Scotland 1-1 Croatia

I won’t call it a live blog, because there will be long periods without updates today, but I did want to set aside a place where I can post live updates. The match is underway, so just keep updating this page for the latest. All times are BST.

Final Scorelines:
Scotland 1-1 Croatia (Kenny Miller 30′)
Scotland U21 2-1 Finland U21 (Naismith 29′, McDonald 83′)

The goals (sorry about the wonky frames):
First, Croatia’s goal, a really nice strike from Niko Kranjcar.

Now, of course, Kenny Miller’s equalizer for Scotland, a lovely poach.

21:53 – And that’s it. 1-1 is our final, and it’s not a bad result. The streak continues, as Burley manages not to lose his home opener, but we started really slowly. The second half saw some really good attacking play, and Burley will have some things to be very happy with. This game was winnable, but it was very losable too, so I’m fairly happy with a draw. The most important thing, in my mind, is never to lose friendlies at Hampden. Teams need to know that a point is the best they can hope for at Scotland’s fortress, and hopefully this is the start of a long undefeated streak at home. Well done to Kenny Miller, who I officially will never call Kenny Misser again, and to Stephen McManus on taking a hard-fought draw from his first, and perhaps only, match as Scotland captain.

21:51 – Stephen McManus could have been captain and savior with a last-minute header in, but it lands wide. Nice to see Scotland attacking all the way to the end. That’s the team I love.

21:48 – We’re in injury time. Come on now .. big money .. no wammies.

21:42 – Ohhhh. Boyd almost put us ahead, but a nice save from the Croatian keeper keeps it even. I felt that one, and I really thought it was going in.

21:39 – Oops. Kris Boyd accidentally kicks Vedran Korluca in the head. He seems to be okay now. Play continues.

21:29 – Gordon makes another fine save at the near post. He’s done very well to keep us in this one, but we really need to push them a bit more. The action’s all at our end just now, and that needs to change, or we’ll lose one late and come away with nothing.

21:23 – Way too many Croatian players are getting into the box uncontested. I’d really like to see a sub on defense soon.

21:21 – A note for Celtic fans. Jan Vennegor of Hesselink has just scored twice in four minutes, to complete a fantastic comeback by Holland. Scotland fans take note – he loves to score late, and we’ll have to face the Dutch twice in the World Cup qualifiers.

21:19 – Half an hour to play, and a draw’s not a bad result, but there’s plenty of bite left in both teams, so we’ll just have to see where this one goes.

21:15 – Great parry away from Craig Gordon. That was a goal saved, and more proof that Craigie is our #1.

21:08 – We’re back to action at Hampden, one goal away from victory, and one from defeat in George Burley’s first match in charge of Scotland. Cardiff’s Gavin Rae is in for Darren Fletcher. Let’s see if he can hold onto possession in the midfield and create some chances. I’m not sure Fletch was the man to take off, but we’ll see how Rae does.

21:02 – Over in the Northern Ireland match, David Healy just got his second of the game, but he seems to have been a bit confused, because it was an own goal. Put that man in front of a net and he scores … maybe best to leave him out of set piece defending.

20:46 – That’s the half. Not a terrible effort so far, but we need to do better on fundamental football – pass and shoot. Scotland too often depends on the counter, and we’ve done well with it today, but we need to create our own chances as well.

20:44 – Almost halftime, and Miller’s goal has really excited both the Scottish team and fans, not mention our coach. Burley went crazy when it went in, and has been very animated since.

20:34 – GOAL SCOTLAND. Kenny Miller, I take it all back. A great finish from a Darren Fletcher long ball allows Scotland back into the match. I have to say that Croatia are playing like the better side, but it’s all even now on the scoreline.

20:30 – Half an hour in, and nothing much to cheer about for Scotland. We need to string together some better passes, and hold on to possession until we can create something. Maybe five in the midfield wouldn’t have been the worst thing in this case, though I like Burley’s thought in starting with a 4-4-2.

20:24 – Croatia really look comfortable. Burley needs to make some changes at halftime, maybe even (I can’t believe I’m saying this) Gary Teale to the wing. On a happier note, Northern Ireland is taking Georgia apart, 3-0 so far.

20:18 – Just a note. It’s been 35 years since a Scotland manager lost his first home match. 1973. Burley needs to settle his boys down to avoid ending a very good streak.

20:11 – 10th minute, and Scotland is down a goal. Niko Kranjcar is the scorer.

20:10 – Northern Ireland is also taking on Georgia, and we can hope the Irish stick it to the young Georgian team that effectively knocked us out of Euro 2008. Kyle Lafferty has scored early for the Irish.

20:08 – We’re underway at Hampden. Mon the Scots!

19:12 – GOAL SCOTLAND. The Under-21s look to have done it, and stay alive in the Euro qualifying race.

19:11 – Time running out in Aberdeen, and we’re about 45 minutes from kickoff in Glasgow.

18:54 – Less than a half hour left for the youngsters to score again. Finland will be perfectly happy with a draw, and that will all but take Scotland out of the equation. C’mon young ones … just one more goal.

18:15 – I spoke too soon. Finland equalized at 40 minutes in, and it’s 1-1 at Pittodrie for the youngsters.

18:12 – A little off-topic, but Steven Naismith has scored the opener in Scotland’s U-21 European qualifier against group leaders Finland. It’s 1-0 on Stevie a few minutes before halftime. The Croatia match might get all the headlines, but this is a real must-win for the youngsters, and U-21 captain Naismith is looking to do what Steven Fletcher did and move himself up to the senior team, as well as keep Scotland’s qualification hopes alive.

17:54 – We have a starting lineup, and praise-the-maker, it’s a 4-4-2. Here it is:

Craig Gordon
Alan Hutton – Gary Caldwell – Stephen McManus – Gary Naysmith
Scott Brown – Paul Hartley – Darren Fletcher – Shaun Maloney
Kenny Miller – Steven Fletcher

I’m disappointed to see Kenny Miller still starting, considering club form, but I welcome him to prove me wrong. Score early on the Croats, Kenny, and I’ll back you from now on. Nice to see Steven Fletcher starting. Hopefully, Burley will be free with the substitutions, and put Kris Boyd in early for whichever forward is less effective, and Christophe Berra for Caldwell if he isn’t up to it. Shaun Maloney looks a bit out of place on the wing, but we’ll see how it goes. In Burley we trust … for now. Cmon lads.