Latest news with #Liechtensteiners
Scotsman
a day ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
Hibs star Bowie gets 'many more caps' encouragement as Scotland boss Clarke
World Cup qualifiers kick off with Denmark and Belarus away in September Sign up to our Hibs football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Scotland new boy Kieron Bowie has been encouraged to keep making his case for future international honours, with national team boss Steve Clarke insisting he hopes to see plenty of his latest recruits pick up 'more and more caps' over the course of the impending World Cup campaign. Hibs striker Bowie made his senior international debut late in yesterday's 4-0 friendly win over Liechtenstein in Vaduz, the 22-year-old coming off the bench with just 12 minutes of the 90 remaining. Bowie, a stand-out for Scott Gemmill's Under-21s, harbours serious ambitions to establish himself as Scotland' first-choice No. 9. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Che Adams bagging a hat-trick and George Hirst scoring the other goal in a one-sided rout underlined the challenge faced by any forward looking to force their way into Clarke's thinking, even allowing for the fact that no Scotland striker had scored for a year before yesterday's thumping of the lowly Liechtensteiners. Middlesbrough's Tommy Conway was also introduced to the game ahead of Bowie, while Lyndon Dykes is pushing for a return from injury, Hearts teenager James Wilson has already been capped - and Liverpool attacker Ben Doak has also expressed an interest in moving from the wing to a more central role. But Bowie, who went under the knife to repair a serious hamstring injury sustained on Under-21s duty back in September, enjoyed a barnstorming second half of the season with Hibs. The former Fulham and Raith Rovers striker was rewarded with his first call-up for the end-of-season doubleheader, although he was kept on the bench in Friday night's dismal home defeat to Iceland. Former Hibs favourite Doig joined Bowie in earning international debut Former Hibs fullback Josh Doig and West Ham midfielder Andy Irving, a former Hearts player, joined Bowie in making their first appearances for Scotland against opponents just five places off the bottom of the FIFA rankings yesterday. Being able to hand out so many debuts at once was, insisted Clarke, a real bonus from a game of limited relevance to the all-important qualifying campaign kicking off in September. Insisting that he has one eye on expanding the pool of talent available to him for that series of fixtures against Denmark, Greece and Belarus, Clarke said: 'It's nice that I've managed to get a few more first caps onto the pitch. So it's all about building the squad for the future. Obviously we've got the boys that we rely on now. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'But if you look at the final picture on the pitch, there are a lot of inexperienced internationals. Hopefully over the coming years they'll start to pick up more and more caps.' Former Easter Road favourite Doig was thrilled to get any kind of outing, the Sassuolo left back facing some pretty significant competition at left back in the shape of both team captain Andy Robertson AND Kieran Tierney. 'Obviously, I've been on a lot of squads, but at the same time, it's not a bad thing,' said the 23-year-old. 'It's an absolute honour just to be picked, to be playing alongside some of the guys on the pitch, world-class players. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "I'm just absolutely delighted to get on and just bursting with pride for me and my family. Obviously, in my position, you've probably got some of the best two left-backs in the world at the moment, so it can't not help me being around them and being in that environment.'
The National
2 days ago
- Sport
- The National
Lennon Miller shines as Che Adams bags Scotland hat-trick
The last thing Steve Clarke needed was for even the slightest whiff of an awkward evening here, and an early goal from Che Adams settled any nerves, and banished any notion that there may be trouble afoot. Adams soon added another and George Hirst got a third after the interval, before Adams sealed his hat-trick with the last touch of the game. But it was a young midfielder earning his first start that most caught the eye, and offered some hope for the future. Here are the talking points from the Rheinpark Stadion… Lennon Miller puts on a show The Motherwell (at least, for now) youngster was handed his first start for his country, and he didn't disappoint. There is a lot of hype about the Fir Park prospect, and while you have to caveat almost everything Scotland did here with the level of the opponent, he showed just why he is so highly rated. If we're being generous, we could give the 18-year-old an assist for Adam's opener, even if his strike from the edge of the goal was heading in the general direction of Zurich. But he definitely could claim the assist for Adams' second, forcing an error by pressing the home defence high and teeing up the striker to reverse a finish into the bottom corner. Over and above those contributions, he formed an easy-on-the-eye partnership with Billy Gilmour in the centre of the park, zipping the ball around and displaying an impressive array of passing both short and long. He was enjoying himself alright, with some of his flicks and tricks lovely to watch, and the Liechtensteiners lost patience with him and resorted to foul means to try and stymie him long before the end. His performance will have pleased Clarke and excited the Tartan Army, but the happiest people of all to see him show his class probably reside in the Fir Park boardroom. Strikers finally find their scoring touch It is one of Scottish football's great navel-gazers, just where all the quality strikers have gone, and it was good to see both Adams and Hirst finding the net. As far as Adams is concerned, he grabbed his first goals since last summer's European Championships warm-up against Gibraltar, with his early opener here the first goal any Scotland striker has scored since then, in fact. Clarke has often tried to explain away the lack of goals from his frontmen by outlining that the role he asks them to play is an unselfish one, with more emphasis placed on bringing others into play, but Scotland still need their strikers to be finding the net on a more regular basis. So, it was heartening to see Adams get the first Scotland hat-trick since John McGinn's against San Marino in 2019 as he headed home at the death. And Hirst, in fairness to the newcomer, has enjoyed a decent window, being arguably the one chink of light from the loss to Iceland and getting his first international goal here. From small acorns, and all that, but a good start for the Ipswich man in dark blue. Back four here to stay? Clarke's decision to revert to the back five against Iceland to shoehorn Kieran Tierney into the team drew no little scorn, but he said he had always planned to go with a 4-4-2 for this one, and it worked well. Again, it is hard to judge the merits of the system against such poor opposition, but the players do look more comfortable whenever they are set up in a back four, and the pending return of Ben Doak means that Clarke must play a formation that can accommodate the winger going forward. The next assignment could hardly be any more different, with an away qualifier in Denmark to come in September, but the Tartan Army will hope that their manager sets them out on the front foot once more. Lack of experimentation will frustrate Clarke critics again For all that Clarke did change up his formation, making six changes from the dismal defeat to Iceland, the absence of some of the other fresh faces in his squad from the line up seemed to be an opportunity missed. Against the 205th ranked team in the world, who had recently lost twice to San Marino, if this wasn't a chance to see what the likes of Kieron Bowie, Josh Doig, Connor Barron and Andy Irving can bring to the party then you have to wonder what would be. Finally, on the hour, we saw Doig replacing skipper Andy Robertson and Irving replacing John McGinn, while Barron replaced Gilmour and Bowie came on for Lewis Ferguson with 13 minutes remaining. It was Doig who made the biggest impression when he did get on, making some positive runs forward and being a little unlucky not to find the net with a couple of efforts on goal, while Barron also showed a couple of nice touches. Ross Doohan could have stayed on his holidays Fair play to the Celtic-bound keeper, who climbed off a sun lounger in Turkey to answer his country's call, but he could just as easily have laid his towel out in the six-yard box and caught some rays here, given that he didn't have to catch the ball even once. To say it was a quiet debut would be rather understating things, but he will hope to have muscled his way into the reckoning, and Clarke's favours, by turning up for duty after Cieran Slicker's night to forget.
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Lennon Miller shines as Che Adams bags Scotland hat-trick
Adams soon added another and George Hirst got a third after the interval, before Adams sealed his hat-trick with the last touch of the game. But it was a young midfielder earning his first start that most caught the eye, and offered some hope for the future. Here are the talking points from the Rheinpark Stadion… Lennon Miller puts on a show The Motherwell (at least, for now) youngster was handed his first start for his country, and he didn't disappoint. There is a lot of hype about the Fir Park prospect, and while you have to caveat almost everything Scotland did here with the level of the opponent, he showed just why he is so highly rated. If we're being generous, we could give the 18-year-old an assist for Adam's opener, even if his strike from the edge of the goal was heading in the general direction of Zurich. But he definitely could claim the assist for Adams' second, forcing an error by pressing the home defence high and teeing up the striker to reverse a finish into the bottom corner. Over and above those contributions, he formed an easy-on-the-eye partnership with Billy Gilmour in the centre of the park, zipping the ball around and displaying an impressive array of passing both short and long. He was enjoying himself alright, with some of his flicks and tricks lovely to watch, and the Liechtensteiners lost patience with him and resorted to foul means to try and stymie him long before the end. His performance will have pleased Clarke and excited the Tartan Army, but the happiest people of all to see him show his class probably reside in the Fir Park boardroom. Strikers finally find their scoring touch It is one of Scottish football's great navel-gazers, just where all the quality strikers have gone, and it was good to see both Adams and Hirst finding the net. As far as Adams is concerned, he grabbed his first goals since last summer's European Championships warm-up against Gibraltar, with his early opener here the first goal any Scotland striker has scored since then, in fact. Clarke has often tried to explain away the lack of goals from his frontmen by outlining that the role he asks them to play is an unselfish one, with more emphasis placed on bringing others into play, but Scotland still need their strikers to be finding the net on a more regular basis. So, it was heartening to see Adams get the first Scotland hat-trick since John McGinn's against San Marino in 2019 as he headed home at the death. And Hirst, in fairness to the newcomer, has enjoyed a decent window, being arguably the one chink of light from the loss to Iceland and getting his first international goal here. From small acorns, and all that, but a good start for the Ipswich man in dark blue. Back four here to stay? Clarke's decision to revert to the back five against Iceland to shoehorn Kieran Tierney into the team drew no little scorn, but he said he had always planned to go with a 4-4-2 for this one, and it worked well. Again, it is hard to judge the merits of the system against such poor opposition, but the players do look more comfortable whenever they are set up in a back four, and the pending return of Ben Doak means that Clarke must play a formation that can accommodate the winger going forward. The next assignment could hardly be any more different, with an away qualifier in Denmark to come in September, but the Tartan Army will hope that their manager sets them out on the front foot once more. Lack of experimentation will frustrate Clarke critics again For all that Clarke did change up his formation, making six changes from the dismal defeat to Iceland, the absence of some of the other fresh faces in his squad from the line up seemed to be an opportunity missed. Against the 205th ranked team in the world, who had recently lost twice to San Marino, if this wasn't a chance to see what the likes of Kieron Bowie, Josh Doig, Connor Barron and Andy Irving can bring to the party then you have to wonder what would be. Finally, on the hour, we saw Doig replacing skipper Andy Robertson and Irving replacing John McGinn, while Barron replaced Gilmour and Bowie came on for Lewis Ferguson with 13 minutes remaining. It was Doig who made the biggest impression when he did get on, making some positive runs forward and being a little unlucky not to find the net with a couple of efforts on goal, while Barron also showed a couple of nice touches. Ross Doohan could have stayed on his holidays Fair play to the Celtic-bound keeper, who climbed off a sun lounger in Turkey to answer his country's call, but he could just as easily have laid his towel out in the six-yard box and caught some rays here, given that he didn't have to catch the ball even once. To say it was a quiet debut would be rather understating things, but he will hope to have muscled his way into the reckoning, and Clarke's favours, by turning up for duty after Cieran Slicker's night to forget.
The National
4 days ago
- Sport
- The National
What Lennon Miller said after making his Scotland debut
That doesn't take away from the pride Miller had in himself after fulfilling a lifelong ambition. "It's obviously a very proud moment, not just for me but my family as well," he said. "They were in the stands. It's never nice to be making your debut in those circumstances - you want to be winning the game. We know we weren't good enough today. But personally, it's a proud moment. Read more: "This is probably right up there with the best things you can achieve as a player. Representing your country at the highest level. I've done that now, hopefully there's a few more [caps]." Scotland were slow, pedestrian and ever-predictable in a concerning defeat to the country ranked 74th in the world by FIFA. Miller was one of the few, if any, players wearing dark blue who caught the eye. The midfielder refused to hide despite his team's plight and wasn't afraid to get involved. "Listen, that's my game, trying to get on the ball. No matter what the score is. No matter what the occasion is, I want to get on the ball and show what I can do. "You try and build yourself into the game, then when you've found your first few passes, you can try and get a bit more adventurous. I had a few nice ones, but also a few that got cut out; that's just about getting used to the level. "Obviously, you want to play no matter when you get called up. Last time, I was trying to take everything in and take that back to Motherwell to try and win another call-up and get here to make my debut. Thankfully, I did that." A trip to face eastern European minnows, Liechtenstein, now awaits Steve Clarke's side. A friendly against the 204th-best team in the world is probably the last thing the likes of Scott McTominay and Andy Robertson will want after an abnormally long and arduous campaign. In Miller's eyes, it is the perfect opportunity to get the nod and assert himself in the team. "That's the plan. You want to get your first cap then you want to get a second as quick as you can. That'll be the plan, to maybe get a wee start. "The manager has said just to get on the ball and show what I can do. What I do at Motherwell is why I'm here." Making his debut alongside Miller on Friday was young goalkeeper Cieran Slicker. The Ipswich Town man wasn't even meant to be number two to Angus Gunn until Robby McCrorie was injured in the warm-up. As is the unpredictable nature of the beautiful game, he was then thrust into action just six minutes into the match after Gunn took a knock to his right leg. It ultimately turned out to be a nightmarish bow for Slicker, who could undoubtedly have done better for all three of Iceland's goals. Clarke later admitted he wasn't ready to play for his country at the senior level and that a new keeper could be drafted in for Monday's trip to face the Liechtensteiners. Miller played with the stopper at the under-21 level and has no hesitation that he will bounce back. "It's Cieran's first cap, a proud moment. Obviously, you don't want to concede three goals. Listen, there's experienced players in there who will get right behind him and who others like myself who have been with Cieran in a few camps now and who will support him. He's a good goalkeeper, he's shown that all week in training. He just needs to get his head up. "I've played with him three or four times. Tonight he has made a few mistakes, but that's the life of a goalie, you are going to make mistakes and they will be highlighted. He will bounce back. He has a brilliant mentality. All goalies need to, to be honest. Cieran will be fine. He will be back stronger. He's not gone out there and chucked three goals in. It's mistakes. These things happen as a player. It just gets noticed more as a goalie. "I've had loads of those experiences. As a midfielder, you get away with it a bit more. It's not as obvious as what Cieran's is. But he will be fine. He will bounce back." With just four wins in 21 matches and back-to-back home defeats across which six goals have been conceded, Scotland supporters are rightly concerned as mammoth World Cup qualifiers loom. Denmark, Greece, and Belarus stand in the way of the national team's place in the 48-team tournament that will take place across the Americas next summer. Clarke's team are in anything but fine fettle with their campaign beginning in September. While a victory over Liechtenstein will raise the mood, the warning signs have arguably been there for some time. The recent defeat to the Icelanders was Scotland's fifth in nine games since that fateful night in Stuttgart against Hungary almost a year ago. "Yeah, it's disappointing. Listen, we know we weren't good enough. We knew Iceland were a good side and they showed that. We know we have levels to get up to, but we weren't at our best, that's fair to say."
The Herald Scotland
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
What Lennon Miller said after making his Scotland debut
"They were in the stands. It's never nice to be making your debut in those circumstances - you want to be winning the game. We know we weren't good enough today. But personally, it's a proud moment. Read more: "This is probably right up there with the best things you can achieve as a player. Representing your country at the highest level. I've done that now, hopefully there's a few more [caps]." Scotland were slow, pedestrian and ever-predictable in a concerning defeat to the country ranked 74th in the world by FIFA. Miller was one of the few, if any, players wearing dark blue who caught the eye. The midfielder refused to hide despite his team's plight and wasn't afraid to get involved. "Listen, that's my game, trying to get on the ball. No matter what the score is. No matter what the occasion is, I want to get on the ball and show what I can do. "You try and build yourself into the game, then when you've found your first few passes, you can try and get a bit more adventurous. I had a few nice ones, but also a few that got cut out; that's just about getting used to the level. "Obviously, you want to play no matter when you get called up. Last time, I was trying to take everything in and take that back to Motherwell to try and win another call-up and get here to make my debut. Thankfully, I did that." A trip to face eastern European minnows, Liechtenstein, now awaits Steve Clarke's side. A friendly against the 204th-best team in the world is probably the last thing the likes of Scott McTominay and Andy Robertson will want after an abnormally long and arduous campaign. In Miller's eyes, it is the perfect opportunity to get the nod and assert himself in the team. "That's the plan. You want to get your first cap then you want to get a second as quick as you can. That'll be the plan, to maybe get a wee start. "The manager has said just to get on the ball and show what I can do. What I do at Motherwell is why I'm here." Making his debut alongside Miller on Friday was young goalkeeper Cieran Slicker. The Ipswich Town man wasn't even meant to be number two to Angus Gunn until Robby McCrorie was injured in the warm-up. As is the unpredictable nature of the beautiful game, he was then thrust into action just six minutes into the match after Gunn took a knock to his right leg. It ultimately turned out to be a nightmarish bow for Slicker, who could undoubtedly have done better for all three of Iceland's goals. Clarke later admitted he wasn't ready to play for his country at the senior level and that a new keeper could be drafted in for Monday's trip to face the Liechtensteiners. Miller played with the stopper at the under-21 level and has no hesitation that he will bounce back. "It's Cieran's first cap, a proud moment. Obviously, you don't want to concede three goals. Listen, there's experienced players in there who will get right behind him and who others like myself who have been with Cieran in a few camps now and who will support him. He's a good goalkeeper, he's shown that all week in training. He just needs to get his head up. "I've played with him three or four times. Tonight he has made a few mistakes, but that's the life of a goalie, you are going to make mistakes and they will be highlighted. He will bounce back. He has a brilliant mentality. All goalies need to, to be honest. Cieran will be fine. He will be back stronger. He's not gone out there and chucked three goals in. It's mistakes. These things happen as a player. It just gets noticed more as a goalie. "I've had loads of those experiences. As a midfielder, you get away with it a bit more. It's not as obvious as what Cieran's is. But he will be fine. He will bounce back." With just four wins in 21 matches and back-to-back home defeats across which six goals have been conceded, Scotland supporters are rightly concerned as mammoth World Cup qualifiers loom. Denmark, Greece, and Belarus stand in the way of the national team's place in the 48-team tournament that will take place across the Americas next summer. Clarke's team are in anything but fine fettle with their campaign beginning in September. While a victory over Liechtenstein will raise the mood, the warning signs have arguably been there for some time. The recent defeat to the Icelanders was Scotland's fifth in nine games since that fateful night in Stuttgart against Hungary almost a year ago. "Yeah, it's disappointing. Listen, we know we weren't good enough. We knew Iceland were a good side and they showed that. We know we have levels to get up to, but we weren't at our best, that's fair to say."
