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Daniel Taylor's match report
FULL TIME: Scotland 2-2 England
Phew! That’s your lot. Scotland would have probably taken a draw at the start of the day; they’d have gladly taken one with 86 minutes on the clock. And they’ve ended up with one. But the manner of it will feel like a defeat. Poor Leigh Griffiths, whose two superlative free kicks looked like going into instant legend. They’ll remain unforgettable, of course, but that dramatic finale will be rather bittersweet for Scottish fans now. Scotland were so close to their first win over the auld enemy since 1999; their first at Hampden since 1985. And in more prosaic terms for Gordon Strachan’s side, that’s two precious World Cup points up in smoke. Still, that Harry Kane’s some player, huh? England’s long unbeaten record in qualification matches goes on!
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GOAL! Scotland 2-2 England (Kane 90+3)
Well, no, not in the first instance. Dier hammers one towards the top right. Gordon parries. Scotland clear, and threaten to break upfield. But England reclaim possession. Sterling curls a cross in from the left. Kane ghosts in, contorts his body in mid air, and steers the ball past Gordon! What a saver from the England captain! And Hampden falls silent again.
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90 min +2: On the edge of the Scotland area, Smalling goes down under not much pressure from Martin. A free kick, just to the right of the D. England couldn’t, could they?
90 min: Erm. Wow. There will be four added minutes. There were two minutes and 50 seconds between those two Griffiths pearlers, so anything could happen.
GOAL! Scotland 2-1 England (Griffiths 89)
This is sensational! Griffiths skelps this one into the top left! Up and over the wall again, Hart with no chance again! Stick your head out of the window. You’ll be able to hear Hampden from where you are. Wherever you are!
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88 min: And now another direct Scotland ball down the middle. Livermore bundles Martin over. It’s another free kick, in exactly the same spot! They couldn’t, could they?
GOAL! Scotland 1-1 England (Griffiths 87)
But it’s worth the wait! Griffiths whips the ball up and over the wall, and into the top right. Simple as that! Hart can’t get across quick enough. That was in all the way! Sheer brilliance by the Celtic striker! You’ll not see a better free kick than that. Hampden erupts. Hampden roars.
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86 min: The free kick takes a while.
85 min: Scotland launch a high ball down the middle. Cahill battles first with Martin, then crumps a high foot upside Fraser’s noggin. A free kick, 30 yards out. Scotland need something special. Can Griffiths deliver?
84 min: Raheem Sterling comes on for Dele Alli, who departs in the casual, professional, clock-bothering style.
83 min: Tierney, out on the right, feeds Griffiths on the edge of the England box. Griffiths has a chance to turn and send a curler towards the top left; he gets the turn right but the curl all wrong.
82 min: Lallana has a dig from 25 yards. It rolls in the style of a pea towards Gordon, who snaffles.
81 min: Anya, who has been suffering from cramp, is replaced by Chris Martin. He came on to jeers against Slovenia before scoring the winner; a polite cheer greets him this time. Can he pull something out of the hat again?
79 min: “You’re getting sacked in the morning.” The England fans serenading Gordon Strachan there.
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77 min: Armstrong busies himself 30 yards from the England goal. He manages to squirt the ball to Griffiths, just to the right of the D. Griffiths, his back to goal, swivels and sends a snap shot inches wide of the top right. Hart makes out like he had it covered all the way, but it would have been interesting had the ball been on target.
76 min: The resulting free kick is met by Kane, 12 yards out, but there’s no danger in his header. Then Scotland, clearly rocked by falling behind, allow Oxlade-Chamberlain to tear it up down the right. He dinks a cross into the centre. Lallana should at least work Gordon, but his header, in a clear position ten yards out, flies harmlessly over the bar.
74 min: Alli takes up possession out on the right. Brown, the head gone, comes clattering into him at speed and without regard for basic manners. It’s a clear booking. It should be his second yellow, and an early bath. But the referee is extremely lenient.
73 min: Scotland try to come straight back at England, Fraser zipping down the left and chipping a dangerous cross into the area. Cahill does very well to rise above everyone and bash a header clear.
GOAL! Scotland 0-1 England (Oxlade-Chamberlain 70)
Gordon fails to deal with a simple Tierney backpass. Alli nearly steals the ball from him. Gordon is forced to hack out for a throw on the right in a panic. Following soon after, Oxlade-Chamberlain dribbles inside from the wing, enters the box, drops a shoulder and batters a shot goalwards through a thicket of players. Gordon may have been unsighted, but he lets the shot fly straight over him and into the net. Hampden falls quiet for the first time this afternoon.
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69 min: A free kick for Scotland out on the right, and a chance for the hosts to load the box. Armstrong curls it in, but it’s easily cleared by Smalling. A rare chance to work Hart squandered.
67 min: Bertrand whips in a high cross from the left. Kane flashes a wonderful header towards the top right. Gordon is equal to it, a magnificent close-range parry, and the loose ball is mopped up.
66 min: And now Scotland make their second swap. Snodgrass, uncharacteristically quiet and out of sorts today, is replaced by debutant Ryan Fraser of Bournemouth. Liverpool fans may remember him with a shudder.
65 min: England respond to the Scottish upturn by making their first change. Rashford is hooked, Oxlade-Chamberlain taking his place.
63 min: Dier eases Griffiths to the floor in the midfield. It’s not much of a challenge, but the England midfielder has just been booked and therefore wants to watch himself. He’s already missing the Malta game as things stand.
61 min: Scotland continue to press forward, sensing that England aren’t the force they were in the first half. Anya loops a ball in from the right; it very nearly finds Robertson on the other side of the park. Not quite. Hampden responds, though; what a glorious noise.
60 min: Dier is booked for clattering into McArthur at the start of the move that led to the Armstrong shot. A good advantage played by the referee, then, who has had a very decent few minutes.
59 min: But Scotland are beginning to show in attack at long last. Griffiths romps down the right and sets up a colleague again with another roll inside. This time it’s Armstrong, who shapes a curler towards the top left. It’s not the worst effort, but it’s high and wide as well.
58 min: Scotland’s best chance of the match, as Griffiths dances in from the right and rolls a pass across the face of the box for Robertson, who has space and time. He looks for the top left, and gets it all wrong, hoicking the ball wide and high.
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57 min: Lallana slides in late on McArthur, who wants the referee to flash yellow. Lallana gets away with it, having come in from the side. In other refereeing news, the Griffiths-Walker penalty thing looks like a great decision, Griffiths running into Walker rather than the other way around.
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55 min: England go straight up the other end, Kane chasing a long 1980s hoof. Gordon comes out of his box, caring not a jot that his first-half walkabout nearly led to a goal. This time he opts to juggle the ball over Kane’s head. Success, but the sort of success that does nothing for Hampden’s collective blood pressure.
54 min: Armstrong slips Griffiths away down the inside-left channel. Griffiths enters the box, and goes to ground under a clumsy challenge from behind by Walker, who had got on the wrong side. The referee’s having none of it. Griffiths batters the ground in anger and impotent frustration. I’d need to see that one again. Who’d be a referee? Then again, the referee’s not trying to type, so cut your old MBM pal some slack, will you.
53 min: Rashford threatens to cause trouble with a power run down the middle, but is stopped in his tracks by a glorious slide tackle from Tierney. The young Celtic defender really is a top prospect.
51 min: The ball’s worked to Livermore, to the right of the D. He shoots. The ball takes a huge deflection off Robertson’s ankle, and clanks off the bottom of the right-hand post. There follows a game of pinball, but neither Kane nor Alli can get a shot on target in a crowded box from close range. The ball squirms out of play for a corner on the left. Gordon punches that one clear with purpose. Scotland were all over the shop there, but they’ve escaped.
50 min: Griffiths has a chance to set Scotland away on a break, but his ball wide to Robertson is loose, allowing Walker to nip in and earn a throw, which leads to a corner on the right. From which...
48 min: It’s another fast start by Scotland. Armstrong plays a cute reverse ball down the inside-left channel. He’d have released Robertson, too, had the full back read his intentions. Walker is able to guide the ball out of play for a goal kick, Robertson unable to make up the ground lost by his misreading of the situation. But very nearly a lovely move that would have split England open.
47 min: England stroke it around the back awhile, perhaps with the idea of silencing the crowd. Well, that hasn’t worked. Bedlam, bedlam, bedlam. Rashford is muscled out of it by Griffiths, whose ball forward is hooked clear by Cahill.
And we’re off again! Scotland make a change: James Morrison, who took a sore one on his ankle early on, is sacrificed for James McArthur. For England, it’s as you were. The Scots get the ball rolling for the second half. The atmosphere at Hampden is still belting.
Half-time reading: In lieu of significant action, a few blasts from the past.
HALF TIME: Scotland 0-0 England
And that’s that for the first half. England have been the better team, so Scotland will be happier with the scoreline. “Respect to all concerned, of course,” begins Charles Antaki, so you know what’s coming next, “but this is shaping up to be the expected not-very-good side being comfortably out-played by the slightly-better-but-still-no-world-beaters side, and without even the historical niggle of times past. Even the sunshine looks bland.”
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45 min: Snodgrass tries to launch a Scotland break, turning neatly in the centre circle. He’s upended cynically by Livermore, who goes into the book.
43 min: Kane, just to the right of the Scottish box, pulls the ball across for Livermore, who shoots from 20 yards. Gordon has it covered, but makes a hash of trying to punch it clear, the ball pinging off the top of his fists and over the bar in a hysterical manner. That could have easily flown into the net. The corner comes to nothing.
42 min: That increasingly rare thing: a Scottish attack. Robertson makes good down the left, and his low cross is decent enough, but the in-rushing Snodgrass can’t get on the end of it. Cahill clears calmly.
40 min: Kane, tight on the left touchline, flicks a superb ball inside for Lallana, standing on the corner of the box. Lallana drops a shoulder to send Mulgrew off to the wrong fire, strides into the area, and lashes a fine shot towards the top left. Gordon tips it round the post, and the corner is cleared. So close to a glorious opening goal from England’s chief creative threat so far this afternoon.
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38 min: Something of a lull, which Scotland will take. After a bright opening, they’ve been on the back foot for the larger proportion of this half.
36 min: Alli, on the edge of the Scotland D, slips Rashford in to his right. Rashford makes to shoot, but the very promising Tierney closes him down, then slides in to concede a corner before a cross from the byline can be dispatched. Or it would be, had Rashford not followed through after the tackle, clattering into the Celtic full-back in the reckless style. Not the best challenge, but it’s nothing more than a free kick for Scotland.
35 min: Walker jets along the right and then, from a deep position, nearly releases Alli with a sliderule pass down the channel. Not quite. But Scotland need to get their act together and quick. We’re approaching matter-of-time territory.
33 min: Lallana appears to be in the mood. He nips down the left, checks back, and very nearly finds the head of Alli at the far post with a looping cross. Just a little too much on it. Goal kick. England are in total charge; Scotland keep giving the ball back.
32 min: This is attack versus defence now. Bertrand glides in from the left and slips the ball to Lallana, who jigs about in the light-footed style for a second or two before flicking a pass further infield. Rashford is the intended recipient, but Berra steps in to save the day.
31 min: The corner leads to another. And at the second one, Smalling accidentally boots Mulgrew in the coupon. Ooyah! Totally accidental, but it allows Scotland to hammer clear at the dropped-ball restart. Mulgrew took one for the team there; Scotland were rocking a wee bit.
29 min: Gordon comes out of his area to head a long ball clear. But his header only falls to Kane, who dispatches it goalwards from 35 yards! Luckily for the keeper, away on walkabout, Robertson rushes back to head off the line. Rashford tries to zip the ball back into the bottom right from the edge of the box. Robertson deflects it out for a corner. From which...
28 min: Alli very nearly sashays his way clear, a glorious run down the inside right. He’s stopped in his tracks by Morrison and Mulgrew, and the ball is blootered clear. Probably a good thing that came to nothing, as there had been shades of handball when he initially took up possession.
26 min: Scotland can’t get a sniff right now. An awful lot of England probing going on. Walker threatens to break into the box down the right but loses control.
24 min: Walker bursts down the right and earns a corner off Tierney. Rashford takes a corner that eludes everyone. England are beginning to boss this game now.
22 min: Lallana turns on the jets, exchanging passes with Bertrand down the left and reaching the byline. He’s got the Scottish back line on the run! He flicks the ball into the middle. Gordon, having tried to close down the angle, is out of the game. All Kane has to do is flick it home from six yards! But he can’t sort his feet out, and Robertson is on hand to hoick clear. So close to the opening goal!
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21 min: England continue to hog the ball. A lot of pantomime booing. This is a marvellous atmosphere, like that’s breaking news.
19 min: England are suddenly looking threatening. Alli nearly manufactures time and space on the edge of the Scottish D to shoot, but is closed down unceremoniously by Mulgrew.
18 min: England enjoy a period of prolonged possession for the first time in the match. Suddenly, Dier wedges a delicious chipped pass down the inside-right channel. Kane, just inside the Scotland box, brings it down, and flicks it inside, foxing Robertson. Here’s half a chance! He tries to scoop the ball across Gordon and into the top right, but gets way too much on it. Scotland breathe out. That was a lovely move, out of absolutely nothing.
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16 min: There’s a lovely open feel to this game. England haven’t done much with the ball so far, though Rashford is buzzing around in the relentless style, offering his midfield options. Alli bangs a ball down the right, and the striker nearly gets onto it, but Robertson covers well to shepherd the ball out of play for a goal kick.
14 min: Scotland are playing three at the back. One of those men, Berra, allows a long ball to bounce and very nearly lets Rashford skitter free down the left. The big defender recovers in time and pokes the ball back to Gordon, who skelps clear.
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12 min: Anya, out on the right, crosses slightly aimlessly, but Walker’s not sure of what’s going on and concedes another corner on the left. England make a meal of clearing the set piece, but manage it in the end. Scotland are in charge right now, in a good old-fashioned kind of way.
10 min: Robertson earns a corner down the left off Walker. Smalling is hassled and forced to concede another. Scotland do nothing with it. But they’ve started well, their high-tempo style pressing England back and forcing them into a few basic errors.
8 min: Lallana glides down the left and slips the ball inside for Rashford, who nearly manufactures space to shoot from the edge of the box, toes twinkling at speed. Not quite, but that was the first sign of England in attack. Scotland attempt a quick break, but Brown loses possession with an aimless hoof forward. It’s not been the best start for the Scotland captain.
6 min: More Scottish pressing, Anya forcing Bertrand into the concession of a corner. From the set piece, the ball’s rolled back to Griffiths, 20 yards out down the inside-right channel. He sends a low scuttler towards the bottom right. Hart is behind it all the way, and snaffles.
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4 min: Bertrand is panicked by Snodgrass, just to the left of his own box. He’s forced into a hectic slice, the ball disappearing into the crowd. The resulting Scotland throw leads to nothing, but the home side aren’t giving the visitors an inch.
3 min: Brown comes straight through the back of Alli, who was going nowhere in the middle of the park. That’s a preposterous challenge, and the stupidest of bookings. Scotland’s main enforcer now has to play 88 minutes, his studs crumping into eggshells. Great news for England.
2 min: Walker leaves the boot on Morrison, a sore one on the Scotland man’s ankle. It’s accidental, though that doesn’t mean much to Morrison as he rolls about a bit.
England get the ball rolling! And immediately Griffiths charges down a Dier clearance. A sign that Scotland intend to get on the front foot and go for it. In truth, they’ve little option. The crowd enjoyed that one, anyway. This could be a lot of high-tempo fun.
But before kick-off, a minute of remembrance for the victims of the recent atrocities in Manchester and London. Glasgow observes an emotional, pin-drop silence; bittersweet perfection. And then the whistle blows, and Hampden roars. Here we go...
The teams are out! And a rare old roar rings around Hampden! They’re giving it laldie. Scotland are in their famous blue shirts with slightly less traditional Arsenal-style white sleeves. England are playing in second-choice red, a colour which has seen them right in the past. God Save the Queen goes down pretty much as you’d expect; the lone piper’s blast of Flower of Scotland is deemed a much more acceptable ditty. What an atmosphere! We’ll be off pretty soon. In the meantime, it’s only fair we give the last pre-match word to our regular Saturday afternoon contributor Simon McMahon. “I’ll cut to the chase. COME ON SCOTLAND!!!” And I’m sure he speaks for everyone. Eh y’what?
Gareth Southgate speaks! “We’re focusing on us, what we’re good at. We know the environment we’re coming into. We know the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition. We’re clear on how we want to play, and how to react in certain moments of the game to get the win. Harry Kane has super leadership qualities, a strong mentality. He wants to be one of the best players in the world and you can’t have too many players like that in your team.”
Gordon Strachan speaks! “This is a wonderful occasion, but I’ve not spoken too much about that. They’ll feel that atmosphere when they get out. I don’t think I can describe it to them until they get out there, they’ll have to discover that for themselves. The lads have made me feel confident that we can do something today and put in a performance. They will show that to the fans today.”
Some pre-match reading. Here’s our main man Daniel Taylor on the new England captain ...
... and Ewan Murray on the Scotland manager’s efforts to avoid the axe.
Gordon Strachan has made two changes to the Scotland side that scraped past Slovenia in the last qualifier. Christophe Berra and Ikechi Anya are in; Russell Martin and James Forrest drop to the bench. The fit-again Leigh Griffiths is up front. Scott Brown captains.
Harry Kane will lead out England for the first time. Marcus Rashford makes his second start, while West Bromwich Albion’s Jake Livermore is called into the midfield. Those aforementioned stars are three of five changes to the XI sent out against Lithuania last time round. Also stepping up: Chris Smalling and Gary Cahill. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, John Stones, Raheem Sterling and Jermain Defoe drop to the bench; Michael Keane is out altogether.
The teams
Scotland: Gordon, Berra, Mulgrew, Robertson, Tierney, Brown, Armstrong, Anya, Snodgrass, Griffiths, Morrison.
Subs: Marshall, McArthur, Naismith, Bannan, Darren Fletcher, Forrest, Russell Martin, Chris Martin, Fraser, Cairney, Reynolds, Hamilton.
England: Hart, Walker, Cahill, Smalling, Bertrand, Rashford, Lallana, Dier, Alli, Livermore, Kane.
Subs: Forster, Trippier, Lingard, Gibson, Stones, Jones, Defoe, Sterling, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Cresswell, Heaton, Butland.
Referee: Paolo Tagliavento (Italy).
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Preamble
So with the major leagues decided, the cups lifted, and the champions of Europe crowned, we’re all played out for the summer, right? Ah no, not quite. Just before we hit the run-out groove, there’s a bonus track, the Her Majesty to 2016-17’s Abbey Road: Scotland welcome the auld enemy England to Hampden Park for a crucial World Cup qualifier!
Well, it’s crucial for one of the teams at least. England are well clear at the top of Uefa Group F, a section they’re odds-on favourites to win. And no wonder: they haven’t lost a tournament qualification match for nearly eight years, for goodness sake! Top place should be a shoo-in, whatever happens today.
But Scotland’s hopes of second place, and a shot at World Cup qualification for the first time since 1998, are rather more in the balance. The jig looked up back in March, Gordon Strachan’s team coming off back-to-back 3-0 defeats in Slovakia and at Wembley, and struggling to break down Slovenia at home. But then Chris Martin popped up with an 88th-minute winner, and all is not yet lost. A draw today wouldn’t be the worst result in the world. As for a first victory over England at Hampden since Richard Gough headed a winner in 1985? Yeah, that’d work too.
Expect the roof to come off this famous stadium should the home heroes win. Because it’d be about time. England have triumphed in seven of the last eight stagings of the oldest rivalry in world football, a run which stretches back to 1988. Scotland’s only victory since Gough’s Game was an ultimately futile 1-0 victory at Wembley in 1999, Don Hutchison’s winner not quite enough to pip England to a place at Euro 2000. So sending them homewards this evening to think again would be quite the landmark. Crazy to consider, given the balance of power these days, that Scotland boasted more wins in this fixture as recently as 1981. Times change, and quickly, huh.
Or maybe not. That historical quirk obscures the fact that Scotland have only beaten England a dozen times since the war. Can they make it unlucky 13 for England today? It’s a tall order, given how Gareth Southgate’s side swatted them aside with a yawn last November. And the English front line will be led by their inspired new captain Harry Kane, a man who has scored seven goals in his last two matches. Then again, Scotland can call on Leigh Griffiths, who as one of the Celtic Invincibles won’t be feeling too bad about himself right now either. A free-scoring classic, then, isn’t beyond the realms. Let’s play nicely, and learn to love each other. Good luck everyone! It’s on!
Kick off: 5pm (UK time).
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