Five star Scotland Under-21s impress as Rangers, Hearts and West Brom men send message to Pocognoli
Scotland Under-21s put on show in Docherty’s bow to soothe pain of 30-year tournament exile
Scotland Under-21s got the Tony Docherty era off to a flying start as they sank Azerbaijan 5-2 at Rugby Park on Wednesday night - though results elsewhere meant their 30-year wait to qualify for the European Championships will continue.
Docherty entered the role with only a slim chance of securing second place in Group B, and a playoff spot as a result. However, Czechia’s 1-0 win over Bulgaria earlier in the day sealed their fate before kick-off, with Scotland mathematically unable to catch Michal Bílek’s side regardless of the result in Kilmarnock.
Despite the pre-match disappointment, the hosts prevailed thanks to a Barney Stewart double (23, 26) plus strikes from James Wilson (26), Tyler Fletcher (60) and Bobby Wales (80), taking all three points in Group B after Neriman Akhundzada had given visitors a shock lead on 21 minutes, with Raul Mammadov (70) also scoring in the second-half.
Findlay Curtis was given a warm reception on his return to Rugby Park as Docherty’s side lined up in a 3-4-3 formation, mimicking senior head coach Sebastien Pocognoli’s set-up. The Rangers youngster, who broke into the senior Scotland squad after scoring five goals in 14 games on loan to Kilmarnock last season, started alongside Tyler Fletcher, with the duo returning to the Under-21 setup after going to the World Cup in the summer.
Elsewhere, talented Aston Villa midfielder Aidan Borland took up the ‘Billy Gilmour role’ as a midfield anchor. However, St Johnstone winger Taylor Steven caught the attention early on. Lining up at left-wing back, the 22-year-old almost opened the scoring when he met Dylan Lobban’s teasing cross, only to see it spectacularly cleared off the line by Emin Xidir Rustemov.
Despite Scotland dominating the opening 20 minutes, the opening goal went the way of Azerbaijan, when former Qarabag forward Akhundzada dribbled through the backline and his shot somehow squirmed beyond the grasp of Liam MacFarlane. The Hearts goalkeeper, who is spending the season on loan to Partick Thistle, is unlikely to want to watch the replay.
The opener only seemed to anger the hosts, though, with Scotland blowing their opponents apart in a quickfire five-minute spell. Firstly, Stewart equalised by nodding home Curtis’ superb cross to score his first goal for the Under-21s. The West Brom hitman then poked home his second just three minutes later. Curtis then produced another fine cross for Hearts’ Wilson, who made no mistake, heading home from close range.
The trio weren’t the only ones to send a timely reminder of their talents to Pocognoli, though, with Fletcher getting in on the act shortly after the restart when he slotted home into an empty net after Curtis had attempted to round the goalkeeper.
Docherty will have been disappointed to see his side concede cheaply from a set-piece 10 minutes later though, with Mammadov nodding home from close range after Hikmet Cəbrayılzadə’s cross evaded the Scotland defence.
Scotland completed the scoring with 10 minutes to play when Dundee’s on-loan forward Wales climbed off the bench to blast home his first goal for the Under-21s from another Curtis assist, his fourth of the night, with 16-year-old Rangers talent Kyle Glasgow introduced for his debut in the closing stages.
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