Ukraine’s high-five is a warning for the Dark Blues
Ukraine warmed up for their return meeting with Scotland in Krakow with an emphatic 5-0 win away to Armenia.
The visitors went ahead after 22 minutes when Oleksandr Zubkov’s cross was headed in at the far post by Oleksandr Tymchyk.
That’s how it stood at the interval, but 12 minutes after the break, Tymchyk set up Zubkov for the second.
Artem Dovbyk scored the third goal with a header at the far post after 69 minutes.
Then, nine minutes from time, Danylo Ignatenko sent a subtle shot just inside the post for the fourth.
Three minutes later, Dovbyk rounded off a convincing win for Ukraine.
■ Turkish FA president, Mehmet Buyukeksi, has confirmed they will play Scotland on November 16 in what will be their first-ever international match in the Kurdish city of Diyarbakır.
The Scots will have to play at least one game before the start of the World Cup so they fulfil UEFA’S quota of all nations having to play at least 10 games per year to consolidate TV rights.
Turkey have never played a match in the southern city of Diyarbakır, which had previously been the main focal point of the conflict between the Turkish state and various Kurdish separatist groups,
But they are trying to reinvent the city, which has a population of 1.8-million, as a tourist attraction.
The game against Steve Clarke’s side is seen as a step towards promoting the city as a safe area to visit.
Buyukeksi said: “We are planning to play two friendly matches before the World Cup. One of them will be in Diyarbakir against Scotland, and the other in Gaziantep, with the Czech Republic providing the opposition.
“Both of these games will be important ones, and will give the manager, Stefan Kuntz, a chance to look at more players.
“The draws for the Euros are coming up, and playing two strong teams will help us prepare for the qualification process.”
Scotland have only played in Turkey once, in June,1960, in a friendly in Ankara.
Despite goals from Rangers full-back, Eric Caldow (a penalty) and Hearts Alex Young, the Dark Blues went down 4-2.