Four-goal Scots keep our Nations League dream alive with a five-star win
Scotland turned on the style last night to move within 90 minutes of a Nations League play-off place.
At the bitterly cold Loro Borici Stadium in Shkoder they utterly dismissed an Albania team who themselves had been chasing an emphatic win to stay in the competition.
Beat Israel by any score at Hampden Park on Tuesday night and the back door to Euro 2020 will be, if not open, then at the very least, ajar.
This was a terrific win. One put into context by the fact it was the country’s first away competitive victory against a top 100-ranked in five years.
And if the opposition were not, in fairness, up to much, the swagger with which the likes of Ryan Fraser and James Forrest – who grabbed three of the four goals between them – performed bodes well for the must-win follow up against the Israelis.
Alex Mcleish had reason to feel thrilled with his work too for, in the absence of missing stars such as Kieran Tierney, he sent out a young, comparatively inexperienced side bristling with attacking intent.
It had Fraser and Andy Robertson on the left flank, the recalled Steven Fletcher leading the line plus a host of Celtic stars past and present in the shape of Forrest, Stuart Armstrong, Ryan Christie and Callum Mcgregor.
The first named has been in terrific form for Bournemouth and it was he who warmed up the Tartan Army on a bitterly cold night in Albania by getting the tie off to an explosive start.
He was instantly in the thick of the action when Robertson’s long ball forward forced a slip from Berat Xhimshiti.
And though his first touch let him down on that occasion, it was just a warning of what was to come as the next time he received the ball in good position, from Christie, he didn’t hesitate.
Dropping his shoulder, he earned himself half a yard before sweeping a curling shot into the far corner for his first goal for the country in only his fifth start.
It was a hammer blow for the hosts who knew they needed to beat Scotland 3-0 to avoid finishing bottom of the group and they reacted to their setback with shocking, self-sabotaging ill-discipline.
Acting like a man possessed, skipper Megrim Mavraj made an awful challenge with James Forrest which left the forward writhing on the ground in agony.
Then, when challenged by Forrest’s teammate Christie, he headbutted the Scot and did so with no little force.
As Mcleish and his stunned assistants rose to their feet to howl their protests, Russian referee Vladislav Bezborodov initially showed Mavraj a yellow card for the foul on Forrest.
Word clearly reached his ear from the fourth official of what had happened next something for he reached again in his pocket for a red.
It was a pivotal moment for it gave Mcleish’s men the platform from which to kick on for a most impressive victory.
They grabbed their second just before half time thanks to a decidedly questionable piece of officiating.
The foul from Adrian Ismajli on Christie was a straightforward award but the penalty that followed was putty soft.
Armstrong shot into the wall, Rei Manaj raised his arm to protect his face and Bezborodov pointed to the spot. The Albanians complained at length but to no avail and when the dust had died down Fletcher calmly converted.
It was no more than should have been expected: the recalled Sheffield Wednesday forward has never been one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Last night’s goal was his 10th for the country – six have come against Gibraltar and another against Malta.
Two up against ten men, the tie, and the Nations League campaign, was gone for Albania and they visibly slumped in the knowledge as they trekked off at half-time.
Things were to get worse for them too, with Scotland even more dominant on their return.
Forrest, like Fraser on red-hot form for his club, was the man to cash in.
He netted his first for the country when bursting through the middle, holding off his marker and then digging out a shot that keeper Etrit Berisha couldn’t keep out of his net.
Then, having waited 24 games to break his scoring duck in a dark blue shirt, he grabbed a second when collecting a pass from Fraser, flicking the ball up and volleying home a beauty to set the seal on a memorable night. Scotland’s other Ryan, Christie, who seems to be getting better and better with almost every outing ran him close, but the Bournemouth flyer was worthy of the nod for translating his vibrant club form to the international stage.