View to a thrill
On Scotland’s kids taking scenic route to the Euros
IF there’s a favourite view from inside a Scottish stadium then Firhill just about edges Inverness.
There’s just something about the silhouette of Glasgow’s West End on a sunny night which tops the Kessock Bridge stretching across the Beauly Firth.
Stirling Albion’s ground is within selfie distance of William Wallace and Stranraer had the old bandstand and beyond there’s the sparkle of the north sea.
They all beat Dunfermline’s graveyard and Hamilton having Morrisons supermarket as a backdrop hands down.
Maybe training your eye for some tourist sightseeing tells its own story about what’s usually transpiring on the pitch.
Anyway I digress, Partick Thistle hosted Scotland’s Under-19s on Tuesday night and for once what was happening all over the turf was picturesque.
As a critic of the standard of our game at youth level, what unfolded against Germany bucked the trend of having to highlight where our game is going wrong.
Whether it’s the delusional dream factory which the SFA’s performance schools have become or the decline across the board in boys capable of independent thought on the ball, hands up, I’ve slaughtered it from pillar to post.
But what transpired in Maryhill was cause to hit the pause button on all of that and provided some serious food for thought.
Will it be the start of some serious progress or a snapshot of a picture frozen in time like so many squads of the past who have failed to deliver after promising so much more?
A 1-0 win over a German side which had just dished out a 9-2 hammering to Belarus was so much more than three points which booked a place in the European Championship Elite Round next March.
Another opportunity awaits for a group who can become the first generation of kids to play at an U-19 European Finals since the likes of Steven Fletcher, Graham Dorrans, Robert Snodgrass and Lee Wallace were all playing that fame game way back in 2006.
Michael McGlinchey even went on to play for New Zealand at a World Cup. Again, the prophet of doom would suggest we’ve seen it all before but this time it could be different.
It was the manner of victory against Germany, the style, an ability to show control and dominance against one of football’s superpowers at this level which more than caught this eye.
All across the pitch there were performances which provided our game with a shot in the arm.
As Record Sport were the only newspaper who sent a reporter to cover the match, it would be remiss of us not to actually put some bones on the flesh of a night which warmed the heart. There aren’t any superstars on the horizon, this is a group where the sum makes up its greatest part. Aberdeen duo Dean Campbell and Ethan Ross are dynamic, intelligent in possession and comfortable on the ball and ably supported in midfield by the tenacious Marc Leonard of Brighton.
Rangers wide players Kai Kennedy and Josh McPake are inventive, quick and capable of getting at their man, creating and providing a clinical touch.
Striker Adedapo Mebude is both physical and clever in his movement with a clear ability to lead the line but it’s at the back where we also looked well served. Hearts have Chris Hamilton out on loan at Cowdenbeath and he shone alongside Hamilton’s Jamie Hamilton at the heart of defence. Nathan Patterson of Rangers is another impressive prospect who was suspended against the Germans while Hearts star Aaron Hickey is also available for this age group so it bodes well. James Maxwell, who’s learning his trade at Ibrox, was understated and the pick of the bunch. One of the SFA’s brightest decisions was to bring Billy Stark back into the coaching fold after he was cast into the wilderness as part of the collateral damage which saw performance director Mark Wotte sent packing a few years ago in a streamlining of the business. The U-19s boss is now back in situ after a spell as assistant at Albion Rovers and he’s working with a squad packed full of promise and genuine talent without the hyperbole that usually comes after a good result.
At the U-19 Euros in 2006, Belgium had six future stars in their squad including Marouane Fellaini and Kevin Mirallas.
The Czechs had nine players who would go on to earn full international caps and Turkey seven, including Arda Turan and Mevlut Erdinc. Portugal would produce two future internationals, including Helder Barbosa, so the proof will be in the pudding in a few years’ time.
But let’s just be glad to be galvanised by what’s unfolding on the pitch at U-19 level and be thankful to witness something even more scenic than Fort William’s Claggan Park.