International Friendly: Scotland eventually triumph against Gibraltar
Gibraltar 0 - 2 Scotland
With the squad enduring a seven-game winless streak and grappling with injuries, it took Scotland until the 58th minute to break the deadlock against the world’s 203rd ranked team.
Ryan Christie finally opened the scoring, lashing the ball home just before the hour mark in frustration. Che Adams added a decisive second goal late on, securing a much-needed, if uninspiring, win in Portugal.
The 2,000 travelling Scotland fans shouldn’t have had to wait so long for their team to score, given the volume of chances created against their lowly opponents.
Grant Hanley and James Forrest, in particular, squandered golden opportunities, while Christie and Kenny McLean also could have done better inside the box.
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By half-time, Scotland had registered 20 shots, most from inside the penalty area, but hit the target only twice.
Gibraltar, meanwhile, managed to test Zander Clark, albeit weakly, when Ethan Britto broke through the Scotland defence with their only first-half attempt.
The game didn’t exactly come to life after the break, but Christie eventually smashed in from close range after Andy Robertson's cross caused confusion.Adams then volleyed in after being picked out at the back post by John McGinn in the closing minutes.
You can watch the highlights in the video below
The footage is from the Scotland National Team YouTube account
What are the fans saying?
Katie, a Scotland fan, said: "To be honest, this match was never likely to offer much excitement given the context. Jt featured a squad with some players lacking match fitness and others worried about getting injured so close to the tournament."
Sean, another Scotland fan, added; "Ever since we qualified for Euro 2024, it feels like momentum has stalled and injury issues have dogged our build-up. Injuries to the likes Aaron Hickey and Nathan Patterson, and midfielder Lewis Ferguson has been compounded by Dykes' training ground injury. Not ideal preparation for the tournament."
Frankie has watched the highlights and had some additional views about the match. She said: "I don't think it was a bad performance. We could have been 3-0 up at half-time, and the players need to be more clinical. Clearly something for the manager to work going forward."
