Scotland 1-0 Slovakia
An 89th-minute own goal by Martin Skrtel gave Scotland a crucial victory over ten-man Slovakia to keep the hosts’ World Cup hopes alive.
And what a moment for the Scots’ mobile betting fans. For much of the night, it looked like Slovakia’s ten men would get a result; they looked good value for their pre-match betting odds of 3.00. But Scotland kept the faith and upped the ante in the late stages to be rewarded with that late slice of luck.
Both teams showed attacking intent in the early stages, but Slovakia went down to ten men with just a quarter of the game gone. Already with a yellow card for a late challenge, Robert Mak took a dive in the box, looking for a penalty when there was no touch from keeper Craig Gordon. The silly Slovak went for a well-deserved early bath.
Christophe Berra came closest to scoring for the Scots before the break but saw his header brilliantly tipped over by Martin Dubravka.
Slovakia began the second half still looking like the side with 11 men, with Napoli’s Marek Hamsik pulling the strings and feeding Stanislav Lobotka to test Gordon. Scotland continued to labour but then substitute Chris Martin took a flyer from 25 yards which crashed back off the bar.
That lifted the fans, which in turn lifted the players. It was the woodwork which denied the Scots again when a Leigh Griffiths free-kick suffered the same fate. But with just a minute left on the clock, Hampden Park erupted as Skrtel put through his own net.
Scotland must now win in Slovenia to grab second place in Group F. It’s a tall order; but if Scotland stays brave…who knows?
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