Supporters left ‘heartbroken’ by loss

Football fans across Aberdeen were left “heartbroken” after Scotland lost their first game of Euro 2020 – but pledged to “stand behind the team no matter what”.

Scotland’s national team went head to head with the Czech Republic yesterday afternoon in their Euro 2020 opener, after qualifying for a tournament for the first time in 23 years.

Hundreds of football fans across the north and north-east were holding their breaths as the country’s players came up short at Hampden Park.

Declan Fowler and his friends watched the game in Soul in the city and were rooting for their country to “show full character” and make a long-awaited return to international football.

But the result came as a big blow to the 19-year-old, who said he was “disappointed” with the game.

Mr Fowler said: “I love football and I love my country, so losing a game like that is just heartbreaking.

“It was dire and really brutal. It was terrible – I can’t put it any other way.

“I will always support my country, but that game was just poor.

“I feel like I’ve lived a lifetime watching Scotland and they’ve put me through so much pain and anger.”

Elsewhere, fan Angus Hood shared the same feelings of disappointment with the game he watched in O’Neills Aberdeen.

The 29-year-old design engineer from Aberdeen said: “I thought Scotland played pretty well overall – we started strong and had a few decent chances, but we wasted them and it’s a bit disappointing.

“I was hoping that Scotland would pull through, and it’s the first game, so if they had won they would have put a big statement and that would have meant quite a lot.”

Despite the disappointment with the first game, Mr Hood and his friend Callum Ewen, 27, said they are “thrilled” to even witness their national team play in the championship and will “always support” them.

Mr Ewen added: “It’s our first time that we can witness it so we are buzzing just to be in it.

“That in itself is an achievement, so anything above that is just a bonus.”

Fans in the Old School House in Aberdeen city centre.

Dismayed fans at Siberia in Belmont Street, Aberdeen.