Match report
FULL TIME: Scotland 1-0 Slovakia
Well, well, well. How about that, then! Scotland’s World Cup hopes are still alive, thanks once again to Chris Martin. The ten men of Slovakia defended marvellously all night. Dubravka was inspired in the Slovakian goal. But Scotland deserved their victory, having hit the woodwork twice with two fine efforts, and got a bit of luck when they so desperately needed it. Martin’s presence forced Skrtel into the decisive error, and now a win for the Scots in Slovenia on Sunday will give them second spot in Group F! Wow. Good luck trying to sleep after that drama, but nighty night everyone.
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90 min +4: Bannan is booked for fannying around in the midfield. And then...
90 min +3: Pekarik flats in a cross from the right. Skrtel, desperate to atone for his error, goes in too strong and concedes a free kick. Poor Skrtel, who had to make that challenge for the goal; Martin would have scored anyway. But Scotland don’t care. The clock does its work.
90 min +2: Bannan chases down a Dubravka clearance. Griffiths tries to break down the left but fouls Pekarik. Time continues to do its thing.
90 min +1: Anya presses Hubocan back down the right. Time ticks on.
90 min: Hampden roars. A manic atmosphere. On the touchline, Gordon Strachan goes on a long dribble of celebration. Nobody’s counting any chickens though. There will be four added minutes.
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GOAL! Scotland 1-0 Slovakia (Skrtel og 89)
Have Scotland saved themselves? They might just have! Griffiths turns cleverly down the inside-right channel and slips Anya away. Anya enters the box and fires hard towards the near post. Martin is preparing to slam home. Skrtel sticks out a leg and does the work for him! Scotland’s World Cup dream is still alive ... if they can see the next few minutes out. This isn’t over yet.
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87 min: Robertson, out on the left wing, clips a clever ball inside for Bannan. A good touch and Bannan is free in the area down the inside-left channel, but he’s tired and his attempt to trap is heavy. As is the mood around Hampden. Goal kick.
86 min: Anya twists and turns down the right, and curls a devilish cross towards the near post. It’s a brilliant ball, but nobody in Rosebery pink has taken a gamble or made a run. Slovakia clear. Hampden is sinking collectively into a depressive funk.
84 min: Scotland are pushing Slovakia back. Deep inside their own half. Phillips makes a nuisance of himself in the area. Robertson tries a cross from the left. Cleared. Bannan has another go. Skrtel knocks it out for a corner. From the set piece, Bannan has a crack from 20 yards. It’s hacked clear. They’re trying everything. Nothing’s working.
82 min: And now Scotland make their last roll of the dice, Anya coming on for Tierney. Anya immediately forces Hubocan into giving away a throw down the right, but a goal kick is all that eventually results.
80 min: Scotland swap Fletcher for McArthur. Meanwhile a triple substitution by Slovakia: Nemec, Hamsik and Kucka off; Weiss, Duda and Gyomber on. They’re happy to shore things up for a draw, with Malta at home to come in their final game.
78 min: Morrison sends Robertson into the box down the left. From a tight angle, Robertson smashes a rising shot towards the top left. Dubravka parries well. Scotland are doing everything but score. This is a story told before.
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77 min: “Scotland’s Law: (Hope - luck) x ability = despair.” Dr Simon McMahon there.
76 min: Martin has been causing all sorts of bother since coming on. He rises to meet a long pass into the Slovakia area, heading down for Morrison, who prepares for a free shot from 12 yards. But the ball won’t drop in time, and Skrtel gets across to block.
74 min: Oh this is outrageous! Griffiths curls a stunner towards the top right. Dubravka is beaten again ... but the ball crashes off the Slovakian woodwork for the second time! Scotland come straight back at Slovakia, a deft backheel by Martin sending Morrison clear into the area down the inside-left channel ... and is denied by a wonder block from Dubravka! Scotland did everything but score there.
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73 min: Skrtel rashly clatters into the back of Martin, who was trying to hold the ball up 25 yards from goal. This is a free kick in a central position, in Griffiths Country. He lines it up. Hampden expects!
72 min: Kucka juggles the ball inside from the right and attempts to lash a spectacular one home from 25 yards. It’s wild. Scotland go up the other end, Griffiths having a dig from the edge of the box. But it’s blocked pretty much at source.
70 min: Morrison is booked for a rash clank on Pekarik as Slovakia attempt to break upfield. He doesn’t bother complaining.
69 min: Bannan and Martin combine down the middle of the park, crisp one-twos that nearly open Slovakia up. Not quite. But then the ball’s worked back to Martin, who curls a powerful effort towards the top left. It’s a glorious effort, but just that little bit too high: it crashes off the crossbar with Dubravka beaten all ends up! So unfortunate.
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67 min: Bannan is slowly establishing himself as Scotland’s chief creative force. He earns a corner down the left, causes a bit of bother with a couple of searching crosses, and then slips Griffiths down the same wing, but the striker, upon cutting into the box, can’t get a decent shot away. Better from Scotland, for whom time is beginning to run out.
66 min: Hamsik is beginning to cause Scotland a lot of bother. He very nearly sets up Gregus on the edge of the Scottish box with a cheeky Le Tissier style backflick. He’s a class apart. Fortunately the resulting shot is hoofed wildly over the bar.
64 min: Fletcher is back with a white bandage wrapped around his noggin. No doubt some Uefa bureaucrat will consider that an unacceptable kit clash with Slovakia’s shirts. (A sleeve clash, though.)
63 min: Fletcher is off getting running repairs, having taken an accidental whack upside the head from Skrtel while contesting the aforementioned corner. Plenty of claret, which doesn’t go well with Scotland’s pretty pink shirt.
61 min: On comes Chris Martin, who rescued this qualifying campaign with his late winner here against Slovenia. He replaces James Forrest. Immediately, Scotland are on the attack, and Griffiths sends a swerving riser goalwards from the edge of the box. Dubravka does very well to punch up and out for a corner, from which nothing comes.
60 min: Another Slovakian attack, prompted by Hamsik, results in Gregus having a pop from just inside the area on the right. Gordon does very well to parry clear.
59 min: Lobotka dribbles in from the left and lays off for Hamsik, who converts in the rugby style from 25 yards. That was a wild shot. Slovakia are beginning to bare their teeth, though.
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57 min: A lot of space for Hamsik in the middle of the park. He drives forward and slips the ball wide left for the increasingly dangerous Lobotka, who drops a shoulder to glide inside and pearls a low shot straight at Gordon from the edge of the box. The keeper gathers. That was a real chance for Lobotka, though, with not much in the way of Scottish pressing going on. Gordon should have been made to work harder at least.
56 min: Bannan’s free kick falls to Forrest, 25 yards out. Forrest attempts to swipe one into the top left. No. Robertson comes back on with a heavily strapped arm. Scotland won’t want to lose him. Liverpool fans not totally enamoured with Alberto Moreno won’t want to lose him.
54 min: Kucka comes through the back of Robertson, out on the Scotland left. He’s already been booked, remember. Getting a chunk of the ball probably saved him. It’s a free kick, though. It’s not taken yet: Robertson has hurt his right wrist and is getting treatment.
53 min: Another crossfield ball from Tierney on the right. This time it’s low and threaded towards Robertson on the other wing. Not quite, and Pekarik mops up. But a good idea nonetheless.
51 min: Tierney, from a deep position on the right, floats a crossfield pass to Griffiths, ten yards out. Griffiths tries to power a header back into the top right, but can’t generate the power. He looks frustrated. He’s looked frustrated for most of the evening. But as the England game proved, there’s plenty to be said for patience.
50 min: Lobotka glides past Tierney as though the young Scotland defender wasn’t there. He enters the area and reaches the byline to the left of goal. Berra comes across to block and Gordon gathers. The Hampden faithful sound nervous. Scotland go up the other end, Bannan curling into the box from the left. Phillips contorts his body mid-air and attempts to hook a volley into the top left, but it’s no good.
48 min: Bannan sends Robertson away on a scamper after the ball down the left, but the Liverpool full-back is never getting to it. Pekarik ushers the ball out for a goal kick. It’s been an underwhelming start to the half by Scotland.
47 min: The visitors are quickly back into Domination Mode. Kucka and Pekarik clip the ball in pretty triangles along the right and earn a corner. Hamsik takes, but it’s eyebrowed away from danger by Mulgrew. Hampden responds with a chorus of Flower of Scotland, in the hope of coaxing their team out of the dressing room, where they still reside.
And we’re off again! Scotland get the ball rolling for the second half. No changes, though of course Slovakia are down to ten men after the sending off of Robert Mak.
Half-time reading: Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together for the stars of the 2030 centenary World Cup!
HALF TIME: Scotland 0-0 Slovakia
Bannan works a little space in the left of the Slovakia box. He shoots from a tight angle. Skrtel deflects out for a corner, from which Tierney attempts to score with a daisycutter from 35 yards. Nope! And that’s that. Scotland have 45 minutes plus stoppages to find a goal against ten men, and keep their World Cup qualification dreams alive.
45 min: Robertson makes another determined run down the left. There’s nobody making a run to meet his low cross. Slovakia clear. There will be one added minute.
43 min: Bannan drops deep and tries to quarterback a move down the left wing, but his pass doesn’t quite come off. Both teams have shown great ambition in attack; nothing’s quite come off yet.
41 min: Kucka sashays in from the left and nearly sets up Hamsik on the edge of the Scotland box. A fine run by Kucka, with Scotland on the back foot and Hampden munching away on the fingernails. This match might not be a technical or artistic triumph, but it is beautifully poised and a lot of fun as a result. I use the word “fun” in its loosest sense, obviously, with all that’s at stake.
40 min: Morrison holds the ball up on the right wing, waiting for Tierney to tear past him on the overlap. He eventually slides a pass forward, allowing the Celtic full back to whipcrack a first-time low cross into the area. The ball flies inches behind Griffiths, who throws his arms in the air at the end of a slightly mistimed run.
38 min: The crowd are getting a wee bit testy, the ten men of Slovakia enjoying the lion’s share in the midfield. Forrest tries to ease their worries with a couple of tricks out on the right. For a second, it looks as though an opening will present itself, but a third trick followed by some hesitation allows Slovakia to regroup and once again they’ve got the ball in the centre circle, the crowd subdued.
36 min: Forrest drives at Slovakia, and slips a ball down the inside-right channel for Griffiths to run onto. To the right of the D, Griffiths curls a glorious effort towards the bottom left; the excellent Dubravka makes another fine save at full stretch. Lines are cleared. Griffiths is a study in frustration, wondering how the hell the keeper kept that one out!
35 min: A corner for Scotland down the right. Once again Griffiths disappoints with his delivery at a set piece. Hey, those efforts against England have stored up a lot of moral credit. Anyway, that’s not much cop in an attacking sense, but Scotland are happy to be up the other end after a difficult couple of minutes.
34 min: Lobotka embarks on a quick dribble down the middle of the park, exchanges crisp passes with Nemec, and nearly gets to the return, six yards out. Gordon smothers. Then Slovakia come again, Hamsik’s shot from the edge of the box blocked by Fletcher, Nemec caught offside as the ball squirts to his feet eight yards from goal. The visitors are suddenly looking very dangerous, ten men or no.
32 min: Now Bannan has a go at swinging one in from the left. There’s nobody in the middle, though, and Hubocan is able to calmly chest the ball down so his keeper Dubravka can gather.
31 min: Now it’s Scotland’s turn to stroke it around a bit. It’s shifted from Tierney on the right to Robertson on the left. Robertson hoicks another of his dangerous balls into the area. Skrtel does very well to twist and smash the ball clear with Griffiths lurking.
29 min: Slovakia might be a man light, but they’re dominating possession right now. Kucka nearly breaks clear down the right, after a long period of patient possession in the middle of the park. Robertson and Berra just about deal with the situation.
27 min: Kucka tries to beat Gordon from the halfway line. Nope. Then Griffiths swings an overhit free kick into the Slovakia box from the right. Dubravka plucks it from the sky easily. The atmosphere is febrile. Both teams are playing on the edge right now.
25 min: Mak takes a while to go, Rattin style, and engages the fourth official in a philosophical back-and-forth on the touchline. All good knockabout fun.
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RED CARD! Mak (Slovakia)
23 min: Mak goes racing into the Scotland box, hopeful of nicking the ball past the out-rushing Gordon. The keeper can’t get to it. Mak goes round Gordon on the left, and falls to the floor. He’s not been touched, and the ref shows Mak a second yellow! Mak is livid, but that was a preposterous dive. Hear Hampden roar!
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21 min: Morrison brings down Hamsik, 35 yards from the Scottish goal. Kucka isn’t particularly pleased about the placement, or something, and is booked for protesting. Hamsik then picks up a yellow for arguing about that. This is preposterous. The free kick comes to nothing, as well. What a farce.
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19 min: Scotland have another penalty shout, though this one’s a bit ambitious, Forrest’s right-wing cross coming off Hubocan’s shoulder and going out for a corner. Hubocan was leaning into the ball a bit, but they’re never getting that. The resulting corner’s half cleared, but Forrest swings a deep cross in from the right. Berra rises and sends a fine header down and up towards the top left. It’s heading in, but Dubravka makes like a salmon and fingertips the ball away from danger. What an effort, and an even better save!
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18 min: Bannan snaps into a brilliant midfield tackle, stealing the ball off Hamsik and sending Scotland on the attack. Mak hacks down Forrest on the Scottish right, and is booked for his trouble. Mak will miss Slovakia’s final game of the group at home to Malta. Griffiths takes the free kick, but the delivery’s not up to much and Slovakia clear.
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16 min: ... which comes to nothing.
15 min: Robertson looks Scotland’s most potent attacking threat in these early stages, bursting with purpose and vibrancy along that left wing from his full-back position. He combines well with Phillips and earns a corner ...
13 min: Slovakia enjoy a little foot-on-ball possession in the midfield, but go nowhere in particular. Hamsik threatens to burst down the right, but Robertson clears his lines with a cultured hoof. The first signs, though, that the visitors are trying to dictate the tempo and dominate possession. They haven’t managed it yet.
11 min: Hampden has collectively made a decision about that non-penalty shout, and they’re making sure the referee knows about it. Some good old-fashioned pantomime booing and whistling. Lovely to hear. All adds to a cracking cup-tie atmosphere.
9 min: Scotland could easily have had a penalty here. Tierney looks to break into the box down the inside-right channel. He’s barged unceremoniously to the floor by Mak, putting a lot of shoulder into it. Was it a fair-and-square challenge? One of those you could make for-and-against cases for. It would have been soft. It was borderline. But you’ve seen them given.
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8 min: Robertson whips a glorious dipping ball into the Slovakia box from a very deep position on the left. It’s dropping towards Griffiths, level with the left-hand post, six yards out. Slovakia’s defence hasn’t a clue how to deal with that delivery. But Griffiths can’t connect with an extended leg. Dubravka gathers.
6 min: Bannan zips down the left and floats a cross into the Slovakia box. Skrtel heads clear under pressure from Phillips. The nervous tension continues to crackle around Hampden, and neither team looks ultra confident when on the back foot.
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4 min: Slovakia will be feeling the heat too, of course. Skrtel plays a loose backpass to Dubravka, who is very nearly closed down by a buzzing Griffiths. Then Durica shanks a simple pass straight out of play. That’ll give the Scots encouragement.
3 min: And now the first corner of the game, Mak earning it for the visitors down the left. It’s hit long towards Nemec, but way too long. Hampden, fearful of the nightmare start, breathes again.
2 min: Hamsik briefly threatens to tear away from Mulgrew, down the middle. He’s turning on the jets. But can’t get control of the ball. Hampden already betrays a little tension, a sharp intake of breath as Slovakia go on the front foot for a second.
And we’re off! The visitors get the ball rolling, and lose it in short order. Gordon launches long, and Griffiths earns a throw down the left. A chance for a few of the Scots to get a first touch of the ball. Pass, pass, pass. The nerves will be jangling.
The teams are out! A rare old atmosphere at Hampden. Scotland are in their change strip, for some unfathomable reason. Still, it’s a striking kit, they’re pretty in 5th Earl of Rosebery pink. Slovakia meanwhile are in their first-choice white, a colour which you’ll notice doesn’t clash with blue. Oh, it’s a sleeve clash apparently; for goodness sake! Both anthems are wonderfully rousing, enjoyed and respected in the manner they should be. The lone piper reverberates around a packed Hampden; neck-hair-bothering stuff. What an atmosphere! What a roar! We’ll be off in a minute!
Pre-match optimism: “WGS has gone for the exact line-up I expected,” begins Andy Franks. “Hoped he wouldn’t. But with about 60 mins to go, expect to see both McGinn and McGregor to come in. Both can score goals. My prediction after 60 mins? Scotland 0 Slovakia 1. End of game: Scotland 2 Slovakia 1.” Here’s hoping you’re spot on. We’d take that, right? But for those of you more comfortable with a distinctly old-school brand of Caledonian bright-side thinking, here’s Simon McMahon: “Ever since Scotland decided to open the Pandora’s Box that is international football 145 years ago next month, all that has remained is hope. Which is why I’ll feel much better at full time, when I can safely luxuriate in the despair.” Enjoy, my friends, enjoy!
Gordon Strachan speaks! “We’re excited, anxious, we want to start the game, enjoy it, and hopefully send people away home happy. Darren Fletcher has been the captain for a while, and has been playing regularly with Stoke. He gives us a bit of height, presence and experience. James Morrison has always been a good player for us, and never lets us down. Barry Bannan, since the season started, has been the best midfield player in the Championship. And on a big pitch, when it’s important we keep the ball, he’s one of the best we’ve got. If the fans get nervous, we’ve got to stay calm. They’re strong, they know what they’re doing, really experienced.”
Slovakia are, of course, chasing the play-off spot themselves. They’re a point and two places ahead of Scotland in the Group F table, and gave Strachan’s side a hard clip round the lug in Trnava a year ago. Slovakia won that one 3-0, two goals courtesy of Robert Mak, the other by Adam Nemec. So they’re heading into this return with confidence brimming, despite that recent reverse in England. Here’s former Rangers star Vladimir Weiss: “This is going to be a totally different game, we know they are very strong at home. We don’t expect an easy game. But hopefully the result will be similar for us. We have had some great results, especially the home game against Slovenia, and we were a bit unlucky against England. But everything is in our hands, and hopefully we will qualify.”
Gordon Strachan makes three changes to the team that beat Malta 2-0 in September, all in the midfield. Scott Brown and Stuart Armstrong are out through injury, so Darren Fletcher and James Morrison return, alongside Barry Bannan who replaces the benched James McArthur. Some representative admin: Fletcher will be wearing the absent Brown’s armband, while Craig Gordon wins his 50th cap.
Slovakia boss Ján Kozák meanwhile makes two changes to the team that went down 2-1 at Wembley a month ago. Ján Greguš and Juraj Kucka take the places of Vladimír Weiss and Milan Škriniar. The former Liverpool defender Martin Škrtel, whose endearing Anfield antics don’t seem so far out these days, captains the side, with Marek Hamšík earning his 100th cap.
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Tonight's teams
Scotland: Gordon, Berra, Mulgrew, Robertson, Tierney, Morrison, Darren Fletcher, Bannan, Forrest, Griffiths, Phillips.
Subs: Allan McGregor, Anya, McGinn, Snodgrass, McArthur, Steven Fletcher, Hanley, Martin, Fraser, Cooper, Callum McGregor, Archer.
Slovakia: Dubravka, Pekarik, Skrtel, Durica, Hubocan, Kucka, Gregus, Lobotka, Mak, Hamsik, Nemec.
Subs: Kozacik, Gyomber, Weiss, Duda, Mihalik, Rusnak, Hrosovsky, Mazan, Sabo, Stetina, Polacek.
Referee: Milorad Mazic (Serbia).
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Welcome to Hampden Park ...
... where Scotland must beat Slovakia tonight if they’re to maintain any chance of making the play-offs for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. They’ll be without two influential figures in Scott Brown and Stuart Armstrong; by comparison, their opponents are able to call on the previously poorly Marek Hamšík. Nevertheless, here comes Hope, jauntily heaving into view like Bod. Oh help.
Scotland historically have a complex relationship with their dreams and desires, so this could be a rocky ride, with no guarantee of a happy ending. But we knew what we were signing up for years and years ago, it’s too late now. Buckle in, and fingers crossed. It could be exhilarating, heartbreaking or bittersweet. Perhaps all three. It’s on!
Kick off: 7.45pm BST.
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