SPOT OF BOTHER
Young Scots sunk by last-gasp penalty as Greece hit the summit
SCOTLAnD Under-21s crashed to their first loss in Euro 2021 qualifying after ten-man Greece hit a dramatic 90th-minute penalty winner at Tynecastle last night.
Dimitris nikolaou converted the spot-kick after Scot Gemmill’s side had failed to take advantage of Greek captain Panagiotis Retsos’ red card just after the hour mark.
The Scots slipped down to third spot in Group Four and failed to find the net for the third game running in their bid to reach the finals in Hungary and Slovenia.
Asked if he was worried by the lack of goals, Gemmill replied: ‘no, I’m not. We dominated really well against a resolute team and we could have scored. We’ve got really creative players in the team.
‘Think of the balls that flashed across the six-yard box and there is a demand for them to get across and be in those positions. Of course there are things we can do better.’
However, he did concede the game was a learning experience, saying: ‘We speak about emotional intelligence of the players — not getting too high or too low so it’s a huge part of being able to handle it.
‘We have to keep everything in context. A lot of different things have happened and occurred in the game.
‘When the red card occurs we should have done more and speaking to the players they have to take that away.
‘In the future it’s those little details of how you play ten men and really keep doing what’s working for you.’ After opening the campaign with a routine 2-0 victory at home to minnows San Marino and that dramatic come-from-behind win in Croatia, Scotland had stalled with 0-0 draws at home to Lithuania and in the Czech Republic.
Considering it was a chilly, damp Friday night in Edinburgh, a hardy crowd occupied the main stand at Tynecastle.
The atmosphere wasn’t exactly rousing. Gemmill’s plea pre-kick-off was for more fans to turn out to support his promising youngsters — but they knew the significance of backing the players to make home advantage count.
Among the six changes made by Gemmill, Hearts right-back Jamie Brandon was handed a starting place fresh from his call-up after the promotion of Hibernian defender Ryan Porteous to the senior squad.
It was almost a dream start for the Scots within four minutes. A swift, precise move began with a neat flick from Billy Gilmour.
Bursting down the left, Ayr United full-back Daniel Harvie swung the ball into the box. It sat up nicely for skipper Allan Campbell but his shot back across goal flew narrowly wide.
Minutes later, Jordan Holsgrove, on loan at Spanish third-tier outfit Atletico Baleares from Reading, was the first player to be booked for a late challenge on Stefanos Evangelou.
It wasn’t pretty but Gemmill’s side were offering more than the Greeks in attack. Right on half-time, Retsos was booked for a crunching tackle on Gilmour. It was apparent the Greeks had targeted the midfielder.
The start of the second half was almost a disaster for the Scots. Greece captain Retsos let fly from 20 yards, forcing goalkeeper Ross Doohan to push the ball clear of danger.
Then, on 63 minutes, there was drama and déjà vu as skipper Retsos was sent packing. Once again, he hauled down Gilmour and was flashed a second yellow and then a red card.
Scots striker Fraser Hornby had been quiet but his curling effort did test goalkeeper Marios
Siampanis. Perhaps a pass to the left to play in Glenn Middleton, only on the pitch as a substitute for a matter of minutes, would have been the better option.
The winger, on loan at Hibs from Rangers, was looking sharp on the left and his cross with 15 minutes left found Campbell at the near post but he couldn’t test the keeper.
But, in the 90th minute, disaster struck when Harvie handled a cross from the left and nikolaou tucked the ball home to spark wild celebrations for the visitors.
SCOTLAND U21s (4-2-3-1): Doohan; Brandon, Maguire, Johnston, Harvie; Ferguson, Gilmour; Kelly (Middleton 70), Campbell, Holsgrove (McLennan 85); Hornby. Subs not used: Wright, McCrorie, Reading, Smith, Campbell, Scott, Henderson. Booked: Holsgrove, Campbell. Man of the match: Allan Campbell. Referee: Bojan Pandzic (Sweden). Attendance: 1,284.