Scotland 4, Trinidad & Tobago 1
Caribbean cruise for Scots by STEPHEN HALLIDAY IN ACHIEVING his biggest win as Scotland manager yesterday, Berti Vogts also erased any lingering doubts that he will remain in charge of the country for the start of the 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign. If an outstanding first-half performance by the Scots had to be measured alongside the lamentable standard of opponents who at times looked as if they had been imported from a Sunday morning pub league at Leith Links, this was nonetheless as encouraging an exercise as the German coach has overseen in his 26 months in charge. It was Scotland’s biggest victory since San Marino were defeated 4-0 at Hampden three years ago and would have been even more convincing if the home team’s strikers had not missed a handful of chances. As it was, all four goals came from midfielders in a blistering 28-minute period of the first half. The magnificent Darren Fletcher set the home side on their way, his lead followed by Gary Holt, Gary Caldwell and Nigel Quashie who all claimed their first goals for their country. Quashie has emerged from the close season friendlies as something of a find for Vogts, the powerful Portsmouth player even earning a chorus of "You’re not English anymore" from the appreciative Tartan Army. While it would be foolish to be seduced by victories over Estonia and Trinidad & Tobago into believing Scotland can now storm through their World Cup qualifying group, the prospects of earning a place in Germany two years from now do not appear quite so distant. The level of Scotland’s display dipped considerably after the break, perhaps understandably so, and Birmingham City striker Stern John recorded a consolation strike for the visitors who, it is safe to presume, won’t be among the qualifiers for the 2006 extravaganza. The porous nature of the Trinidad and Tobago defence was evidenced after just three minutes when Stevie Crawford sprang a risible offside trap to latch onto Fletcher’s first piercing pass of the afternoon, but could only drive his shot straight at goalkeeper Clayton Ince. It was already abundantly clear that Scotland were facing opponents who afforded them a rare opportunity to achieve a convincing victory. No matter the weakness of the Caribbean side, however, the home players take full credit for the way they took them apart with some incisive, eye-catching football. The sixth-minute opener was created by James McFadden and finished by Fletcher, a combination who offer so much encouragement for the future. The former displayed terrific technique and admirable composure to hold the ball up in the penalty area before slipping a reverse pass into the path of the latter. Fletcher has yet to open his goal account at club level, a remarkable statistic when you witness the precise, low right-foot finish which arrowed across Ince’s body into the keeper’s right hand corner.
Save for a heart-fluttering moment when Craig Gordon almost marked his debut with an own goal, miscuing Malky Mackay’s overhit backpass before rescuing the situation on the line, there was nothing to concern the Scots during a first half which bordered on fantasy football by their standards under Vogts. Fletcher, at the hub of everything good about it, created the second goal with a typically perceptive cross from the right which picked out Holt’s run through the inside left channel. The Norwich City midfielder threw himself bravely at the ball, the pain of his collision with Ince compensated by his first goal for Scotland nestling in the corner of the net. Scotland, playing with vigour and verve, looked likely to score with every attack against opponents hopelessly off the pace in the first period. For a team with so much height in central defence, Trinidad and Tobago were remarkably suspect at cross balls and dreadful marking from Marvin Andrews & Co allowed Gary Caldwell to bundle home Fletcher’s inswinging corner to put the Scots 3-0 up after just 23 minutes. The impressive Easter Road turnout hardly knew how to react to such unaccustomed circumstances but were soon savouring an even rosier picture. Not since 1976, when Finland were crushed 6-0 at Hampden, had a Scotland side scored four times in the first half of an international. The feat was emulated 11 minutes from the interval with Fletcher involved yet again. He set Crawford, who seconds earlier had missed a good chance from 14 yards, clear through the middle and the striker’s shot was blocked by Ince. With the visiting defence in disarray, the ball broke to Quashie who drilled it low and hard into the gaping net from 20 yards. Vogts used five substitutes in the second half, Brian Kerr impressing as a replacement for Holt, but Scotland were unable to maintain their frenetic first-half momentum. Trinidad and Tobago, by contrast, effected a considerable improvement and scored a terrific goal in 55 minutes when John lashed home a Carlos Edwards cross from around 14 yards. McFadden missed a simple opportunity to grab the goal his all round play deserved shortly afterwards, but only the most churlish would have found fault with Scotland’s efforts on a day which ensured Vogts and his players can enjoy their summer after an often wretched campaign. Scotland: Gordon, McNamara, Pressley, Mackay (McNamee 85), McAllister; Quashie (Hughes 72), G.Caldwell (S.Caldwell 80), Fletcher, Holt (Kerr 54); Crawford (Miller 69), McFadden (Webster 85). Subs not used: Gallacher, McCulloch, Shearer. Trinidad and Tobago: Ince, Sancho, Cox, Andrews; Edwards (Theobald 90), Eve (Jemmot 82), Jones, Dwarika (Nixon 75), Mason; John, Glen (Boucaud 28). Subs not used: Rojas, King, Baptiste, Williams. Referee: P Vink (Holl).
Scotland's dynamic duo boost Vogts' World cup hopes by STUART BATHGATE
There may be a few journeymen in the squad who will find it hard to replicate such a pleasing performance against tougher opponents, but the most hopeful aspect of this victory was that our two key players gave further evidence of their ability to work consistently at this level. What is more, the pair in question, James McFadden and Darren Fletcher, also showed a deepening understanding of each other’s play. That much was evident at the opening goal. McFadden had the ball at his feet in the box and, with the defence frozen for fear of conceding a penalty, he bided his time before rolling it into Fletcher’s path. The Manchester United player’s low shot found the net and formed the foundation for the win. We almost take those two for granted now, so reliably do they do the business. But it was not that long ago, with Fletcher still a reserve at his club and McFadden a Scotland Under-21 player not yet trusted to turn out regularly for the full side, that some of us would bemoan the utter lack of flair in Berti Vogts’ team. The advent of the duo has made us feel that, while we may not exactly be rich overnight, at least we now have some reserves in the talent bank. Having established himself as a regular in Sir Alex Ferguson’s squad, Fletcher is now the pivotal figure at national level too, for all that he was too modest to admit it. "Barry Ferguson is still to come back and is a quality midfielder, he said. "I’m not going to say I should be playing every time." True enough, Ferguson is one of the most able footballers in the side, yet it cannot be a case of either/or. When fit, both must play, provided Ferguson can discipline himself into acting a supporting role and allow Fletcher centre stage. In the FA Cup final, Roy Keane showed how it could be done, anchoring the midfield and thus leaving his younger colleague free for box-to-box marauding. Ferguson will feel he has more energy than the ageing Irishman, but he must be instructed to leave Fletcher the space in which to flourish. The 20-year-old shows no sign of being daunted by his sudden stardom. He is far too busy enjoying it all, and celebrating what he regards as his good fortune with his family. "It was the first time my mum was there," he said of yesterday’s game. "I said to her you’ve got to come some time. It’s close to home and she could always go off to the toilets if she got too nervous." Her son’s goal was surely enough to prevent Mrs F from dashing off in panic. In fact, it helped the rest of the team too. "The early goal gave us confidence," Fletcher went on. "Everyone was magnificent, especially the new caps. I said at half-time if I tried any little flicks or that just to give me a hammering, because there was a wee bit of showboating which there shouldn’t have been. "Estonia could have been like that if we’d taken our chances," he continued, referring to the 1-0 midweek win in the Baltic state. "It’s given us a bit of a boost because we’ve been under pressure." And back-to-back victories have not been the only boost this past week. The experience gained by players such as Craig Gordon - a debutante yesterday along with Jamie McAllister - could prove invaluable in more stressful situations. True, the Hearts goalkeeper did not have too much to do against the Caribbean side’s attack, but he had to shake off an unnerving start, when with his first touch of the ball he mis-hit a pass back from Malky MacKay. A slightly different contact could have seen Gordon score an own goal, but the ball drifted wide and he was able to recover. He was also able to look back on it lightheartedly. "It was a nice introduction to international football, getting a bouncy ball back on your wrong side," the 21-year-old said. "It could have been the worst first touch in international history." Any nerves induced by the error were quickly dispelled when, with his next touch, he collected the ball cleanly from a corner. "I was under a wee bit of pressure on the corner, as you always are when big Marvin [Andrews] is around. But I managed to hang on to the ball and get the counter-attack under way - and we got a goal from it. "There are a few things in international football that are different and that I’ll have to work on, but it is only my first cap. It’s a lot quicker and when you get the ball in your hands there are a lot more options." With David Marshall and Paul Gallacher also in contention for the No1 jersey, Scotland have, if not yet an embarrassment of riches in goalkeeping, at least a plenitude of promise. In the outfield positions too, there is now reasonable competition for places. Where once players found reasons not to turn out for their country, now there is far greater enthusiasm for the cause, as was summed up by Gary Caldwell of Hibs. "In the first half I think we were superb. We didn’t allow them a second’s peace. We’ve got a good victory with four goals, so we’re going into next season with confidence. They’re two wins we can push on from."
Scotland manager basks in warm glow by STEPHEN HALLIDAY
BERTI Vogts, the Scotland manager, last night showered his players with superlatives as he pronounced them set fair on a course for the World Cup finals in his homeland. The jubilant German coach basked in the afterglow of what was at times a scintillating performance in dismantling Trinidad and Tobago 4-1 at Easter Road to earn only his third win in 16 friendly internationals. It was the biggest win of Vogts’ 26 games in charge. Even though the visitors did nothing to suggest their lowly FIFA ranking of 75th is unjust, the Scots at least appeared far better than their own 63rd place. On the back of Thursday’s win in Estonia, it should ensure they move up in the next FIFA list. More importantly for Vogts, it has reinforced his belief Scotland will qualify for the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany. "My confidence is very high in my team, very high," he said. "They still have to work very hard but we are on course for my target of the first World Cup game against Slovenia on 8 September. The first half was fantastic entertainment from my team today. We scored four goals in the first half but it should have been six or seven. The movement was outstanding. We pressed the ball all over the pitch and played at really high speed. It was good to see goals being scored by the midfield players. The combination football was fantastic. It changed in the second half, but I understood that. It is the end of the season and the players are very tired. You saw in the second half, though, that we cannot play well without speed. It was a great day for my boys and it has been a great week." Vogts did not agree it was Scotland’s best performance of his reign, claiming: "We also played well against Germany and Holland at Hampden last year." The coach did concur with the observation, however, that Portsmouth midfielder Nigel Quashie has been the most valuable product of two end of season fixtures which attracted considerable criticism. "Nigel is a very strong person, on and off the field, and he is already one of the leaders in my squad," said Vogts. "He showed he can play on the left or the right of midfield. I am very happy with him." It was an emotional home debut for Quashie who scored Scotland’s fourth goal 11 minutes before half-time. The former England B international, who qualifies for his adopted nation through a Glasgow grandparent, was lauded by the home supporters throughout. "The fans were just different class and it’s a pleasure to play for them," said Quashie. "They want their country to do well and I just want to help put their country back on the map. I was knocked out by their reaction towards me, especially when they started singing ‘You’re not English anymore’. I certainly don’t feel English now. I’ve been given the opportunity to represent a country where my origins are and I want to make the most of it. I wasn’t sure how people here would react to me and I’m just so pleased they are happy with me. They are remarkable fans and you can see how passionate they are. I was definitely nervous today, it being my home debut, but to score a goal and play reasonably well was brilliant. "I think the future for Scotland is tremendous and I want to be a part of it. Darren Fletcher and James McFadden are absolutely top drawer players, there is no doubt about it. Fletcher just oozes class and you don’t play as many games for Manchester United as he has if you don’t have something a bit special about you. It’s a great squad of players who all want to do well for their country and I just count myself fortunate to be a part of it now. I felt we played really well today. We took our foot off the gas in the second half but that was maybe to be expected after such a good first half." Vogts also took time to single out the contribution of Fletcher. "He is one of the biggest talents in the UK, and maybe in Europe," said the manager. "He is a very strong person on and off the pitch. He is one of the leaders in my group." McFadden, who combined expertly with the Manchester United midfielder for the opening goal, added: "He’s awesome and everything he touched today was unbelievable. He is a great talent and I am delighted to have him in my team." |
