Scotland Under-19s 0-1 France Under-19s

Wednesday, 4 October 2017 kick-off 7pm

Tony Macaroni Arena, Livingston

Scotland lost out narrowly to France in Donald Park’s first match in charge of the Under-19s.

Park will have seen plenty to give him hope from a committed performance at a rain-soaked Almondvale.

Goalkeeper Kieran Wright was in impressive form throughout, but was well protected by a disciplined backline – with full-backs who were keen to push on at every opportunity.

That defensive effort started from the frontline, where Jack Aitchison led the way with some intelligent hold-up play.

The clinching strike came courtesy of the highly-rated Myziane Maolida, a Lyon prospect who attracted interest from Barcelona over the summer.

Wright was a stand-out and produced a brilliant stop to deny Moussa Diaby.

At the other end, Scotland came close to levelling after a well-worked counter-attack.

Left-back Robbie Deas broke down the left and unselfishly cut the ball back into the path of onrushing midfielder Charlie Gilmour.

Gilmour – fresh from a debut appearance in Arsenal’s first-team squad – did well to keep his shot down but he couldn’t quite get the better of keeper Alban Lafont.

The sole goal came within a minute of the restart, when the hosts just failed to clear their lines from a corner and Maolida reacted quickest to fire home.

Scotland had their moments and pushed to equalise with no shortage of skill or will.

Callum Smith caught the eye with a cameo appearance from the bench, while Mikey Johnston came close with a low free-kick.

France, though, held on for a friendly win in a match designed to help Park and the squad prepare for next month’s UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifiers.

Scotland Man of the Match: Kieran Wright