KIDS IN FINALS JOY
Scot backs golden generation of babes to take Euro finals by storm
GLENN MIDDLETON kept his cool to send Scotland’s Under-17s to this summer’s Euro Championship.
The Norwich City kid netted a first-half penalty to see off Switzerland in Paisley and book a spot in Croatia.
It’s the fourth straight time the Scots kids have qualified for the finals and delighted boss Scott Gemmill said: “We have won every game in this campaign and only lost one goal and that’s impressive.
“We can travel to Croatia in May with confidence and belief we can cope.”
SCOT GEMMILL insists a golden generation of Scots kids are ready to come of age at the Euro finals this summer.
The national Under-17s boss watched his side book a fourth consecutive finals spot as a first-half Glenn Middleton penalty put the Swiss to the sword.
It was hardly an advert for youth football as the race for a place at Croatia 2017 produced a game where performance mattered less than the result.
But Gemmill said: “If people are going to get carried away with this Scotland age group then that’s because they deserve it.
“We have won every game in this qualification campaign and only lost one goal and that’s impressive.
“I’ve been saying for a while now this is a good side but the players have backed that up with their performances.
“We can now travel to Croatia in May with confidence and a belief we can cope with that challenge.
“The players deserve immense credit for handling the pressures of this game, they knew what was at stake and delivered. I can’t speak highly enough of how they coped against a good Swiss side.
“I was also delighted to see Glenn score again as it kept his recent run going. There was no doubt the ref made the right call by awarding the penalty.
“It was always going to help if we scored first as it eased the pressure. But the way we managed the game after that showed a great confidence.”
Gemmill’s kids forced the early pressure but the Swiss delivered a fifth-minute scare as Alexis Antunes’s 20-yarder flew inches wide.
The home defence survived again moments later when Robbie Deas failed to deal with a long ball and allowed Ruben del Campo to steal possession at the edge of the area only to see Stephen Welsh block his netbound shot.
Scotland grew in confidence as the half progressed. A curling cross from Aberdeen’s Sebastien Ross deceived everyone and sneaked wide of the back post.
And in the 22nd minute the Scots were gifted the lead from the spot. Celtic’s Daniel Church delivered the cross that was inexplicably handled by Swiss skipper Yannick Marchand in the box and referee Krzysztof Jakubik pointed to the spot.
Norwich striker Middleton smacked home to take his tally in the qualifiers to four goals from three games.
The half ended with the Scots on the front foot. Celtic kid Jack Aitchison’s ability to drift into pockets and link play caused the Swiss a host of problems as he combined with Zak Rudden and Middleton in a potent front three.
Celtic’s Kerr McInroy went into the book for clattering Nishan Burkart as the game struggled to regain the flow of the opening half with play being punctuated by fouls.
Nikola Suter was next to try his luck from 30 yards but Dundee United keeper Josh Donaldson gathered with ease.
Scotland went close to 2-0 on the hour when Elliot Watt’s free-kick was tipped past a post by Jozef Pukaj.
It needed a goalline clearance from Noah Okafor to deny Middleton a second with Aitchison inches away from another in the final seconds.
SCOTLAND – Donaldson 6, Church 7, Welsh 7, Deas 6, Mitchell 7, Aitchison 7 (Smith 80, 1), Rudden 6, Middleton 8 (Hutchison 79, 1), Ross 8, McInroy 6 (Watt 60, 4) Houston 7. Subs not used: Mayo, Watt, Cameron McCracken, Reid.