European Championship
Oct 11, 2014 5.00pm
1
0
HT : 1 0
FT
  • Akaki Khubutia 28' goal
  • James Morrison 33' yellowcard
  • Shaun Maloney 68' yellowcard
  • yellowcard Gia Grigalava 49'
  • yellowcard Murtaz Daushvili 53'

Player Ratings: Scotland 1-0 Georgia

Scotland 1-0 Georgia

Scotland secured their first points of Euro 2016 qualifying with a 1-0 win over Georgia at Ibrox on Friday.

A first-half own goal following a shot from Shaun Maloney was all that the Scots needed to get off the mark in Group D after their narrow loss to Germany last month.

Below, Sports Mole takes a look at shone and who bombed in Glasgow.


SCOTLAND

Goal

David Marshall: This would have been a bit of a foreign experience for the Cardiff City keeper - a quiet afternoon. He did not have a single save to make as Georgia focused on defending. (6/10)

Defence

Alan Hutton: The Aston Villa man indicated why he is the only player to have started all 14 of Gordon Strachan's games in charge with a performance which showed both attacking ambition and defensive braun. (8/10)

Russell Martin: Had an easy time of things as he and partner Grant Hanley had only the isolated figure of Nikoloz Gelashvili to deal with for the majority of the contest. (6/10)

Grant Hanley: Made one small blip as he made a mess of defending a straightforward long ball. Will have a much tougher evening on Tuesday against Robert Lewandowski and company. (6/10)

Andrew Robertson: The 20-year-old enhanced his growing reputation with a man-of-the-match performance on his competitive debut. Provided great width from left-back and had delivered crosses with both accuracy and pace. Every time he is asked to make a step up, the Hull City man does so. (8/10)

Midfield

Shaun Maloney: Deserves a lot of credit for the own goal as his sweetly-struck volley led to the series of ricochets. Was his usual tidy self on the ball, but prefers playing in central areas. (7/10)

James Morrison: Was preferred to Darren Fletcher in central midfield and curbed his natural desire to get forward to perform a disciplined holding role alongside his captain. Was pushed further up the pitch after the withdrawal of Steven Naismith and nearly got Scotland an elusive second. (7/10)

Scott Brown: A remarkably energetic performance from Brown considering that he has not played much for Celtic this season due to injury. Tough in the tackle as always and his responsible anchoring of the midfield allowed Scotland's more attacking midfielders to thrive. (8/10)

Ikechi Anya: Was handed a start after scoring against Germany and his pace did cause Georgia's defence some problems, but the better final delivery down his left flank came from Robertson. (6/10)

Attack

Steven Naismith: It was not quite the Everton man's night despite his excellent build-up play with Steven Fletcher and movement off the ball. Took up some very good positions, but did not have the end product on this day. (7/10)

Steven Fletcher: Will be frustrated that he did not get his name on the scoresheet having had a few decent chances, but his combinations with Naismith provided his partner with some and showed how deft the Sunderland striker can be. (7/10)

Substitutes

James McArthur: Replaced Naismith to solidify the Scotland midfield as Georgia applied slight pressure late on. (6/10)

Chris Martin: Came on in the final few minutes and helped Scotland wind the clock down. (6/10)


GEORGIA

Goal

George Loria: Flapped at the Robertson cross which led to the Scotland goal, but was ultimately unlucky when his save bounced off a teammate and into the net. Made some decent stops elsewhere. (7/10)

Defence

Ucha Lobjanidze: Was obviously not given much license to go forward and allowed Robertson too much room to deliver crosses from the left. (5/10)

Solomon Kvirkvelia: A strong aerial presence, but not very mobile and Scotland's quick movement of the ball caused him trouble. (6/10)

Akaki Khubutia: However unfortunate it was, his own goal ended up deciding the game and leaves Georgia in a possibly unassailable position in qualifying Group D. (5/10)

Gia Grigalava: Hutton gave him a very difficult time and he was booked for a blatant block on the Aston Villa man in the second half. (4/10)

Midfield

Dato Kvirkvelia : Moved into midfield as Temuri Ketsbaia switched from a back three to a flat four and helped Georgia put early pressure on the ball, but was eventually overwhelmed. (5/10)

Jaba Kankava: Making his 50th international appearance, the captain was an energetic presence in midfield and never gave up the chase. (6/10)

Murtaz Daushvili : Made one promising burst forward in support of Gelashvili, but was anonymous for long periods. (5/10)

Giorgi Papava: Spent most of the time chasing the ball and lost the physical battle with Scott Brown. (5/10)

Valeri Kazaishvili: A makeshift winger, Kazaishvili had little opportunity to do anything with the ball as he was instead helping his teammate handle the marauding Scotland full-backs. (5/10)

Attack

Nikoloz Gelashvili: Completely isolated from the first whistle, had a thankless task chasing down the occasional long ball that came his way, but kept putting himself around until the last minute. (5/10)

Substitutes

Tornike Okriashvili: The scorer of their stunning goal against the Republic of Ireland, was surprisingly left on the bench and his quality largely failed to shine through when he was introduced. (6/10)

Irakli Dzaria: Wasted Georgia's golden chance for an equaliser when he dragged a half volley wide when in space on the edge of the box. (5/10)

Giorgi Chanturia: Came on the final few minutes and had little time to make an impact. (6/10)


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