International Friendly
Scotland 0-1 Northern Ireland
Tuesday, 26 March 2024
Hampden Park, Glasgow
Scorers
Scotland 0
Northern Ireland 1 (Conor Bradley 32’)
Team News
Steve Clarke made two changes to the line up that started against the Netherlands on Friday evening with Liam Cooper coming in to replace Ryan Porteous while Lyndon Dykes led the line in place of Lawrence Shankland.
Billy Gilmour won his 25th cap for his country as he started in the centre of the midfield.
Stuart Armstrong joined the Scotland International Roll of Honour as he won his 50th cap when he came on as a second half substitute.
As It Happened
On a bitterly cold evening at Hampden Park, Scotland welcomed old foes Northern Ireland for the second of a double header of friendly matches during this international break.
The opening 10 minutes of the game was a busy period for Scotland with a number of chances being created; narrowly missing the target. This was followed by a well-contested battle for possession in the middle of the pitch for a period after.
It was the visitors that opened the scoring in the 32nd minute when Conor Bradley won the ball from the Scotland defence just outside the penalty area. Bradley proceeded to take a few touches to get the ball out from under his feet and make his way into the box before curling a great strike into the top right corner.
Scotland started the second half strong and substitute Lewis Ferguson was at the centre of the action. Kieran Tierney made a great run down the wing and the end product results in Lewis Ferguson receiving the ball within the box however Ferguson’s attempt towards goal was blocked by the Northern Ireland defence.
A few moments later and Ferguson played his part in creating a Scotland chance. He headed the ball down to Ryan Christie who attempted to play the ball back to him inside the box however the Northern Ireland defence cut out the pass and cleared the ball.
Scotland continued to pile on the pressure and saw a spell where they spent a significant amount of time in the Northern Ireland box. A free kick into the box was headed towards goal by Liam Cooper however his effort went narrowly wide of the target.
Kieran Tierney, who had looked dangerous down the wing for large spells of the game, made a great run before crossing the ball into the penalty area. Lyndon Dykes and John McGinn both rose at the back post area however Bailey Peacock-Farrell beat the duo to the ball.
Scotland had a big chance to equalise in the 67th minute when a lofted ball from Billy Gilmour found Lewis Ferguson on the left of the box. After controlling the ball, Ferguson is taken wide of the goal and his effort is saved by Bailey Peacock-Farrell.
Lewis Ferguson came close to getting his goal a minute before the 90 when he got on the end of a Stuart Armstrong cross into the box however his header from close range was tipped over the crossbar.
Next Up
The Scotland squad will meet up in June for two friendly matches. The first is away to Gibraltar on Monday 3 June before they welcome Finland to Hampden Park on Friday 7 June for a send-off party before the Tartan Army make their way to Germany for the Euros.
Teams
Scotland: Gunn, Robertson(Ferguson 36’), McTominay, Cooper, Tierney, McGinn (Armstrong 77’), Dykes (Adams 69’), Christie (Shankland 77’), Hendry, Gilmour (McLean 69’), Patterson
Unused Substitutes: Kelly, Clark, Gordon, Ralston, Porteous, Souttar, Taylor
Northern Ireland: Peacock-Farrell, Hume, Toal, Ballard, Spencer, McNair, McCann (Thompson 86’), Charles, Bradley (Smyth 82’), Price (McMenamin 82’), Reid (Magennis 57’)
Unused Substitutes: Hazard, Southwood, Donnelly, Brown, Lane, Boyd-Munce, Marshall, Lavery