Forrest blazes the trail to Euro play-offs
Hat-trick hero steals the show to put Tartan Army on fast-track back to big time
IT was hard to believe that James Forrest could go a game, never mind 24 of them, without scoring for Scotland as he ran riot during this joyous, nerve-shredding, but ultimately glorious evening at Hampden.
Having opened his account for his country with a secondhalf double in the Nations League match against Albania in Shkoder on Saturday night, he promptly weighed in with a hat-trick in this meeting with Israel.
The Celtic winger’s strikes, which took his tally for both club and country in the 2018/19 campaign to 14, ensured the national team came from behind to triumph in their final Group C1 fixture, topped the section, won promotion to Group B and secured a Euro 2020 play-off spot.
Another two games will have to be successfully negotiated – if, that is, Alex McLeish’s men fail to qualify via the traditional route next year – before an interminable wait to reach the finals of a major tournament that stretches back to France ’98 is brought to an end.
They will need, having allowed Beram Kayal and Eran Zahavi to score far too easily, to sharpen up defensively in order to progress.
It was, though, hard to be pessimistic about the future prospects of a side that werebooed off the park by their own disgusted supporters after a woeful showing and a 2-1 defeat to Israel in Haifa just last month on such an amazing occasion.
Forrest was left on the bench for the games against both Belgium and Albania despite playing well domestically and in Europe due to the system McLeish previously favoured. But certainly if the striker stays fit and in this kind of form then anything is possible.
The manager, whose preparations were hampered by a total of nine players withdrawing from his squad, has savoured a few astonishing nights in his long and trophyladen career both as a player and manager. This was up there with any of them.
Israel made two changes from the side that had battered their opponents in the Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa; Eitan Tibi and Dor Peretz both dropped out and Eran Zahavi and Loai Taha came in.
Their hosts, though, bore little resemblance to the one they faced on their home turf. Incredibly, only three members of the side who had
‘‘ The Celtic winger’s strikes took his tally for the season to 14
started in the last encounter – Allan McGregor, Andy Robertson and Callum McGregor – kicked off the game this time around.
But the new-look line-up started off performing every bit as poorly. They fell behind when they conceded a criminally soft goal in just the ninth minute.
Beram Kayal, the former Celtic midfielder, was given a ridiculous amount of time and space to line up a shot by Callum McGregor 25 yards out. His attempt, which arched over Allan McGregor and into the net, was outstanding. But he should never have been allowed to take it.
McGregor nearly atoned for his error in the 22nd minute when he chested down a clearance out of the Israel box and unleashed a powerful dipping volley at goal. Ariel Harush did well to tip it past his post.
Israel are notoriously bad travellers, as their defeats to Albania and Northern Ireland away back in September testified. But they have won three of their last three matches, including a 7-0 scoreline against Guatemala last Thursday night, under a manager who was appointed at the start of the season and showed why early on.
They broke from deep quickly and with numbers after scoring and came alarmingly close to building on their lead on a couple of occasions. Scott McKenna made a vital clearance just when Peretz was poised to shoot and then Munas Dabbur was just inches away from getting his head on the end of a Eran Zahavi cross and nturning into the net.
Yet, Scotland steadied themselves admirably after some anxious moments and slack play. Lifted by some coruscating forward runs by Stuart Armstrong through the middle and Forrest out wide, they fought their way back into the game. Two strikes by the latter in the space of nine minutes put them in front going into at half-time.
Armstrong surged into the Israel area in the 34th minute and fired a left-footed
shot at goal that struck the back of his team-mate Ryan Fraser and spun out to Forrest. The winger controlled it on his right foot before drilling a low effort past Harush and into the bottom left corner.
His second rounded off a delightful attacking move. Steven Fletcher did well to rise and nod a high ball from Robertson on to the advancing Ryan Christie. The midfielder dinked it over the head of Ben Harush inside him to his club mate who made no mistake.
Forrest became the first Scotland player to notch a hat-trick since Robert Snodgrass in the 64th minute of the opening Russia 2018 qualifier against Malta in September of 2016.
It was another well-worked attack. Robertson flicked the ball inside to Fraser who in turn squared to his compatriot. The forward skipped past Loai Taha before bagging his third.
The Scotland supporters who had braved a miserable Novermber night to cheer on their team were belting out lusty renditions of “there’s only one James Forrest” when Zahavi struck.
Suddenly, an unimaginable prospect – squandering a two-goal lead and coming up short – became a very real possibility.
McGregor needed to produce a brilliant reaction save from a Tomer Hemed in the 88th minute to keep his side in front and they held on to the final whistle.