Scotland can consider themselves extremely fortunate
to have reached the EURO 2004 Play-Offs courtesy of a
narrow, and ill-deserved, 1-0 win over mighty
Lithuania at Hampden Park.
An afternoon of desperate struggle and dire
entertainment was finally won with a goal by
substitute Darren Fletcher – his first in senior
football, but the fledgling Baltic state could
certainly consider themselves unfortunate not to take
something from the game.
Former Ranger Barry Ferguson captained the Scots, with
former Ibrox teammates Steven Pressley and Kenny
Miller for company.
With over 50,000 in attendance at a packed arena in
Mount Florida, the stage seemed set for an enthralling
afternoon, but the opening stages were played out in
midfield with little threat to either goal.
Play became increasingly scrappy as the half wore on
with Scotland failing to direct any efforts on target
throughout the opening forty-five minutes.
Indeed it took Rab Douglas to keep the scoresheet
blank in 35 minutes when he beat out Nerijus Barasa’s
eighteen-yard drive from an Edgaras Jankauskas cross.
Scotland restarted in more determined mood – Stephen
Crawford’s header from a Jamie McFadden corner being
cleared off the line by Rolandas Dziaukstas, but
within sixty seconds Douglas again was tested when he
held Jankauskas’ shot from a Robertas Poskus cutback.
The visitors were becoming more and more assertive as
they began to believe that they could achieve the
greatest result in their brief and modest history.
Indeed Poskus should have given the Lithuanians the
opener on the hour when a long throw by Ignas Dedura
broke to him, but his weak header was directed too
close to Douglas.
An increasingly desperate Berti Vogts threw on both
Don Hutchison and Darren Fletcher in 64 minutes,
replacing Colin Cameron and Kenny Miller, and it was
the Manchester United youngster who struck gold five
minutes later when he found the net with a shot from
the edge of the box from a Gary Naysmith cutback.
The relief inside Hampden was tangible – and Scotland
– fortunate to have snatched the lead – seldom looked
in danger of surrendering it.
Indeed it might have been 2-0 in 81 minutes when
Hutchison scooped a Fletcher cross over the bar from
close range.
The final whistle was greeted with such joyous scenes
that one would have thought the European Championship
itself had been secured, instead of a Play-Off
position. As it is, one shudders at the thought of
what opposition Scotland might face were they to
actually qualify for EURO 2004 in Portugal.
Germany were confirmed as winners of Group Five with a
2-0 win over Iceland in Hamburg.
SCOTLAND Douglas; McNamara, Naysmith; Dailly,
Pressley, Ferguson; Rae, Cameron (Fletcher 64), Miller
(Hutchison 64), Crawford, McFadden (G. Alexander 89)
UNUSED SUBS N. Alexander, Webster, Wilkie, Harper
LITHUANIA Stauce; Dziaukstas, Dedura; Barasa,
Regelskis (Beniusis 85), Zvirgzdauskas; Vencevicius
(Maciulevicius 79), Baravicius (Cesnauskis 45),
Jankauskas, Razanauskas, Poskus
UNUSED SUBS Zutautas, Alunderis, Buitkus, Skerla
REFEREE Claude Colombo (France)