FOOTBALL Live

Wednesday April 1, 2009 Finished Hampden Park

2 - 1

Scotland

  • McCormack 39’
  • Fletcher 65’

Iceland

  • Sigurdsson 54’

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  1. Scotland keep hopes alive

    Scotland keep hopes alive

    Scotland reignited their World Cup qualifying hopes after a slender 2-1 victory over Iceland in their crucial Group 9 clash at Hampden Park. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Scotland
    • Iceland
    • 90+3' That's it, full-time at Hampden Park and Scotland have done it! George Burley's side have won this crucial World Cup qualifier 2-1 against Iceland! Thanks for joining us.
    • 90+2' Another almighty scramble inside the Scotland box goes unpunished as the home side throw bodies on the line to deny the visitors - the Scotland defence has been magnificent on the most part.
    • 90' Gavin Rae replaces James Morrison as we move into stoppage-time, with three minutes to be added.
    • 88' Fine goalkeeping from Craig Gordon denies Iceland, as Gary Naysmith dives on a loose ball inside his six-yard box, before the Sunderland man produced a double-save from Heidar Helguson.
    • 86' Burley and Terry Butcher look to be preparing further substitutions as their weary side continue to press the visitors, who are currently parked inside the hosts' half.
    • 84' Scotland are being urged on by a nervous Hampden Park, who are anxiously cheering every pass from their side, who are finding possession hard to come by at the moment.
    • 82' Glorious chance for James Morrison, who is put through by Darren Fletcher, but the winger drags his shot narrowly wide of the far post after evading his marker.
    • 80' Now Iceland take off their goalscorer Ingridi Sigurdsson, with Armann Bjornsson coming on, as the match gets increasingly fragmented.
    • 78' Indeed, Teale is on with Steven Fletcher, who looks like he could be the match-winner, coming off in his place.
    • 76' Gary Teale is warming up vigorously and looks to be stripping off and ready to come on to provide some fresh legs in the Scotland midfield.
    • 74' Eidur Gudjohnsen looks to be finally getting into the game for Iceland, although he has been superbly contained by the Scotland defence thus far.
    • 72' It was a surprising decision as Aron Gunnarsson, besides looking dangerous with his long throw-ins, had given Scott Brown a frustrating evening in midfield.
    • 70' McCormack continues to buzz around tirelessly for Scotland, as Iceland replace Aron Gunnarsson with Eggert Jonsson.
    • 67' Miller and Fletcher are combining much better in attack for Scotland following the second goal after both looking quiet earlier on.
    • 65' GOAL!!! Steven Fletcher regains Scotland's lead! Stephen McManus does brilliantly to head Ross McCormack's corner back across the box to Fletcher, who powers his header into the net!
    • 62' McCormack has two dangerous free-kicks outside the Iceland box in a matter of minutes, but both efforts hardly test Gunnleifsson.
    • 60' Scott Brown does well to win a free kick inside the Iceland half with a strong run which was halted by Aron Gunnarsson - the feisty Coventry midfielder.
    • 57' Alan McManus is on the touchline receiving treatment for a cut eye as play continues through James Morrison down the right - Burley is screaming at his players to show more urgency.
    • 55' GOAL!!! Disaster for Scotland as Palmi Palmason is allowed to scamper through into the area and produce a terrific shot which strikes Gordon's crossbar, before Indridi Sigurdsson takes home the rebound to level the scores.
    • 54' Aron Gunnarsson and Scott Brown clash in the middle of the pitch, but neither player moans about it in a good old fashioned manner.
    • 52' Positive goalkeeping by Craig Gordon releases McCormack down the left with a huge throw out to the winger, but he is eventually tackled by Eiriksson.
    • 50' Another strong run from Hutton finds the defender inside the Iceland box, and the Spurs player brings a smart stop from Gunnleifsson down to his right, parrying the ball wide.
    • 48' Hutton again looks bright for Scotland down the right and he forces his way down the wing before crossing for Fletcher, who can't quite get a clean contact.
    • 46' We're back underway at Hampden Park, and no changes have been made by either manager.
    • 45+1' The half-time whistle goes at Hampden Park to a roar of approval from the home fans, as Scotland lead 1-0 thanks to Ross McCormack's 39th-minute strike.
    • 45' Arnor Smarason is the first name into the referee's book after a reckless challenge on Scott Brown inside the Scotland half - it was pretty pointless. One minute to be added...
    • 43' Smarason gets in down the left once more, but Caldwell does well to scramble across and clear from under the nose of Craig Gordon.
    • 41' George Burley is screaming at his defenders to step up and deny the Icelanders space inside their half, with the manager getting increasingly animated on the touchline.
    • 39' GOAL!!! Ross McCormack breaks the deadlock for Scotland! Superb wingplay by Alan Hutton beats Danielsson down the right before crossing, with Steven Fletcher wisely letting the ball run out to McCormack, who shoots powerfully in off the crossbar!
    • 38' Kenny Miller finds himself inside the box but dallies perhaps too long, instead of taking a shot first-time, and he is tackled just as he was about to let fire - decent opportunity.
    • 36' The visitors are dominating the play now as Gudjohnsen, who has been very quiet so far in this game, bustles down the left and beats Hutton, but can't find a white shirt with his cross.
    • 34' McManus makes an impeccably-timed interception at the other end, with Palmi Palmason foraging down the left and crossing in for Eidur Gudjohnsen.
    • 33' Kenny Miller, who has been largely subdued in this first half, almost finds himself through on goal from the left, but for a well-timed interception from Indridi Sigurdsson.
    • 31' The game has a five-minute period of quite scrappy play in midfield, with neither side able to keep possession and get the ball out wide.
    • 28' Arnor Smarason whips in a devilish cross from the right, forcing Alan Hutton to back-pedal frantically at the back post to head clear with Heidar Helguson lurking behind him.
    • 26' Danielsson is very fortunate not to be booked for a cynical tug of Darren Fletcher's shirt, as the midfielder looked to be streaking away from him down the right wing.
    • 24' The hosts are finding their way once more by passing the ball around in their half - pretty aimless stuff, but Burley loves patient passing, so he will be pleased.
    • 22' James Morrison jinks his way to the byline before being outwitted by Eiriksson as he tried to whip in a cross - Scotland have had their early invention blunted slightly in the last 10 minutes.
    • 20' McCormack picks the ball up dangerously inside the Iceland half and dribbles straight down the middle of the pitch, before lashing a wild shot miles over the bar - he fancies it tonight!
    • 17' The first Aron Gunnarsson long-throw comes into the Scotland box, but unlike many Championship defences this season, Caldwell and McManus clear the danger effectively.
    • 15' Kenny Miller almost times his run to perfection, before drifting fractionally offside as Scott Brown tries to slip him in.
    • 13' Gretar Steinsson shows what he has been doing to good effect all season for Bolton: powering his way down the right wing from the back and getting a testing cross into the box, only there was no Icelandic Kevin Davies to meet it.
    • 11' Steven Fletcher almost finds a yard of space inside the Iceland box, as James Morrison cuts the ball back to him from the right, but the forward's shot is deflected wide.
    • 9' McCormack shows his burgeoning confidence in a Scotland shirt, with a highly ambitious curling effort from the edge of the penalty area, but it did not trouble Gunniefsson.
    • 7' A maruading run by Alan Hutton is ended by a challenge from the retreating Aron Gunnarsson inside the area, which prompts tentative appeals from a few Scotland players, but the referee is not convinced.
    • 5' Stephen McManus, the stand-in captain for the evening, makes a towering header as the home side continue to dominate possession, with Iceland unable to keep the ball in their opponent's half.
    • 3' It's all Scotland so far as Iceland keeper Gunniefsson is called into sharp action to intercept Darren Fletcher's through ball intended for Steven Fletcher.
    • 1' We're underway at Hampden Park and Ross McCormack surges down the left and wins a corner straight away for the hosts.
    • - Flower of Scotland is left resounding around the ground as George Burley looks on anxiously as his side look to make a statement in Group 9.
    • - Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor are both named on the bench as George Burley makes some tough decisions for Scotland's crucial World Cup qualifier against Iceland, as the players march out of the tunnel at Hampden Park to a fervent atmosphere.

  • Team Stats

    Scotland Stats Iceland
    55% Possession 44%
    17 Shots 11
    7 Shots on target 3
    2 Saves 1
    6 Corners 8
    16 Fouls 9
    5 Offsides 2
    0 Yellow cards 1
    0 Red cards 0
    11 Tackles 18
    293 Accurate passes 206
    56 Bad passes 39

  • Player Stats

    G =
    Goals
    S =
    Shots
    SoT =
    Shot on Target
    F =
    Fouls
    FW =
    Fouls Won
    O =
    Offsides
    A =
    Assists
    AP =
    Accurate Passes
    BP =
    Bad Passes
    T =
    Tackles
    • Scotland
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      1 Craig Gordon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 3 0
      3 Gary Naysmith 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 34 16 1
      2 Alan Hutton 0 2 1 0 4 0 1 23 0 0
      5 Gary Caldwell 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 42 0 1
      4 Stephen McManus 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 39 4 0
      8 Scott Brown 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 33 9 3
      6 James Morrison 0 4 1 0 1 0 0 23 3 1
      10 Steven Fletcher 1 4 1 0 1 2 0 8 1 1
      7 Darren Fletcher 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 48 5 2
      11 Ross McCormack 1 5 3 1 2 0 0 23 10 1
      9 Kenny Miller 0 1 1 0 3 3 0 14 4 0
      16 Gavin Rae 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      18 Steven Whittaker 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      15 Barry Ferguson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      17 David Clarkson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      14 Christophe Berra 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      13 Gary Teale 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1
      12 Allan McGregor 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    • Iceland
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      1 Gunnleifur Gunnleifsson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 2 0
      3 Bjarni Eiríksson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 28 6 3
      6 Grétar Steinsson 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 26 0 3
      5 Indridi Sigurdsson 1 1 1 3 0 0 0 14 8 0
      4 Kristjan Sigurdsson 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 15 2 2
      7 Hermann Hreidarsson 0 1 1 3 1 0 0 15 1 1
      11 Pálmi Pálmason 0 2 0 1 3 0 0 17 1 0
      2 Helgi Danielsson 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 24 6 5
      8 Aron Gunnarsson 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 17 1 3
      10 Arnar Smárason 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 17 3 0
      9 Eidur Gudjohnsen 0 2 0 0 2 1 0 18 7 1
      12 Arni Gauter Arason 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      13 Johann Berg Gudmundsson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      18 Armann Björnsson 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0
      14 Ragnar Sigurdsson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      17 Theodor Bjarnason 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      16 Veigar Gunnarsson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      15 Eggert Jónsson 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 7 2 0

  • Summary

    • 88' Fine goalkeeping from Craig Gordon denies Iceland, as Gary Naysmith dives on a loose ball inside his six-yard box, before the Sunderland man produced a double-save from Heidar Helguson.
    • 82' Glorious chance for James Morrison, who is put through by Darren Fletcher, but the winger drags his shot narrowly wide of the far post after evading his marker.
    • 65' GOAL!!! Steven Fletcher regains Scotland's lead! Stephen McManus does brilliantly to head Ross McCormack's corner back across the box to Fletcher, who powers his header into the net!
    • 55' GOAL!!! Disaster for Scotland as Palmi Palmason is allowed to scamper through into the area and produce a terrific shot which strikes Gordon's crossbar, before Indridi Sigurdsson takes home the rebound to level the scores.
    • 50' Another strong run from Hutton finds the defender inside the Iceland box, and the Spurs player brings a smart stop from Gunnleifsson down to his right, parrying the ball wide.
    • 39' GOAL!!! Ross McCormack breaks the deadlock for Scotland! Superb wingplay by Alan Hutton beats Danielsson down the right before crossing, with Steven Fletcher wisely letting the ball run out to McCormack, who shoots powerfully in off the crossbar!
    • 38' Kenny Miller finds himself inside the box but dallies perhaps too long, instead of taking a shot first-time, and he is tackled just as he was about to let fire - decent opportunity.
    • 34' McManus makes an impeccably-timed interception at the other end, with Palmi Palmason foraging down the left and crossing in for Eidur Gudjohnsen.
    • 28' Arnor Smarason whips in a devilish cross from the right, forcing Alan Hutton to back-pedal frantically at the back post to head clear with Heidar Helguson lurking behind him.
    • 9' McCormack shows his burgeoning confidence in a Scotland shirt, with a highly ambitious curling effort from the edge of the penalty area, but it did not trouble Gunniefsson.
    • 7' A maruading run by Alan Hutton is ended by a challenge from the retreating Aron Gunnarsson inside the area, which prompts tentative appeals from a few Scotland players, but the referee is not convinced.
    • - Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor are both named on the bench as George Burley makes some tough decisions for Scotland's crucial World Cup qualifier against Iceland, as the players march out of the tunnel at Hampden Park to a fervent atmosphere.

Live Team Line-Up

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