Hotshot Hendry doubles as hitman

Only one gold medal was available to Colin Hendry at Hampden Park last night, but he deserved at least a bar to his decoration for the extraordinary goals which put Scotland on the road back to top Group 6.

Having been, just before kick-off, inducted into the SFA's Hall of Fame and presented with his award for having gained his 50th cap against Belgium last Saturday, the veteran defender became the Scots' most productive attacker with a first-half double which finally pierced San Marino's dense defence.

But Hendry's dreadful attack on the San Marino substitute, Nicola Albani, in injury time - he elbowed his opponent three times and caused the latter's removal on a stretcher - was a shocking way to finish a performance which had been utterly crucial to a home side who had badly needed his earlier interventions.

If the patience of all the saints in Heaven were to be tested by Craig Brown's side, there would be a reasonable chance of the exercise leading to mass evictions.

Even the 21 minutes it took for Hendry to score the first of his goals - the blink of an eye in terms of the average lifetime - seemed like an age, thanks largely to the aimless attacking and feckless footwork which preceded it.

The barrage which would follow that opener was not even hinted at during that early period of apparent blandness, perhaps making subsequent events all the sweeter.

San Marino did try to present the Scots with all the difficulties the home players had predicted, but the failure to make an impact on the visiting defence before Hendry made a breach derived mainly from the home players' own uncertainty on the ball.

Allan Johnston, who had taken the place of Tom Boyd wide on the right - Colin Cameron for Barry Ferguson in midfield was the other change - as Brown tinkered with the side who drew with Belgium, appeared to have brought his Rangers form to the party. He seemed the likeliest contender for pooper-in-chief, but began to enjoy himself by the time the third was scored.

It would have been more before half-time but for the excellent shot-stopping of Federico Gasperoni, the visiting goalkeeper who probably enjoys more opportunities than anybody in world football to achieve hero status. His two saves from Craig Burley would have the Derby County midfielder wondering if he had done something to offend him.

Burley's first was a swerving volley from 12 yards which Gasperoni tipped over the crossbar, and his second, even likelier to find the net, a ferocious right-foot drive on the drop as the ball was headed down to him by Ivan Matteoni. Once again, Gasperoni reached the ball and diverted it over.

There was not much he could do to prevent Hendry's first-half double, both goals scored with extraordinary volleys, the kind of finishing which makes strikers worth millions.

The big defender was lurking just outside the six-yard box when Burley delivered a corner kick from the right, and Matt Elliott appeared to have scored with his header. The ball came off a post, however, straight to Hendry. From a difficult angle, and with bodies to bypass, the Bolton man found a way through with an adroit left-foot volley which scorched into the far corner.

Hendry's second strike was even more breathtaking. Yet another corner from Burley on the right bounced off the nunmber of heads which contested it in the middle of the San Marino defence, and trundled out to Hendry about 16 yards out and to the left of goal. His volley was fierce, barely rising two feet off the ground and bulleting past Gasperoni to the goalkeeper's right.

It was a measure of the Scots' determination not to be embarrassed by another low-scoring victory that they pressed their visitors straight from the kick-off so insistently that Don Hutchison won possession on the right, and, heeding the shout, chipped inside to Dodds.

The little striker threw himself forward to meet the ball with his forehead and direct it far to the right of Gasperoni from 12 yards.

With the number of scoring chances that came the Scots' way, a substantial percentage of misses seemed inevitable, but that would do little to appease the home crowd when Hutchison and Hendry had uncharacteristic lapses which prevented the score from reaching five within three minutes of the start of the second half.

Hutchison was most culpable, pouncing on Burley's slipped pass and driving the ball against the grounded Gasperoni from only six yards. For a player who has been Scotland's most reliable source in the past two years, it was something of a shock.

Hendry's immense heading ability appeared to have been transferred to his feet when he was given the kind of chance he normally relishes from yet another Burley delivery, this time from a free kick. Normally deadly, Hendry on this occasion glanced the header wide.

Brown's substitutions - Boyd for Elliott at half-time and Kevin Gallacher for Dominic Matteo after 63 minutes - proved to be as magical as those of Robert Waseige, the Belgian coach, when the fourth was delivered.

Boyd provided the long centre from the right, Gallacher headed it back across goal, it came off the defence out to Cameron, and the Hearts midfielder buried it with a controlled, low drive.

Scotland
Sullivan, Hendry, Elliott, Weir, Matteo, Cameron, Lambert, Burley, Johnston, Hutchison, Dodds.
Subs: Douglas, Pressley, Holt, Boyd, Gallacher, Gemmill, Rae.
San Marino
Federico Gasperoni, Della Balda, Marani, Bacciocche, Matteoni, Gobbi, Riccardo Muccioli, Zonzoni, Vanucci, Manzaroli, Andy Selva.
Subs: De Luigi, Roberto Selva, Montagna, Cristian Selva, Ceccoli, Albani, Bugli.
Referee
P Kari (Finland)

Fifa to decide Hendry's fate

Fifa will view the referee's report on the Scotland v San Marino game before deciding what action, if any, to take against Scotland captain Colin Hendry.
Two-goal hero Hendry blotted his copybook when he elbowed San Marino substitute Nicola Albani in the throat as he tried to wriggle free from some close marking.

The Bolton defender shrugged off the last-minute incident following the 4-0 World Cup win on Wednesday evening, but Fifa are likely to examine the issue more closely. Albani was monitored overnight in Glasgow's Victoria Infirmary after receiving urgent medical attention on the field before he was stretchered off in obvious discomfort. He was released from hospital on Thursday morning.

The ugly clash threatens to cast a shadow over a win which takes Scotland top of their qualifying group - above Belgium and Croatia - with Billy Dodds and Colin Cameron adding to Hendry's brace. "I don't know if I caught him but I was certainly trying to shrug him off," said Hendry, about the incident which was not spotted by the match referee but could be picked up when the match assessor checks the video.

"He came on and immediately made a bee-line for me. He had his arms around me and I tried to shrug him off. He went down like a sack of spuds."
Hendry had no sympathy for his opponent and refuted claims that he had swallowed his tongue.

He said: "He couldn't have swallowed his tongue when he was shouting things when he was being taken off the pitch. I know a bit of Italian and I heard insults when he was getting carried off. He would probably have been able to walk off, but there you go."

Hendry claimed the part-timers had been play-acting throughout the match and pointed to a first-half incident involving a Colin Cameron tackle. He said: "The guy that Colin Cameron tackled, you would think he had been shot 20 times. How it looks and how it is is not always the same is it?"

Hendry soon turned his thoughts to reaching the 2002 World Cup, saying: "We still have a good chance of getting through. It was a bit disappointing to only add one more to the three goals we scored in the first half. I thought me might have managed another three. After we drew against Belgium on Saturday, somehow they seemed to think they were favourites. I don't know how they can work that out because everything is still as close to call as it was when we started. I guess most people were expecting me to miss those chances but I have a bit of ability in my feet, which have stood me in good stead throughout my career." Hendry had only managed one goal for Scotland in his previous 50 appearances.

Hendry 'sorry' for elbow

Scotland captain Colin Hendry has apologised to San Marino substitute Nicola Albani for elbowing him in the throat towards the end of Wednesday night's World Cup qualifier. Hendry told BBC Scotland that there had been no intention on his part to injure the player, but accepted the challenge looked horrendous. He admitted that television pictures had made him realise why there was such consternation surrounding the incident in the final minutes of Scotland's 4-0 victory. But he stressed that he had simply been trying to free himself from Albani who was tugging his jersey.

"Let me categorically say that there was never any intent to injure the player," said Hendry, who scored twice in the game. "If I've caught him in an area where I've injured him, then I apologise deeply for that. In all my career, I have never gone into a challenge to deliberately injure a player, and at 35 years of age, I'm not going to start now. When I spoke at the post-match conference on Wednesday night, I did not have the benefit of the TV pictures which make it look as though I've tried to elbow him in the head. He had a hold of my shirt and I tried to get away, but I can't see where his head is behind me. My elbow was below my shoulder, so I thought I had given him a dig in the ribs - these things happen all the time in football. But I caught him in an area that could have been serious, but I didn't mean that. It might be interpreted as being reckless, but all I was trying to do was get free of the player."

Hendry added that he hoped Fifa would see his point of view when it comes to considering the incident. Albani told BBC Scotland on Thursday morning that he was still angry at Hendry but accepted that these things happened in football. San Marino's football co-ordinator, Marino Bombini, said there would be no official complaint from the republic's authorities.

Scotland manager Craig Brown said he did not believe Hendry should be disciplined for the incident. He added that, if Hendry was to be disciplined, Scotland would ask for video evidence to be used against San Marino defender Della Balda who elbowed Kevin Gallacher but escaped a booking. Strathclyde Police have been asked by Scotland's prosecution service if they intend to look into the matter. A Crown Office spokesman said: "The Procurator Fiscal in Glasgow has contacted Strathclyde Police and asked if they intend to submit a report in relation to the incident. "This is in line with the Lord Advocate's instructions to chief constables regarding incidents which take place during sporting events."