SCOTS SPARKLE IN FRANCE
Burke and Gilmour set up another semi with England
A COUPLE of superb strikes from Billy Gilmour and Oliver Burke sent Scotland Under-21s into the semi-finals of the Toulon Tournament for the second year in a row — where they face a rematch with England.
Scot Gemmill’s kids were cruising in Fos-sur-Mer after going two goals up in just eight minutes, thanks to an excellent strike from 16-yearold Chelsea talent Gilmour — who became the youngest ever scorer for Scotland Under-21s — and an outstanding solo goal from captain Burke.
However, they had to endure a very Scottish-style sweat when the South Korea grabbed a late goal.
Scotland then had to wait until France and Togo played the remaining match in the group and hope that the African nation would not win.
But the hosts beat Togo to ensure Gemmill’s side had once again made it into the semis.
They will now face England in Wednesday’s semi-final in Aubagne in a repeat of last year’s showdown, which the English won 3-0.
Gemmill was thrilled with another superb qualification, after his team had earlier drawn with Togo and defeated France.
He said: ‘It’s very exciting to look forward to (facing England). Every time the teams meet, there’s a real sense of occasion.
‘The key thing is this year we have an extra day’s rest. Last year, I can remember really feeling that was a factor.
‘We are going to need every ounce of energy to find a way to win. That extra day could be the difference.
‘We’re really proud of the players. It’s great justification to (SFA performance director) Malky Mackay for finding the budget to get us here because it costs a lot of money. It’s not a free invitation. There is a big responsibility to come and do well.
‘We have got a lot of players who are eligible but weren’t available to come because of injuries. We take confidence that we’re starting to put together a real squad of players even outside of this group.
‘We have a bigger selection and real depth. A lot of people in Scotland are questioning where the young players are. Performances like this are very good to help convince people good work is happening, not just with us but more importantly at their clubs as well.
‘I hope the goals are a snapshot of how good Billy and Oli can be. Billy showed his level today. It’s not just his technical ability. It’s game intelligence and composure.
‘As for Oli, a lot of people are still waiting to see him really fulfil his potential. He came here last year and scored an impressive goal. It was the same today. It’s difficult not to say “wow” when he does that.’
The Scots had a dream start when they took the lead after just 84 seconds. Rangers’ Glenn Middleton accepted Greg Taylor’s pass down the left flank and created space from himself before pinging the ball across goal to Gilmour. The former Ibrox kid had traffic in front of him, but that wasn’t a problem for him as he deftly dipped a shoulder to create a path to goal and curled a superb effort into the corner of the net.
Gilmour was thrilled with the strike and is confident the Scots can go even further, saying: ‘That goal is up there with any I’ve ever scored, especially as it was my first goal for the Under-21s in just my second start.
‘The manager has given me a lot of confidence this week and today I was playing higher up alongside the strikers.
‘To get seven points out of nine and to go through on top is brilliant.
‘We got off to a great start with the two goals but we had to dig in at the end because they were playing 3-1-6 to try and get the equaliser. It was tough but we did it.
‘We’re still unbeaten. The first game wasn’t great against Togo but we reacted brilliantly after that.’
It got even better for the Scots when they doubled their advantage with an incredible goal by Burke.
He collected the ball inside his own half and, after combining with Fraser Hornby, he showed just why his combined transfer fees have reached £28million.
Burke powered his way through, shrugging off challenge after challenge, then racing to get to the ball before the onrushing keeper and clipping a delightful finish into the net.
Gemmill made two changes at the interval with another 16-year-old — Hearts kid Chris Hamilton — coming on for Celtic’s Anthony Ralston and Wolves’ Elliot Watt replacing Iain Wilson of Kilmarnock.
But Scotland were increasingly pinned back as the second half progressed, with their ball players unable to make the same impression as in the opening 40 minutes.
However, they came so close to making it three just after the hour-mark when a lovely ball from Watt over the top saw Middleton burst through and — surrounded by defenders — slide a low effort just past the target.
It was panic stations with eight minutes to go when the Koreans deservedly clawed themselves back into the game. Kangin Lee curled a free-kick into the net from 25 yards, with Ross Doohan unable to keep it out despite getting a hand to it.
Scotland held on and their Toulon adventure will now continue.