Scotland welcomed Cyprus to Hampden Park on Saturday as part of their EURO2024 qualifying campaign. Three points would be extremely beneficial to Steve Clarke’s side, who look to build momentum ahead of Tuesday’s clash with Spain.
SCO: Gunn; Tierney, Hanley, Porteous; Robertson, McGregor, Jack, Hickey; Armstrong, McGinn; Adams
CYP: Demetriou; Roberge, Gogic, Kousoulos; Ioannou, Laifis, Artymatas, Kyriakou, Antoniou; Kastanos; Pittas
Brentford’s Aaron Hickey weaved into the box early on and found enough space to unleash a shot on goal – though Demetris Demetriou was able to push his powerful strike wide of the post, keeping the scores level.
Scotland took the lead in the 21st minute through John McGinn – who fired home at the back post from Andrew Robertson’s deflected cross. McGinn’s finish was simple enough, and the goal stood despite an offside check against Robertson in the buildup.
Having bagged the opener, John McGinn sought to add an assist to his tally too, playing in Che Adams just before the break. The Southampton striker’s shot was on target, but Demetriou made a great save and sent the ball behind for a corner. Scotland failed to make anything of it, though they still headed into half-time with a comfortable 1-0 lead over a Cyprus side that failed to really threaten Angus Gunn between the sticks.
Andrew Robertson looked to get his second assist of the game with 65 minutes played, as he fired a low cross across the face of the goal in an attempt to find Aaron Hickey – but the Liverpool left-back’s ball trickled out for a goal-kick after he mis-hit it.
Scott McTominay – who replaced Stuart Armstrong in the 67th minute – doubled Scotland’s lead in the dying minutes of the game, finding the top-left corner after Lyndon Dykes nodded Ryan Christie’s cross towards the Manchester United midfielder.
At this point, Scotland were cruising to victory – but three minutes into injury time, McTominay found the back of the net once again to send Steve Clarke’s side 3-0 up. Robertson registered his second assist of the match, but it’ll be McTominay who steals the spotlight after a fabulous substitute appearance.
A red card for Nicholas Ioannou in the 95th minute didn’t change much for Cyprus – who now look forward to a friendly against Armenia on Tuesday. Scotland welcome Spain to Hampden Park on the same day, though that game holds much more importance as it is yet another EURO2024 qualifier.
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