Mark Wotte: Learning curve for Scotland after TV nightmare
By Stephen Temlett:Scotland’s night in front of the Sky cameras turned into a telly nightmare after they were beaten 2-1 by Northern Ireland in the Victory Shield.
Scotland took the lead thanks to a Greg Kiltie header after only five minutes. He could have doubled the advantage ten minutes later had it not been for a fine stop by Cliftonville keeper Brett Long.
Northern Ireland pulled a goal back after 23 minutes courtesy of Scott Whiteside. Ben Kennedy’s cross found the big man who headed the visitors level.
On the stroke of half time Northern Ireland took the lead in comical fashion. The ball wasn’t cleared by either McCrorie or Michael Kelly and Stephen Fallon fired Northern Ireland into a harsh lead.
That was to be the decisive action in a game where chances were created but not finished, but Wotte insists that it’s the learning curve that is more important than the result.
Northern Ireland pulled a goal back after 23 minutes courtesy of Scott Whiteside. Ben Kennedy’s cross found the big man who headed the visitors level.
On the stroke of half time Northern Ireland took the lead in comical fashion. The ball wasn’t cleared by either McCrorie or Michael Kelly and Stephen Fallon fired Northern Ireland into a harsh lead.
That was to be the decisive action in a game where chances were created but not finished, but Wotte insists that it’s the learning curve that is more important than the result.
He said: “Today was a big experience for the boys. We played from the heart and
played as well as possible but you want a reward for the boys.
“The second goal was a misunderstanding between the two they both
wanted to clear the ball and then the ball from the scrambled came away
from the goalie."
He added: “I’ve got a lot of respect for the Northern Ireland team as they made life difficult for us. We created four or five really good chances so the lesson to learn is when you have chances to score you need to take them.”
Scotland got off to the best possible start when Kiltie headed home with precision. The ball from Celtic’s Calvin Miller was equally precise and found the Killie youth behind the defender to pop Mark Wotte’s side in front.
Ten minutes later and Kiltie had a chance to make it two. A defensive lapse was jumped on by Kiltie but the shot was sprawled on by Long.
Northern Ireland started their comeback in the 23rd minute. Brian Kennedy was given too much time with the ball and delivered into the box. The ball fell onto the head of Linfield’s Scott Whiteside and the ball seemed to travel in slow motion over the head of McCrorie to make it 1-1.
It seemed the game was to go into half time as 1-1 but fortune had other ideas. From an innocuous through-ball Kelly and McCrorie failed to deal with it. Fallon pounced to give the visitors a surprise lead.
Scotland had two very good chances to win the game in the second half.
After good link up play from the Celtic trio of Aiden Nisbett, Jack Breslin and Ciaran Lafferty the boys in blue were unfortunate not to score. Nisbett and Breslin played the ball between each other into the box and found Lafferty but his shot was put over the bar.
Scotland’s best chance of salvaging a draw came from Lafferty again. Crystal Palace starlet Kyle Spence squared the ball across the six-yard box and Lafferty fired the ball over the crossbar from close-range.
He added: “I’ve got a lot of respect for the Northern Ireland team as they made life difficult for us. We created four or five really good chances so the lesson to learn is when you have chances to score you need to take them.”
Scotland got off to the best possible start when Kiltie headed home with precision. The ball from Celtic’s Calvin Miller was equally precise and found the Killie youth behind the defender to pop Mark Wotte’s side in front.
Ten minutes later and Kiltie had a chance to make it two. A defensive lapse was jumped on by Kiltie but the shot was sprawled on by Long.
Northern Ireland started their comeback in the 23rd minute. Brian Kennedy was given too much time with the ball and delivered into the box. The ball fell onto the head of Linfield’s Scott Whiteside and the ball seemed to travel in slow motion over the head of McCrorie to make it 1-1.
It seemed the game was to go into half time as 1-1 but fortune had other ideas. From an innocuous through-ball Kelly and McCrorie failed to deal with it. Fallon pounced to give the visitors a surprise lead.
Scotland had two very good chances to win the game in the second half.
After good link up play from the Celtic trio of Aiden Nisbett, Jack Breslin and Ciaran Lafferty the boys in blue were unfortunate not to score. Nisbett and Breslin played the ball between each other into the box and found Lafferty but his shot was put over the bar.
Scotland’s best chance of salvaging a draw came from Lafferty again. Crystal Palace starlet Kyle Spence squared the ball across the six-yard box and Lafferty fired the ball over the crossbar from close-range.
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