Ash: We can bash big boys
Harrison Ashby is convinced Scotland’s Under-21s are set to hammer the big boys and get their Euro Championship qualifying campaign back on track.
The West Ham full-back was one of the bright lights on a disappointing Thursday night at Tynecastle as Scot Gemmill’s side lost 1- 0 to top seeds Denmark.
The young Scots now trail the Danes and Belgium by five points but Ashby insists the gap to the leaders is not insurmountable.
Ashby said: “All of the boys put in a massive shift so it was so hard to lose 1- 0.
“Now we need to regroup and focus on the two games against Kazakhstan and Belgium next month. Let’s hope we can get results against both of them and get ourselves going in the group.
“I’m 100 per cent confident we can pull of a big result in this group. I have total faith in this squad and believe we can beat teams like Denmark three or four-nil if it comes together.
“One goal can change a game and we need to beat Kazakhstan and Belgium next month.
“I bel ieve we are strong favourites to win these games.”
The Hammers youngster, who shone as he bombed up and down the right f lank on Thursday, believes the lack of a clinical edge was the reason Scotland had nothing to show for their efforts.
The 19-year- old said: “If you don’t take your chances in any game then you’re not going to win it. Denmark took the one chance they had and we must have had six or seven but didn’t take any of them.
“Nobody played badly, everyone put a shift in.”
Ashby insists learning off the likes of Czech international Vladimir Coufal in training can help him get one over on his dad Barry, who played for the likes of Watford and Brentford.
He said: “I’m training with the f irst team 24/ 7 and I watch Coufal all day long.
“He’s one of those experienced boys who knows what to do in most situations and plays quite similar to me, so I feel I can learn a lot from him.
“That’s been great for me and I’m pushing myself to be the best I can be. West Ham can see that and when the opportunity arrives I will take it.
“My dad was a professional who played over 500 games so I’m trying to follow in his footsteps.
“It’s quite competitive, I want to do better than him when he was younger.”