The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Berra and Griffiths goals keep Scotland in hunt
Strachan’s side in threeway battle for second after Hampden victory
A Scotland team in excellent form with momentum behind them and carrying genuine hope of qualifying for the World Cup play-offs, backed by a Tartan Army cheering the news of English goals. These are strange days indeed. On a night when continued interest in Group F for the Scots depended on two results, both went their way.
The Hampden end of the bargain was never in doubt from the moment Christophe Berra gave Gordon Strachan’s side the lead in nine minutes. A second half goal from Leigh Griffiths rubber-stamped it.
But England going behind to Slovakia wasn’t in the script.
With Gareth Southgate’s boys eventually getting their act together to win 2-1, the mission for the end of campaign October double-header was set.
Beat rivals Slovakia and Slovenia and Scotland will be second in the group and almost certainly into a home and away play-off for a place at the Russia 2018 finals.
Such a scenario would have stretched optimism and realism a few months ago, that’s for sure.
The idea of Strachan fielding the same starting line-up from one game to another would normally split supporters down the middle but few would have quibbled with no changes from the convincing triumph in Vilnius on Friday night.
Stuart Armstrong’s last Hampden appearance ended with him leaving the national stadium tortured by his misjudged pass that set in motion England’s heart-breaking equaliser in June.
But it was the former Dundee United man who was first to threaten the
Maltese goal, which was peppered with shots from all angles in a fast-paced beginning.
After just five minutes his effort from the edge of the box scraped by the post and by the time Berra had headed in the opener from a Griffiths cross, James McArthur and James Forrest had also come close to scoring.
The ex-Tannadice connection that was so productive against Lithuania was the source of another early near-thing when Armstrong drove into the box, took an Andy Robertson inside pass in his stride and found the side-netting with his shot.
There was a 10-minute lull of sorts before Scotland were a threat again.
On 21 minutes Griffiths picked out Forrest on the overlap and his cross into the danger area was met by Samuel Magri, whose instinctive intervention was a foot away from producing an owngoal.
On the half-hour mark Griffiths was back in familiar 25-yard free-kick territory.
It was at the opposite end of the ground to his England double and a different result, with this attempt sailing over the bar.
Dealing with Scotland’s aerial threat from corners, and Berra in particular, was proving extremely problematic for the visitors and the Hearts man got his head to another one on 36 minutes.
He couldn’t guide it inside the back post, though.
Matt Phillips got the chance to use his raw speed when a long looping ball was sent out of defence for him to chase down and it was a harsh decision by the referee to punish the West Brom player for a shoulder charge on Andrei Agius as he won the foot race and was getting ready to shoot.
The drop in volume from the stands probably had more to do with Slovakia’s lead over England than frustration that the hosts hadn’t built on their early breakthrough but the equaliser for the Auld Enemy livened things up again.
However, there was no second goal to celebrate before the break and Strachan’s men went into the dressing room just the one goal up.
There was a half-time substitution, with James Morrison coming on for McArthur.
The Scots made a decent start to the second period, and Forrest forced a good save out of keeper Andrew Hogg two minutes in.
Better was to swiftly follow when Robertson’s low delivery was met by Morrison at the near post. His stabbed effort came back off the woodwork and Griffiths was on hand (probably just offside) to finish off from close range.
Injury has prevented the Tartan Army from seeing much of Phillips in the dark blue but he has the look of a crowd favourite of the future about him and another strong forward run set up Forrest, whose low shot was tipped past the post by Hogg.
Second and third substitutions were forced on Strachan when Mulgrew and Griffiths hobbled off and were replaced by Grant Hanley and Chris Martin.
Alfred Effiong had an eight-yard shot from a rebound that caused mild panic but it was a comfortable and relatively event-free ending that got the job done for Scotland.