SHANKLAND’S A DUTCH UNLUCKY

BY

HEARTS hitman Lawrence Shankland’s second-half blast against the Netherlands bar has fuelled some critics to suggest the Tynecastle striker isn’t cut out for this level.

Shankland didn’t have a stinker in Friday’s 4-0 defeat in Amsterdam regardless of that chance he failed to take.

And Scotland boss Steve Clarke knows there will be more to come that he will stick away like he does in maroon.

Anthony Ralston insisted Shankland should hold his head up high – and just concentrate on the next one that comes around.

The Celtic star said: “Lawrence is a top-quality striker. He’ll be disappointed, I think it took a slight bobble. He finishes those all the time but he did well and he should be proud of himself.”

Ralston came on late in Amsterdam but it was like walking on to a scene in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, with chaos breaking out all around him.

The cool and composed Scotland display was replaced by late panic but the full-back insisted they can recover and sort it out for Northern Ireland tomorrow night.

Ralston said: “I felt for the majority of the game we did really well, as a squad we felt that. Had we taken our opportunities we would have been in a better place in the game.

“But we know as a squad what our standards are and when the goals go in it’s not to let that slip which we were disappointed with, but it’s important we bounce back against Northern

Ireland.

“We demand off each other high standards but we’ll analyse the game and where we went wrong and then try to fix it.”

HEAD IN HANDS MOMENT Shankland after rattling the Dutch bar