WE WON’T BLAME ROB
Morgan vows Scots kids are behind blunder keeper UKRAINE U21 ........... 3 SCOTLAND U21 ........... 1
LEWIS MORGAN last night insisted Scotland’s latest European Championship exit shouldn’t be laid at blunder keeper Robby McCrorie’s door.
The Celtic winger says shared responsibility must be taken for failing to capitalise on a host of chances before the Rangers goalie’s second-half howler gifted Ukraine a lead.
Morgan hit the opener less than a minute into the must-win Group Four tie only for the hosts to fight back with the help of McCrorie’s mistake in allowing a speculative Oleksandr Zubkov effort to slip through his hands.
But the Hoops kid is adamant there was no finger pointing at full-time.
He said: “We all stand behind Robby. I have never been a goalkeeper and have never been in that situation so I don’t know if he was unsighted or the ball swerved.
“He made a couple of good saves in the game and maybe he will say he could have done better with the second goal. He needs to put it to the back of his mind.
“It just didn’t go our way and it was minor details that turned the game in their favour. We had spoken beforehand about trying to build on a lead if we got a goal. We created a few chances but didn’t take them.
“We started very well. I have never scored a faster goal in my career but it means little now. Ukraine were on the back foot for large portions of the first half and we should have been more than just one goal ahead by the time they scored their first.”
The late withdrawals of Scotland’s top marksman Fraser Hornby and Celtic winger Mikey Johnston left boss Scot Gemmill with a line-up that had Eamonn Brophy leading the line and Morgan providing support from the left flank.
There was no starting spot for Rangers kid Glenn Middleton and Chelsea wonderkid Billy Gilmour was also kept in reserve as the Scots went on the defensive for a game where defeat would close the curtain on their qualification hopes.
If the formation appeared conservative, it was proving deceptive as Scotland drew first blood with a brilliant opener in 53 seconds. Liam Smith’s sublime pass sliced the Ukrainian defence apart and Brophy’s cutback was slammed home by Morgan.
The move from start to finish had the mark of genuine quality and Gemmill’s men now had something to hang on to. Brophy was inches away from a second with a snapshot that swerved just off target and then Stevie Mallan brought a fine save out of Andryv Lunin.
The confidence, control and appetite being shown by the young Scots for the task in hand continued as Ryan Porteous was denied when his header from Mallan’s corner was swept off the line by Vitaly Mykolenko.
Ukraine’s mission also had no margin for error and a side still in the mix for a play-off spot started to click through the gears midway through the first half.
That renewed sense of purpose forced David Bates into an emergency block from Marian Shved’s netbound effort. Another Porteous header had Lunin clawing the ball clear in 27 minutes as Scotland searched for a cushion to a lead that merited something more from a supremely dominant half hour.
Then came the sucker punch two minutes later as Zubkov’s drilled attempt from the edge of the box deflected off Porteous and found McCrorie’s bottom-right corner.
The goal galvanised the hosts who set about putting the squeeze on Scotland and McCrorie kept out a strike from Viktor Kovalenko.
More alarm bells sounded seconds after the restart as Kovalenko’s acrobatic volley fizzed inches wide but Ukraine’s recovery was complete in the 57th minute. Again Zubkov inflicted the damage as his speculative shot from 30 yards looked an easy stop for McCrorie but the keeper flapped and shoved the ball into the roof of his net. A personal nightmare for the player but a blunder of epic proportions that all but killed Scotland’s play-off prospects. Gemmill’s kids attempted to regroup but the reality was now a game that had slipped away and the aim was to avoid losing any further goals. There were the occasional glimpses of goal. Chris Cadden failed to control a volley and smashed a 74th-minute effort over before Mallan dragged a shot wide of the target from distance. Insult was added in injury time as Kovalenko raced clear to slide in a third, leaving Scotland facing a dead rubber against England at Tynecastle on Tuesday.