Archer has the backing of McLeish

ALEX McLEISH has defended goalkeeper Jordan Archer after he endured a nightmare Scotland debut in the 2-0 friendly defeat to Peru. The Millwall No 1 came under scrutiny for both goals and later likened himself to Liverpool’s Loris Karius, whose two howlers helped Real Madrid win last weekend’s Champions League final. Archer had a rush of blood to the head when he ran to the edge of the box to help skipper Charlie Mulgrew deal with a through ball in the 36th minute, only to succeed in slicing it to Jefferson Farfan. His shot was blocked by Scott McKenna’s hand before Christian Cueva converted the spot-kick. Then, two minutes into the second half, he got a hand to Farfan’s close-range

effort but failed to keep it out. McLeish absolved him of blame for the soft second goal but Archer — one of seven debutants in Lima — had a mixed night. ‘We spoke to Jordan after the game,’ said the Scotland boss. ‘He is a big boy. He’s played in a tough league this season with great aplomb in an amazing Millwall adventure that almost led to the play-offs. ‘The only goal they targeted last season was to avoid relegation. So he’s had a great season with a lot of shut-outs. He deserves to be here. ‘There is no evidence another goalkeeper wouldn’t have made a mistake — but we don’t have an experienced goalkeeper here. Every goalie makes a mistake. ‘Jordan thinks he shouldn’t have come for the first one. I think it’s harsh to criticise him for the second one. It’s point-blank. It’s come through a ruck of players. We’ve got to ask our defenders why they didn’t stop that cutback. (Scott) McTominay stopped the first one and the next one came through a channel that we should be shutting out.’ Admitting the object of the Peru exercise was to avoid a heavy defeat, McLeish handed debuts to Archer, Hibs pair Lewis Stevenson and Dylan McGeouch and Kilmarnock right-back Stephen O’Donnell, while Aberdeen captain Graeme Shinnie, Celtic’s Lewis Morgan and Motherwell’s Chris Cadden were handed late run-outs. ‘It is imperative we bring in young players and have a look at them,’ said McLeish. ‘Lewis Morgan came on and was brilliant. It was very exciting to see him in action in a massive cauldron like this. After the season he’s had, you wonder if he will come on and freeze but he was a character right away. ‘The thing at the back of your mind is getting a doing. So we had to make sure we were organised and made it difficult for Peru to function, with their greater creators. We did that to a degree and it’s a bit disappointing we didn’t go in at half-time zero-zero. That was the only disappointment for me. ‘The second goal came too soon in the second half and it gave them a wee bit of licence to showboat some of their tricks.’ The Scots play Mexico — another World Cup qualifier — in the early hours of Sunday, delaying their flight to Mexico City until tomorrow to offset the effects of heat and altitude. Stevenson and West Brom attacker Matt Phillips have left the squad to fulfil arrangements made some time ago. Sporting Kansas City striker Johnny Russell has joined the set-up, while McLeish plans to start the likes of Jack Hendry, Ryan Christie and Shinnie. ‘We will need to make changes,’ he said. ‘There’s no way the other guys can recover in time. You saw we were flagging a wee bit. ‘We have to be hard to beat but we’d like to have a bigger threat at the other end. ‘The Azteca is another big stage for them. We want to make them embrace it and say these are the best days of your life. ‘It’s not an easy task to bring in a bunch of guys who people might argue you wouldn’t normally see play for Scotland. ‘But they have all come in and done a great job. They all want to play for their country. They all deserve to be capped. ‘I am so proud of them and I am looking forward to seeing the new ones coming in for the Mexico game.’