Nacer: Big teams will Luk at star
Barry Ferguson
ROMELU LUKAKU is a talisman worthy of building a top team around, reckons Belgium pal Nacer Chadli.
The 23-year-old took his World Cup qualifying tally to six goals on Saturday as his 89th-minute finish sealed a 1-1 draw with Greece.
Everton striker Lukaku is being tipped for a £70million summer move away from Goodison Park after racing to the top of the English Premier League goal charts.
And Chadli, who started alongside him as the Red Devils maintained their two-point cushion at the top of Group H, believes he could be a Cristiano Ronaldo-style figure at any club.
The West Brom midfielder said: “He scores lots of goals – those scorers are precious and clubs can build a team around them.
“He seems almost at the top of his game. You see him score almost every week for Everton and then he comes away with Belgium and gets a crucial equaliser that helps his country try to get to the World Cup.
“He can do anything and works incredibly hard. He is only 23 so you have to assume he’ll improve further.” CHRIS MARTIN did not just keep alive our World Cup dream last night – he also won back the Tartan Army for the Scotland national team.
The frontman bore the burnt of fan frustration when he was unfairly booed by supporters when he came on against Slovenia to replace James Morrison.
No player deserves to be on the receiving end of that sort of stick from their own fans before they have even kicked a ball in anger.
However, it’s important to put it in context and Martin was probably singled out for stick because the campaign had not gone the way we all had hoped before last night’s Group F clash.
In the end, he turned the jeers around and his superb left-foot finish was also vindication for Gordon Strachan, who got his substitution spot on.
Hampden was only half full and the lack of numbers came as something of a surprise.
I had hoped more would show but the fans pay good money and are entitled to turn up with the expectation of a Scotland win.
Sadly, that hasn’t always been in the case in recent years and it seems as if frustration and a little lack of belief had begun to tell on the Tartan Army.
Fans don’t always realise the role they can play in spurring their team on.
The game was petering out before Gordon called for his replacements and a couple of wee stramashes before Martin finally made the breakthrough fired the crowd up in support of the team.
It helped push the players to carve out the crucial winner and now, spurred by a fine display, I expect the Tartan Army will be back creating those special Hampden atmospheres again before the end of the campaign.
For sure, they will pack out the national stadium for the arrival of England on June 10 and they’ll also have a key role against Malta and Slovakia when the campaign draws to a close next season.
We have earned the right to go into the game against Gareth Southgate’s men with increased confidence. We sit just a point behind Slovenia and two points off Slovakia, the race for second place in our group well and truly on again. Let’s not kid ourselves, though, England will start as favourites but this is one of the fiercest rivalries in football and we won’t be lacking in self-belief. You know, luck hasn’t always been on Scotland’s side in recent seasons, but maybe last night’s result suggested the gods of good fortune might just be about to smile on those in dark blue.
However, let’s not consider Scotland fortunate to beat the Slovenians. Undoubtedly, we deserved to win the match, even if we had to wait until the closing moments to seal three such vital points.
The goal never looked as if it would come but patience and perseverance were their own rewards as we kept alive our chances of going to Russia for the finals next summer. We were excellent in the first half and although our performance levels dipped slightly after the break we never lost faith, even though we all knew a point would have ended our qualification chances.
There were stages of the game we had to hold possession but we kept our discipline before finally making the breakthrough.
I said in this column on Friday I’d take a horrible performance and three points, so what a boost to take them and play well.
Stuart Armstrong caught my eye on his international debut and he carried his club form with Celtic to this level, which isn’t always easy, and popped up with the vital assist.
He’s different to what I’ve seen in a Scotland midfielder for a number of years. He’s comfortable on the ball and I like his legs.
He can move beyond the striker and pops up with a number of goals and assists and he’s at an age he should now push on at this level and use this performance as a benchmark.
It wasn’t quite as successful a night for club-mate Leigh Griffiths after he was forced off with a back injury but Gordon was spot on to start with him in attack, even if his game time has been limited recently under Brendan Rodgers.
He always gets into positions to score and I even felt sorry for him with that effort that came off the crossbar.
Robert Snodgrass did well to pick him out but the ball didn’t drop as quickly as Leigh would have liked and that’s why he snatched at it.
His second effort off the post, however, was rank bad luck as he did so well to shape his body for the strike in the first place.
I was also delighted for Gordon. It’s not controversial to suggest he would have considered his future had the team not won, so it was a brilliant result for a passionate guy and a very proud Scotland manager.
It was his inspired substitution and decision to go for it with two up front near the end that turned the game in Scotland’s favour.
Sometimes in football you’ve got to make your own luck – and Gordon grafted to have his side declared rightful winners.
Supporters don’t always realise the role they can play in spurring the team on