Sport: Malta win puts second place in Scotland’s hands
● Scots tipped for second spot by Maltese boss as Brown slams Borg over spitting
Gordon Strachan expressed his satisfaction at Scotland retaining control of their World Cup qualification prospects after a 2-0 win over Malta at Hampden.
Goals from Christophe Berra and Leigh Griffiths earned the victory which allowed the Scots to close within a point of second-placed Slovakia in Group F. If Strachan’s men can win their remaining two fixtures – at home to the Slovaks on 5 October and away to Slovenia three days later – they can anticipate securing a slot in the play-offs to reach next year’s finals in Russia.
Scotland actually dropped to fourth place in the group on the night, overtaken on goal difference by Slovenia, who defeated Lithuania 4-0, but the equation required for qualification remains the same. The critical result from a Scottish perspective was likely group winners England coming from behind to beat Slovakia 2-1 at Wembley.
“I’m alright with that,” said Strachan. “When you get to the stage when you your fate is in your own hands in a tournament that’s all you can ask. You can look back and say we could have done better there, there and there but we have tried to make up for bad performances or low-key performances by doing the best we can.”
There was a sour note on a positive evening for Scotland as captain Scott Brown accused Malta’s Steve Borg of spitting on him during the match. The Celtic midfielder was incensed and said: “He did spit on me, he is a horrible bastard.”
Brown, managed to avoid any retaliation – which could have earned him a booking and a suspension.
“He put his hand up to apologise but I managed to keep my head. The main thing was getting the three points. Getting the win was the main thing, it was about the team – not about one person or bookings or anything like that,” added Brown.
Strachan was simply gratified by a hugely encouraging international double header which saw his players follow up Friday night’s 3-0 win in Lithuania.
Berra eased any early nerves for the Scots when he headed home his fourth goal for his country after just nine minutes from a Griffiths corner, before the points were secured four minutes into the second half when the Celtic striker netted from close range.
Strachan added: “Twentyfive attempts at goal tonight says it all. Forty-eight for the last two games. That’s good enough to win games of football. You don’t make that amount of chances all the time at international level.
“The work they put in, the running off the ball, the bravery. We could have scored more goals tonight but we were maybe a wee bit tired after Friday.
“That was more than enough tonight. It got to the point where the boys just wanted to kill the game off and make sure we kept the ball.
“When we kept the ball better in the last ten minutes, we made another couple of chances. So it’s been a good eight days for the players.
“We have to keep an eye on the players for the next four or five weeks, make sure they are all on top form. By the time it comes round again, there might be other guys ready to go or some guys injured. That’s what we will be doing for the next month.”
Malta head coach Pietro Ghedin was satisfied with his team’s efforts but had no complaint about the result against opponents he expects to go on and claim second place.
“Scotland played really well,” said Ghedin. “They pushed for the whole 90 minutes. But I’m very happy with our performance. The commitment of our players was beautiful. We tried to get something more but it was difficult.
“Scotland can achieve second place. If they play like this, I think they can become runners-up in the group. They probably deserved to score at least one more goal. For me, their first goal was maybe a foul by the player [Berra] who scored with a header but Scotland deserved the result.”
The goal had been coming, not necessarily for England but certainly for Marcus Rashford, a player who knows how to wrap a beautiful right boot around an occasion.
His strike, an absolute peach from the edge of the box, gave England a lead they deserved after falling behind to an early ambush, and more importantly it gave the nation’s longsuffering supporters a hero worth the price on the ticket.
Victory leaves England, still unbeaten in this campaign, needing only a point from their remaining two matches next month to make certain of a place at the World Cup in Russia.
England needed something to happen last night. The demand for that could be seen in Wembley’s empty upper tier that greeted the players as they walked onto the pitch. The fans are voting with their feet.
The degree of separation between the England squad and many of its followers was revealed post Malta in the offence taken by Gareth Southgate and Harry Kane at the negative noise emanating from the terraces.
Southgate believes supporters should back the team unconditionally. He needs to get out and about more amongst the nation’s youth, many of whom refuse to enter into a social contract with his team.
These kids do not submit tacitly to a love of the team in the way past generations did. It is 21 years since the Lightning Seeds told us football was coming home in their Euro 96 anthem.
Back then the love was unconditional. Now it must be earned and the way to do that is to excite the fans. The requirement then was for blood and thunder. A goal inside three minutes perhaps? Noted and delivered, but not by England, and revealing the callow side of his game it was Rashford who invited the blow. The exciting prodigee from Manchester United took the need to set pulses racing all too literally, and was robbed of possession as he dribbled out of his own box.
Thank you very much said Stanislav Lobotka, who, after exchanging a neat one-two with Adam Nemec, shot past Joe Hart from close range. Southgate was immediately off his seat imploring his team to remain calm.
Trying to atone immediately for his error, Rashford sprinted the length of the pitch, cut back on his right foot and drew a sharp save from Martin Dubravka. Maybe England had planned the early reverse just to inject the necessary urgency.
Kane might have scored in the 15th minute, his shot deflected for a corner. Dele Alli’s volley went the same way after Jordan Henderson and Rashford worked an opening down the right. England were certainly busy.
In what began as exemplary counter, Alex Oxlade-chamberlain undid his excellent work in dispossessing his opponent on the halfway line by blazing over with a hurried shot. England were meeting the call to action, but without the requisite composure. As the first half wore on Rashford and Oxlade-chamberlain switched flanks and England began to infiltrate the space between Slovakia’s defensive lines. Eight minutes before the break they gained their reward, Eric Dier, pictured, clipping yet another Rashford corner into the roof of the Slovak net.
Much better. England had the momentum now and carried it into the second half. In the search for tempo there was at times a want of subtlety, a better pass, but the sense of purpose was welcome.
Though mostly in retreat, Slovakia were ever alert to the counter and, with the move of the match, produced the save of the night from Joe Hart, blocking a close range wallop from Nemec. And then up stepped Rashford with his stunning intervention. As a species the English footballer has his critics, and so it is only right to laud a special talent. The moment Rashford collected possession centrally 20 yards out there was only one idea in his head.
Dubravka in goal was a passenger the moment the ball exploded off Rashford’s boot. Off he raced towards the corner flag to commune with the fans, his team-mates in hot pursuit. They knew what it meant, and what Rashford means for England’s future.