UKRAINE-FUL: SCOTS KIDS DUMPED
Slick Ukrainians show their quality as Gemmill’s babes are outgunned
WHILE Ukraine boasted talent from the Champions League, Scotland’s U21s were relying on players from the Championship.
And in the end that gulf in class told as Scot Gemmill’s side suffered another blow to their Euro 2019 hopes.
The Scots put a shift in at McDiarmid Park against their gifted opponents.
But in Man City’s Olexandr Zinchenko and Shakhtar Dontesk ace Viktor Kovalenko, Ukraine had players on a different level and the Scotland gaffer had no complaints.
The defeat leaves his team fourth in Group 4 behind England, Holland and the Ukrainians but with five fixtures in 2018, Gemmill is still gunning for a play-off spot.
He said: “I don’t think there was a lot in it but Ukraine are a really high-level team. To give away a goal of that manner, when it was bouncing around the box, was crucial in the game.
“You have to accept the level of the Ukraine team. That’s international football when you play a team seeded above you. At times they played really good one-touch football. It was high-level stuff.
“But we contained them for most of the open play and that’s why losing the first goal is a big regret. At worst it should have been 0-0.
“That makes it even harder to lose a goal like that. But you have to remember the level we are playing at – a country with Champions League players in their team.
“It’s great for our boys to get that experience because maybe they don’t play against that on a weekly basis at their clubs.
“That’s the level they are going to have to get to if they want to play in the full squad. It’s still a tight group and in the balance.”
After the disappointing 1-1 draw here against Latvia on Friday night the young Scots could ill-afford more dropped points in Perth.
Gemmill made a couple of changes. Skipper John Souttar was out after a head knock so Rangers centre-back Ross McCrorie got his first start.
Aberdeen’s Scott Wright was left out in favour of Kilmarnock kid Dom Thomas in midfield.
Scotland were at it from the off but were finding it tough to get in behind the visitors.
St Mirren winger Lewis Morgan took matters into his own hands and hit a 25-yard rocket that stung the palms of Ukraine keeper Andriy Lunin.
The Scots were the better side but in typical fashion went behind with the last kick of the first half. Artem Besedin fizzed in a cross which ricocheted off Allan Campbell at the back post and the alert Andriy Boryachuk was on hand to stab the ball home from close range.
With their noses in front Ukraine grew in confidence and Zinchenko started to run the game from midfield. The visitors were dominant now and camped in the Scots half.
Boryachuk missed two more cracking chances and Scotland’s best opportunity came via stand-in captain Scott McKenna who saw his header cleared off the line by Valeriy Luchkevych.
And as Scotland pushed they were undone in injury time. Kovalenko had acres of space in the box after a Stevie Mallan mistake and put the game to bed with a tidy finish.