Gemmill hails youngsters after they go so close to stunning top dogs Belgium

SCOTLAND gained a creditable goalless draw against runaway group winners Belgium in a game they could and should have won, with manager Scot Gemmill insisting this was up there with one of their best performances.

Gemmill’s side were already out of the Euros ahead of their penultimate game in Sint-Truiden, but they surprised their hosts with an excellent display and were the better side for the majority of the game. They had chances to win it too, with Newcastle United’s Elliot Anderson coming close.

Gemmill was pleased with the threat posed by his youngsters ahead of the final group game in Denmark on Friday and insisted the display was up there with wins over France, Brazil and Croatia by previous Under-21s teams.

He said: ‘I thought it was a really good performance in all aspects in difficult circumstances.

‘In recent years, the 1998s age group have dug out really good performances, the 1996s produced some really good performances. And I would include this one, too. This was a really, really high-level performance.

‘A lot of them finished playing a long time ago, so to really dig in with that energy isn’t easy. We want to test the players to see they understand the game plan, but also that they’re willing to do it.

‘It takes a lot of work to do it against a very good team, so you have to congratulate the players.’

Anderson twice went close and he and Aberdeen’s Connor Barron were the two standout performers. The pair linked up with ten minutes to go when the Newcastle man stabbed Barron’s cross inches past the post to miss out on what would have been a deserved win for the Scots.