By Thomas Durning
Scotland kick off campaign with three goal victory
Scotland got there Euro 2024 qualification campaign off to a winning start as they comfortably beat Cyprus 3-0 at a sold out Hampden.
Scotland made six changes to the side that were defeated in a friendly match against Turkey last time out. There was a debut for Angus Gunn in goal as he replaced the injured Craig Gordon and Jack Hendry, Ryan Fraser, and Lyndon Dykes came out of the team and they were replaced by Ryan Porteous, Aaron Hickey, and Che Adams.
Midfielder Callum McGregor also had a personal milestone as he made his 50th appearance in a Scotland shirt.
Cyprus made five changes to the side that claimed victory against Israel last time out with Roberge, Kousoulos, Artymatas, Laifis, and Antoniou all coming into the team.
It was a slow start to the match and the first real chance of the game fell in the 13th minute when Scotland wingback Hickey managed to find his way into the box after some neat footwork and after creating space for himself, he hit a shot on target but the shot was saved by Demetriou and the ball went out for a corner.
Scotland were dominating the ball without creating many chances however they managed to break the deadlock in the 21st minute when John McGinn tapped home for his 16th Scotland goal. After a Stuart Armstrong pass in behind the Cyprus defence, captain Andy Robertson managed to get onto the end of it and he played a deflected cross from the left which reached the back post and McGinn was there to tap the ball home. The goal went to a VAR check and after the review, it was found that Scotland’s goal was legal, and the hosts were a goal ahead.
The goal was desperately needed for Scotland as they were having difficulty breaking down Cyprus tight defence.
As stated, the goal came down the left hand side for Scotland which was no surprise as Robertson and Tierney were linking up well from the start of the match which was causing Cyprus problems and when watching, it felt like a matter of time before something was created from that side.
The last chance of the half fell to Scotland in the 43rd minute when goal scorer McGinn managed to find Adams in the box but Adams powerful shot was saved by Demetriou who tipped it over the bar.
The was to be the last action of the half and Scotland went into half time in complete control of the match and there only disappointment would be that they had not created enough chances to extend there lead. Cyprus would go into half time knowing they would have to open up more in the second half as they hardly had an attacking threat in the first half.
The second half got underway and again Scotland started the half in complete control of the ball as Cyprus sat in their defensive shape hoping to win the ball and go on the counter attack.
Scotland were forced to make a change in the 56th minute when striker Che Adams went down in pain and it resulted in him having to go off which now makes him a doubt for Scotland’s next match against Spain.
The first chance of the half fell to Scotland in the 69th minute when substitute Dykes managed to bring the ball down in the box which found its way to Christie but his shot which was bound to hit the back of the net was blocked by the Cyprus defender and the ball was cleared to safety.
Hampden Park was starting to get nervy as Cyprus were still in the match despite there lack of attacking threat and the second goal for Scotland was proving difficult as they struggled to build any real attacking threat.
However, in the 87th minute, the stadium could breathe a sigh of relief as Scotland managed to find that all important second goal. After great closing down by Christie, he managed to win the ball back and hit a cross from the right which Dykes managed to get on the end of and he nodded the ball down for McTominay who controlled the ball and with his left foot, lashed the ball into the top corner to make it 2-0 to Scotland.
This settled the home side down and in the 93rd minute, Scotland added a third after Robertson managed to find his way into the box and he laid it off to McTominay who fired the ball into the right of the net to give Scotland all three points.
It would get worse for the away side as just before the match finished, defender Ioannou kicked the ball away in frustration which resulted in him receiving a second yellow card and he was sent off.
This was to be the last action of the match and Scotland ran out comfortable winners which would please Steve Clarke who had just signed a contract extension with the national team.
Scotland: Gunn, Hickey (Patterson 80’) Porteous, Hanley, Tierney, Robertson, Jack (Christie 67’) McGregor, Armstrong (McTominay 67’) McGinn, Adams (Dykes 58’)
Subs not used: McLean, Cooper, Kelly, Brown, Clark, Ferguson, Gilmour, Hyam
Cyprus: Demetriou, Kousoulos (Spoljaric 45’) Gogic (Loizou 79’) Roberge, Antoniou, Kyriakou (Charalampous 68’)Artymatas, Laifis, Ioannou, Kastanos (Tzionis 79’) Pittas (Kakoullis 68’)
Subs not used: A. Spoljaric, Panayi, M. Ioannou, Antoniades, Efrem, Karo, Christofi
Referee: Duje Strukan
Reporter: Thomas Durning
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