McGhee won’t treat Malta lightly after the embarrassment caused by Gibraltar
THE cringing concession of a Hampden goal to Gibraltar, just 19 minutes into a Euro 2016 qualifier, is the memory to jolt Scotland into ensuring Malta do not serve up a similar scare tomorrow night.
A confident victory is the bare minimum expected — just as it was when UEFA newcomers Gibraltar arrived in Glasgow in March 2015 after being subjected to whippings to the aggregate tune of 21-0 by Germany, Poland, Republic of Ireland and Georgia.
Of course, their first competitive international goal simply had to come against Scotland. With Gordon Strachan fielding a goal-getting formation featuring Russell Martin as the only recognised central defender, Ministry of Defence police officer Lee Casciaro capitalised on the insecure set-up to cancel out Shaun Maloney’s penalty.
It was a strike to bring humiliating Hampden moments such as Liechtenstein leading a Craig Levein team come flooding back. Thankfully no act of 97th-minute escapology was required against as Scotland eventually ran out 6-1 winners.
But it is a lesson to take into the Malta tie, according to Mark McGhee.
‘I think, when we go back to Gibraltar where we lost the first goal, we take heed from that and know that even against the lesser of the teams in the section, we have to be absolutely at it,’ said Strachan’s No 2 (below).
‘Start right and not cause any stress or embarrassment by putting ourselves under pressure at home.
‘I don’t think we were disrespectful against Gibraltar. We thought we could be super-positive. Kech (Ikechi Anya) pushed away on and didn’t fill in and, suddenly, Gibraltar found a gap. It was a big lesson for us that, regardless of the opposition, they are all capable on the day.
‘We won’t make that mistake against Malta. We will be vigilant and approach it in a professional way. If we start well, get the ball, make chances and score goals then the crowd will be with us.
‘We can’t be critical of the fans being impatient when we face lesser opposition. We have to go out and make it happen.
‘There have been a couple of results over the years, Hearts and others, where Maltese teams have made it difficult for Scottish sides.’
Steven Fletcher helped himself to a hat-trick against Gibraltar — the first such scoring feat by a Scotland player in 46 years — then repeated the dose as another failed campaign closed with a 6-0 success in the reverse fixture.
Robert Snodgrass followed him into the national team’s history books by netting three times on the opening night in this World Cup Group F campaign in Valetta last September.
As a former striker, McGhee cannot blame any of Strachan’s attacking contingent from sensing an opportunity to enhance their scoring record at Hampden. But personal glory-hunting cannot be a priority when the business of safeguarding a sure victory comes first.
Furthermore, Malta don’t tend to suffer thrashings on the road. In their Euro 2016 series, they fell 2-0 to Croatia, Azerbaijan and Norway and only 1-0 to the might of Italy. They returned from Bulgaria with a point from a 1-1 draw.
Each of their away fixtures in this campaign — England, Lithuania, Slovenia — have been 2-0 losses.
And that means main hitman Leigh Griffiths working just as hard from the front end of the park to prevent handing the Maltese any early encouragement. McGhee explained: ‘As a striker, you always felt there were goals. So, yes, you look at games and see some as more of an opportunity than others.
‘Griff got a couple against England, so that accelerated him into his career as an international striker and I’m sure he wants more. ‘But it has got to be a collective thing. Griff has got to be part of the initial start. It can’t just be gung-ho in the belief that eventually we will score more goals than them. We have to keep it tight until we get the first.’