Scotland under 19s 2-0 Austria under 19s

Scotland under 20s 3-1 Austria under 20s 

Two wins for Scotland’s youth football teams on a balmy May evening in Glasgow should have garnered a bigger reaction, because they deserve more.  Although there were several potential internationals on show, only a few hundred turned up to watch the young pretenders take a positive step towards what will hopefully be highly productive international tournaments this summer. 

Playing first in the double-header, the younger team were warming up for their European Under 19 Championship qualifiers, kicking off later this month with matches against Turkey, Georgia and Portugal on Tayside.  Should they qualify, the finals will be hosted in Austria in July.  The evening was also a step in the right direction for the 20s, who, also in July, travel to Canada to compete in the Under 20 World Cup.

Thankfully, the significance of the night was in who was there, not how many.  With Alex McLeish in attendance, Scotland’s young hopefuls had everything to play for in an event that could otherwise could have yielded a low intensity yawn-fest from kick off in match one to full time in match two.  That’s a long night for those who bothered to turn up.

But what the lucky few actually got were pleasing performances, and two comfortable wins.  Austria aren’t exactly France or Italy, but it is still a significant victory for Scotland over a nation with a reasonable footballing pedigree.  The Austrian teenagers represented clubs such as 1860 Munich, Bayern Munich and Rapid Vienna.  And from the outset it seemed that this same pedigree could prove to be the undoing of the Scots.

In both the 19s and the 20s matches, the first ten minutes saw a stark contrast in footballing styles.  The Austrians, stronger in stature and more skilful in execution than their opposition, knocked the ball around the back four and deep midfield with the ease expected of a full international side, seeking to craft out opportunities for their more attack minded players.

Scotland, meanwhile, chose the classic British option: If in doubt, get it out.  Long balls, lobs, punts, hit-and-hopes, whatever they are called, Scotland tried them in abundance.  It looked worrying.  They looked scared to play the ball and chose the safer option of trying to dominate territory rather than possession. 

However, the plan paid off.  While the Austrians were frolicking with flicks and tricks, the direct approach from the Scots earned a greater profit.  The game-plan gave Scotland the opportunity to play an aggressive, fast paced game, chasing down every ball and pressurising their more sophisticated opponents. 

In the under 19s game this style of play led to both goals in the first period.  First, from a free kick deep in the Austrian half, Scotland’s bruisers put the opposition defence under pressure when the ball was flung in, and the attempted clearance trickled nicely onto the right boot of Gretna’s Fraser McLaren, and he blasted home from 20 yards after just nine minutes. 

And before long it was two, this time via the long ball route.  Aberdeen’s Chris Maguire may have been dwarfed by his opposition centre-half, but when it came to chasing down a ball over the top, there was only going to be one winner, and he sprinted clear before sliding the ball stylishly past the out-rushing keeper. 

Scotland seem to be onto something good here.  Much like their more senior and illustrious counterparts in the big leagues, the youth players have the same plucky, abrasive and interminable spirit, but they also have the confidence and clinical finishing to go with it, which makes them an altogether tougher nut to crack.

The Under 20s proved this to be true also.  The step up between 19s and 20s may seem minimal to the untrained eye, but in terms of size and pace, there is a depth of difference.  Boys and men, as the saying goes, certainly in this case, and what a difference a year makes.  What this highlights is the fact that even between the ages of 18 and 19, there is still much player development being done, something that the SFA and its associated clubs may not always receive credit for.

But, even with the increase in tempo and physicality, it was Scotland’s smaller, more skilful players who had the most significant effect on proceedings, particularly John Collins’ Hibernian duo of Steven Fletcher and Ross Campbell, Mark Reynolds of Motherwell and Livingston’s Graham Dorrans.  Although more sinew and wire than bulk and muscle in comparison to the defenders charged with containing them, their game provided not only silky link play, but a hard edge which the Austrians found difficult to deal with.

And, ultimately, it was their contribution which won the match, Campbell’s deceptive clip over the keeper from wide right giving the Scots the lead.  It was to prove a happy 60 seconds for the scouting Alex McLeish, as from the restart he saw Celtic goalkeeper Scott Fox make the save of the night, parrying off a close range volley from Martin Dollinger.

Before Campbell’s penalty gave Scotland their third and sealed the win, Reynolds’ showed that Scotland have guile in the midfield, as he twisted himself into space before finishing well.

So what do the evening’s performances prove?  Well, they mock two footballing stereotypes, both to the benefit of Scotland.  First, bigger isn’t always better.  The modern athlete may be growing in size, but in this case, it paid no dividends for the Austrians fielding a more physically developed side.  Scotland’s pocket rockets gave as good as they got in the shoulder charging department.

Second, and perhaps most significantly, we’re not Brazil, we’re not Arsenal; we’re Scotland.  And we play football our way, and it works.  We don’t have Kaka or Thierry Henry, so a 35 pass goal isn’t really an option.  In this case, the direct approach proved to be most effective.

RO

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Thanks to Kenny Kemp (contributing reporter) and Chris Teasdale (photographer)