Half-Time Report: Matt Ritchie puts Scotland ahead

Matt Ritchie scored shortly before half time to give Scotland a 1-0 lead over Qatar in an international friendly at Easter Road this evening.

The home side made a bright start as Craig Forsyth tried to set up James Forrest just a couple of minutes after kickoff, but the midfielder's strike was blocked.

Karim Boudiaf attempted to put David Marshall under pressure in the Scotland goal inside the opening 10 minutes, but the striker's long-range free kick was watched closely by the keeper.

Scotland continued to look the more dangerous on the attack though, with Steven Naismith picking up a cutback from Forrest to force a save from Amine Lecomte, while Ikechi Anya curled a shot wide from 20 yards out.

Amine continued to come under pressure in the Qatar goal as Naismith forced the keeper to turn the ball behind for a corner, before Charlie Mulgrew headed just wide from the resulting set piece.

There was a brief stoppage in play shortly before the break as a streaker found his way onto the pitch, but the home side made the most of the delay, opening the scoring moments after the restart as Naismith's through-ball found Ritchie, leaving him to fire low into the back of the net for his first international goal.