McQuiod was just too quick for them and he exploited the space available. Perhaps we should blame it on the exuberance of youth. The Scots were always willing to drive forward but they did look threadbare at the back when their moves broke down. This was their undoing when in the 25 minute once again McQuoid took advantage of the poor marking to run in to goal. Gallacher failed to beat him to the ball outside the box and the Irishman calmly collected on the left the ball and split the two Scottish defenders who had headed for the line. Scotland nearly were back on level terms just a minute later when Murphy struck a firm shot from a corner which hit the right hand post and out to safety for Northern Ireland. Scotland were not afraid to shoot on site or put themselves about a bit in an effort to get the goals back on an even standing. However, there was always the threat posed by the Irish against a less than confident home defence when the ball was thrown forward. The first half end on a piece of excitement as Scott Arfield failed to convert a penalty after Kevin MacDonald had been brought down in the box. Trevor Carson guessed right to block the shot and Scotland's efforts to convert the rebound came to naught. Northern Ireland wasted no time in increasing their lead in the second half. A cross from the right within a minute of the restart found the head of Shane Ferguson at the back of the six yards box. He calmly played it back in for Andrew Little to shoot home. Scotland lost their way a little as the second half continued and Northern Ireland spent more time on the offensive. However, the visitors were not slow to get back in numbers when the need arose. Scotland always seemed to be crowded out when they were in dangerous positions. As the game wore on Scotland were becoming less of a goal threat with the occasional shot from Murphy to remind us that there was a chance of us getting back into the game. It was another effort from Murphy which brought about a corner that resulted in an all too brief period of pressure from the home side. However, it too little too late for Scotland. In the very last minute Carson in the visitors goal made three point blank saves to allow the game to end with Northern Ireland worthy 1-3 winners. Scotland: Martin (Gallacher), Gray (Mitchell), Easton, Duff (Coutts), Pearce, Arfield (Loy), Caddis, Maguire (Millar), Murphy, McDonald (Goodwillie), Stevenson(Lennon) Subs: All used Goal: Murphy Northern Ireland: Carson, Chapman (Flynn), Lafferty (McMenamin), Casement, Cathcart, Evans (Magee), Shroot, (Lawrie) Weir, Little, McQuoid (McQuilken), Ferguson (Colligan) Subs: O'Neill, Booked: Chapman, Weir Goal: McQuoid (Two), Little Attendance: 2,149 Referee: Babek Rafati (Gemany) | |
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