Ross McCormack believes Aberdeen's pitch is now just as bad as the much-maligned surface at Motherwell he has been playing on this season.McCormack was part of the Scottish side that recorded an impressive 2-1 victory over Finland on terrible terrain at Pittodrie.

The problems caused by Aberdeen's threadbare surface may not be as severe as at Fir Park, where Motherwell and their tenants Gretna have been forced to endure numerous postponements due to a combination of heavy rainfall and poor drainage.

But Motherwell forward McCormack insists it is just as difficult to play at Pittodrie as on his club's own patch.

He explained: "To be honest that pitch is probably just as bad as Motherwell's one.

"But you've still got to make the most of it and get the ball down and pass it.

"It is quite hard to pass on and you can see there are a few bobbles going about.

"I thought both teams dealt with it quite well."

McCormack's most notable moment of the game came when he flighted an accurate free-kick into the path of Kevin McDonald, who controlled the ball before lashing a shot high into the net to score the winner with just eight minutes remaining.

Scotland had taken the lead when Steven Naismith converted a well-worked free-kick with the aid of a deflection, only for Kasper Hamalainen to equalise with a brilliant clipped effort five minutes before the interval.

But McCormack then created the chance which McDonald clinically dispatched and the former Rangers player was not surprised his best pass came from a set-piece.

He said: "You know when its a dead ball it's not going to move so you can strike it a bit better.

"But I am just delighted we got the three points and that puts us in a good position."

The qualification process for next year's European Under-21 Championships saw nations divided into 10 groups, with the winners and four best runners-up advancing to a set of play-offs. From there, seven countries will join hosts Sweden in the finals.

Even with this crucial victory Scotland still occupy third place in Group Six, but are now just five points behind the table-topping Finns - with a game in hand.

That has left McCormack maintaining there is plenty still to be positive about.

He added: "We have a game in hand and if we win that, we go to two points behind Finland.

"If we don't make it through in first place then there may be a chance we can get one of the four best runner-up spots.

"So it is still all there to play for."

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