- Internationals
- 6 February 2013, 7:45pm
- Pittodrie
Scotland | v | Estonia |
1
| 0 |
live commentary
93 mins:All over in Aberdeen as Scotland win their first game under Gordon Strachan thanks to a first half effort from Charlie Mulgrew. A few encouraging signs for the Scots in this one and they will certainly have garnered plenty of confidence from their performance
92 mins:Scotland finishing strongly as Snodgrass bends and enticing ball in but Miller just fails to get on the end of the delivery
90 mins:Scotland seemed to have found something in these closing moments with first Jordan Rhodes going close before once again Robert Snodgrass tries his luck but neither can find the target
89 mins:Nice effort by Kris Commons as the substitute cuts inside and fires towards the goal with his left foot but his effort sails just wide
88 mins:Poor clearance by Allan McGregor, scuffing the ball Enar Jääger but the number 17 fires way over
86 mins:The game has lost all momentum in the last few minutes and both sides seem to have accepted the result
85 mins:Good run through by Rhodes who plays a nice ball over but Kenny Miller strays just offside
83 mins:A rare bit of action for Allan McGregor as a ball is played into his area but he easily collects on the edge of his area
80 mins:Robert Snodgrass has really impressed since coming on and goes close with a well struck free-kick but again it goes just over
78 mins:The game seems to have lost its way in the last few minutes but with most of the substitutions out of the way, the teams will be looking to push on in the final 10 minutes or so
75 mins:Gordon Strachan gives another player a chance as Kris Commons comes on for Steven Naismith
73 mins:Another change for Estonia as Henrik Ojamaa is replaced by Gert Kams
72 mins:Mulgrew again shows just how good his left foot is as he drives a strong effort goalwards and his effort is well saved by Sergei Pareiko
71 mins:Good chance for Estonia as the ball is played in low from a free-kick and in the end Allan McGregor does well to collect
69 mins:Another change for the Scots with Kenny Miller coming on for Steven Fletcher in attack
66 mins:The game has become a bit disjointed in the last few minutes but Scotland's extra quality is undoubted as Steven Naismith turns well to find some space but his effort is always rising over the bar
64 mins:More changes for Scotland as Scott Brown and Charlie Adam are replaced in the midfield by James McArthur and James Morrison
63 mins:Confusion in the Scotland box as Allan McGregor and Christophe Berra fail to communicate after good work down the right but they eventually get it clear
61 mins:More changes for Estonia as Ats Purje comes on for Sander Puri while Tarmo Kink is replaced by Siim Luts
60 mins:Scotland really enjoying themselves and after a few difficult years, they seem to be relishing the chance to move the ball around in midfield
57 mins:Second yellow for Estonia as Tarmo Kink goes into the book for a handball following a tussle with Alan Hutton
55 mins:Scotland again dominating possession and seem to be playing with a lot more freedom under their new boss
52 mins:Snodgrass almost finds his way onto the scoresheet, coming in at the back post but he can't quite manage to get onto a cross from Steven Naismith
50 mins:First card of the game goes to Igor Morozov for unsporting behaviour
49 mins:Another change for Scotland as the hardworking Chris Burke is replaced by Robert Snodgrass
48 mins:Rhodes almost immediately into the action but he strays just offside and the play breaks down
46 mins:Changes for both teams as Jordan Rhodes comes on for Shaun Maloney for Scotland while Andres Oper is replaced by Jarmo Ahjupera for Estonia
46 mins:We're back under way at Pittodrie for what promises to be an entertaining 45 minutes of football
45 mins:Half time in Aberdeen and Scotland currently lead 1-0 thanks to Charlie Mulgrew's 39th minute strike. The Scots have dominated possession so far but with Estonia looking good on the break, it looks like it could be an exciting second half.
44 mins:Scotland really enjoying themselves now, moving the ball really well with Adam and Brown dominating the middle of the park
41 mins:Scotland really in charge now, as Mulgrew curls a wonderful corner in and Sergei Pareiko almost gives them another with some poor goalkeeping and he's lucky that his defenders are there to save his blushes
39 mins:Scotland take the lead as Charlie Adam plays a clever free-kick into Charlie Mulgrew who fires home. Looked for all the world as if he was going to either shoot or cross there and in the end it was wonderful invention by the midfielder
38 mins:Lovely dribbling from Shaun Maloney there as he floats towards the goal and is fouled by a defender to give his side a good opportunity on the edge of the area
35 mins:Another long-range effort from the visitors as this time Sander Puri finds some space following an error by Charlie Mulgrew but he fails to find the target
32 mins:Estonia look a real threat on the break as Tarmo Kink surges goalwards but the threat is well dealt with by Allan McGregor. Scotland certainly need to stay on their guard here as their opponants look good on the counter-attack
30 mins:Great work by Hutton and Burke down the right and the little winger fires the ball in but Steven Naismith fails to time his run and the chance goes begging
27 mins: Taijo Teniste again tries his luck from the edge of the area but he fails to find the target this time, firing high over the bar
26 mins:Scotland still dominating proceedings but seem to be lacking some pace in attack and that maybe something the coaching staff look to address in the second half
23 mins:The home side again come forward and Shaun Maloney tries his luck but his effort is well dealt with by Sergei Pareiko and cleared away by the defence
21 mins:Good chance for Scotland as Steven Fletcher rises at the back post , easily outjumping his defender but the ball goes just over the target
19 mins:Scotland still moving the ball nicely and it certainly looks like Gordon Strachan has had a positive influence on the side during his short time in the hotseat
16 mins:Ball well won by Brown in the midfield but pass just evades the run of Hutton. The Mallorca newboy has looked very bright down the right so far
14 mins:Scotland seem to have weathered the storm here as after a spell of Estonian possession, the likes of Scott Brown and Charlie Adam are starting to put their foot on the ball
11 mins:Good effort for Estonia, as Taijo Teniste cuts inside and fires a fierce shot goalwards which is well saved by Allan McGregor
9 mins:Encouraging signs for Scotland so far, with them looking to play out from the back and trying to attack their opponents whenever possible
7 mins:Another effort for Scotland as Charlie Adam fires goalwards but his effort is well blocked by an Estonian defender
4 mins:First chance for Scotland goes to the Scots as the ball falls to Shaun Maloney and he really should have done better as he fails to find the target
3 mins:First foray forward by Scotland, with Alan Hutton coming forward down the right, linking-up nicely with Chris Burke and forcing a corner
We've kicked-off in Aberdeen and Scotland are currently moving the ball around nicely in their own half
3 mins:The game is an extremely significant one for the home side as it will be Gordon Strachan's first game in charge, as well as the first match that Scott Brown has officially led the team
2 mins:With neither team likely to qualify for the 2014 World Cup, both manager's will be looking to blood some new talent as they look to the future
1 mins:Well welcome along to coverage of this international friendly between Scotland and Estonia.
- Internationals
- 6 February 2013, 7:45pm
- Pittodrie
| Scotland | v | Estonia |
1
| 0 |
match report
Gordon Strachan's reign as Scotland manager started in encouraging style with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Estonia at Pittodrie on Wednesday.
Celtic's Charlie Mulgrew struck in the first half, sweeping a Charlie Adam free-kick home from close range.
Scotland were good value for the win, with substitute Jordan Rhodes going close in the second half.
The new Scotland manager made eight changes to the side that caretaker Billy Stark had named for the win over Luxembourg in November.
Estonia allowed Scotland to dictate the opening stages, giving the hosts confidence despite the tricky playing surface. Shaun Maloney's close-range volley forced Sergei Pareiko into an early save after the Estonia goalkeeper had failed to deal with a corner, serving notice that set-pieces could be productive.
Chris Burke, back in the national side for the first time since 2006, tormented Taijo Teniste on the right flank, but it was the Estonian who served notice that the visitors were not at Pittodrie just to make up the numbers, forcing Allan McGregor to push a shot from distance over the bar.
Having weathered Scottish pressure, Estonia gradually applied themselves in attack with a teasing cross from Henrik Ojamaa of Motherwell deserving better than to skim across the face of the goal.
Teniste lashed another shot over the bar, but at the other end Steven Fletcher had nodded a looping Burke cross over before Maloney forced a save.
Estonian attacks were rare, but McGregor was alert enough to dive at Tarmo Kink's feet after a lifted ball from Konstantin Vassiljev had foxed the Scottish defence.
With a tough pitch and determined opponents to deal with, set-pieces looked like they would be the main goal threat for Scotland, and so it proved with six minutes to the break.
Adam whipped in a low free-kick from the left, which Mulgrew drove home first-time from around 12 yards out, having shaken off the Estonian defence. The Celtic left-back, who left Parkhead while Strachan was in charge of the Bhoys, was delighted with his first international goal.
Strachan made a raft of substitutions in the second half to assess some of his other options with Wales and Serbia lurking in the World Cup qualifiers next month. Of his replacements, Rhodes in particular looked sharp, firing over from the edge of the box and in the 64th minute a similar effort from Steven Naismith also sailed over.
Mulgrew looked keen to double his tally and in the 71st minute his powerful drive from 25 yards was tipped over by Pareiko.
The game stuttered in a disjointed way into its final stages, with Estonia enjoying their best spell in the final quarter. Substitute Gert Kams fired wide of the target late on to cause some concern in the face of Scotland's still narrow lead.
But the Scots held on to give hope ahead of March's tougher tests in the unlikely pursuit of qualification for Brazil in 2014.
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