Gibraltar frustrated Scotland in 0-2 defeat

Gibraltar 0-2 Scotland

Gibraltar surprised everyone on Monday by holding Scotland to just a 2-0 victory. After conceding twelve goals in their previous two encounters nine years ago, Gibraltar’s 2-0 defeat felt like a victory. The minnows reduced a team heading into the Euros to just a two-goal win. Even though this was merely an international friendly, it was a major boost for Gibraltar and simultaneously a major setback for Scotland’s morale as they prepared for their clash against Germany.
Gibraltar started with a surprising lineup, featuring Hankins getting his first call-up to the senior team. Twice-capped James Scanlon also started for the first time, just one match away from deciding whether to stay with Gibraltar. Having secured his first professional contract with Manchester United, the young player had the burden of expectations on his young shoulders. With this pre-Euros friendly, the Gibraltar head coach had the perfect opportunity to test new formations and player combinations on the pitch, involving a young squad with the likes of El Hmidi. Gibraltar played a defensive line, now becoming a core of the team, but with Lope taking over the role of leader with Roy Chipolina missing from the first eleven, this match provided a glimpse of what Gibraltar fans can expect in the future.
Veteran Liam Walker took the armband while Lee Casciaro and Roy Chipolina warmed the bench. With little pressure on results, the opportunity to play with greater freedom and confidence was there. Scotland, who had not won in the last seven matches, aimed to secure a win just before heading to Germany for the Euros, starting against the hosts. They started dominating possession as expected. Although Gibraltar had a side that was offensive in some aspects, they were playing a defensive format. De Barr’s first touch saw Scotland lay into him, showing they were not going to give him space.
The first corner for Scotland came after 4 minutes but did not cause any real problems. Scotland’s second corner came after five and a half minutes, during which Hankins made his six-yard box his own, diving down to the feet of attackers to take the ball. Gibraltar was on the backfoot, packing in front of the goalmouth as Scotland maintained their pressure in the first minutes. This match served as a testing ground for Scotland players bidding for positions and trying to gel together. Hankins was forced into a save in the 9th minute from a snap shot by Christie that went through Lope’s legs. The corner was directed to the ground by Hanley and bounced over the crossbar. Scotland weaved a path through the left, and Robertson sent his shot just wide of the near post after just 11 minutes.

Gibraltar tried to slow down the pace when they could, trying to keep possession from defense. Unfortunately, Scotland played the offside trap well, keeping De Barr from getting a cross early. Shankland had the next shot at goal but was forced wide as he was swarmed. Scotland, having stolen the ball after Gibraltar’s attempts to play out with one touch, maintained pressure on Gibraltar’s defense but had not yet found the target. With twenty minutes played, Gibraltar had settled into a pattern keeping Scotland at bay and, although pressed back, limiting opportunities for the Scots.
Confidence across the field saw Gibraltar players trying to work the ball instead of past urgency, which had seen them lose the ball immediately. Gibraltar, however, had not created any offensive opportunities in those 20 minutes of play. With the temperature high on the pitch, a water break was given by the match official after 23 minutes. Ribas, wearing a red Gibraltar shirt that surprised many due to the clash in colors, had an opportunity to speak to his players. Gibraltar’s growing confidence was evident in the 26th minute after intercepting a ball and weaving through to the edge of Scotland’s penalty area. Although they were unable to find a way through, the manner in which they reached the other end showed that the presence of players like El Hmidi, Scanlon, and Walker just behind De Barr provided a break in the pace.
A wayward header in the 29th minute from McCrorie highlighted Scotland’s failings in front of goal. McClean sent another header wayward from a well-floated cross from Robertson just moments later. As they approached the last quarter of an hour before the half-time break, the continued resilience of Gibraltar’s defense and discipline was frustrating Scotland. Hankins made a massive save in the 35th minute, keeping out a header from a corner from Hanley, and then defenders did well to keep Shankland from getting the rebound. A strong presence from Gibraltar defenders made life very difficult for Scotland, who came as favorites to inflict a heavy defeat on Gibraltar. Some good defensive work in the final five minutes, as Scotland upped the pressure and earned a couple of corners, saw Gibraltar keeping Scotland out. The best chance went to Hanley, who received the ball at the far post but, not seeing it until the last second, sent it well over the bar from just feet away.
De Barr was dumped to the ground again in the 41st minute as Gibraltar advanced from defense. However, the free kick was not used to good effect, and Scotland regained the ball. Just moments later, the young forward again frustrated the Scottish defenders, which saw Gibraltar advancing their lines and playing for a short while well inside Scotland’s half. Jack Sergeant gave away a needless free kick with an obvious shoulder barge into the back, which saw Scotland threaten Hankins’ goalmouth. However, Jolley did well to defend the back post and limit Scotland’s chances. This led to Britto on a quick counter-offensive, who took the first shot at goal, with Clark collecting it easily. This was the final chance of the first half, Gibraltar frustrating Scotland and going into the half-time break scoreless but having shown a confidence and discipline in defense that was making an impact on the game.
The half-time result was a good indicator for Gibraltar as they prepare for this autumn’s National League matches against San Marino and Liechtenstein. Gibraltar fans, although pleased with the scoreless result at halftime, unlike ten years ago when they first played Scotland and had been level at 1-all at halftime, no longer dreamt of victory but were instead content with the performance.
The second half started much the same way as the first half. A mistake in defense with a miskicked clearance by El Hmidi was quickly dealt with by an attentive Lope, who blocked the incoming cross across the goalmouth with Gibraltar’s defense caught out. Lope was lucky not to concede a penalty just a couple of minutes later, pulling away his foot from a late tackle as Forester tumbled. Jaylan Hankins made his presence known, collecting from a corner and needing some treatment on his hand after accidentally feeling the studs of his defenders.
Gibraltar continued to frustrate the Scottish team as they played past the first five minutes more confidently, keeping Scotland from creating opportunities. Gibraltar had a chance to test Scotland; however, Walker’s short pass to the flank was misread, and the ball was given away immediately to their opponents. A chance for a counter in the 53rd minute was also wasted as only two players were in place to support, with the wide distance between players leaving Scotland with an easy interception. Hankins made a comfortable save in the 55th minute from a header bounced to the ground by Cooper, keeping his eye on the ball and collecting it.
Scotland broke the deadlock in the 57th minute when Christie, who was sitting behind the defense, collected a ball that went over the defense and found a gap between defenders, slamming the ball into the net from close range. Scotland maintained their momentum immediately. Gibraltar struggled to get out of their half, with the gap between the most advanced player and even the midfield widening as the minutes ticked away. Gibraltar saw players giving the ball away as they went past the hour mark, with tired legs appearing.
Slowing the pace, Gibraltar found some moments of possession. However, upon reaching the penalty area, Walker passed back, setting up for the ball to be played back, and Scotland closed down and eventually ended up with possession. Ribas made changes in the 65th minute, with Scanlon and El Hmidi coming off for Ronan and veteran Lee Casciaro, who had scored against Scotland and even had a song written mentioning that first international goal for Gibraltar. A second cooling break was given in the seventieth minute.
Scotland took the chance to make more changes, freshening up and giving players a chance before the Euros. With 22 attempts after just 75 minutes, Scotland showed little conviction to score. An injury to Cooper caused some concerns, with Scotland just under two weeks away from playing against Germany. Gibraltar, with just Britto’s attempt in the first half, looked at another dismal record offensively. However, their defensive display provided many positives.
Gibraltar made another change, with Walker coming off for Evan De Haro, a youngster who has progressed from the under-21s into the senior team. The significance of being just a solitary goal ahead against Gibraltar was etched on the faces of Scottish players as they tried to up their game in the final ten minutes. Gibraltar, resilient and still maintaining discipline at the back, was upsetting things. A goal from Adams in the 84th minute was greeted with warm applause from silent Scottish fans.
This prompted Ribas to bring on Bartolo for a tired De Barr, who had been the sole player upfront during a long 86 minutes of play. Scotland, although playing under par, sought a third goal, but a 2-0 victory felt more like a defeat than a victory considering the expectations on the team now heading to the Euros. Four minutes of injury time saw Gibraltar maintain their defensive posture, something that will have pleased Gibraltar’s head coach after seeing numerous matches in which Gibraltar has conceded in the final minutes.
Gibraltar will now be tested on Thursday when they face Wales, who did not qualify for the Euros. This match is likely to see a different attitude on the field from their opponents. Although Scotland was seen as tough opponents, the conviction from players was not as apparent with a poor performance from Scotland, whose players were wary of picking up injuries so close to a major tournament.
For players such as Hankins making his debut the result would have also been satisfactory having kept Scotland to just two goal and maintained their discipline throughout. However, a lack of attempts at goal with the just two attempts maintains Gibraltar very low record offensively.