Scotland moved one point behind Czech Republic, with a game in hand, in their quest for European Championship qualification thanks to a memorable 2-0 victory at Tynecastle.
In what was a hard-fought contest Scotland took the lead in the first half through Fraser Hornby and the scorer then turned the provider for the second goal. A clever back heel from Hornby allowed on form Aberdeen midfielder Ross McCrorie the chance to secure all three points.
Scotland travel to San Marino for Tuesday night’s game against the side they beat 2-0 at home. In November they will round off their group with matches against Croatia and Greece.
After the game manager Scot Gemmill said: “I’m delighted for the players and staff because that was a top performance. The players have executed the game plan and really deserve a lot of credit. We had a lot of young players playing today and had a lot of players missing.
“It takes a lot of detail to put on a show like that. It’s something we have challenged the players to do and to develop we think it’s very important for any team to be successful. We are trying to help them push toward the full squad.
“There is no better way to do that than to put on a performance like that. It’s something we are very focussed on and proud about and they are as proud of it as I am.
“It will be a very different game (against San Marino) but it’s the kind of experience we want for our players. We have shown a certain type of performance today. The players have done their job and now we have to come up with a new game plan and do the job all over again.
Scotland: Doohan, Ashby (McLennan, 84), Harvie, Mayo, McIntyre, Campbell, Patterson (Maguire, 72), Hornby, Reading, Ferguson, McCrorie (C)
Unused substitutes: Wright, Morrison, Turnbull, Chalmers, McInroy, Kelly
Czech Republic: Jedlička, Zima, Plechatý, Sadílek (C), Bucha, Janošek, Krejčí, Hlavatý (Granecny, 80), Souček, Drchal (Rusek, 67), Vaníček (Matousek, 67)
Unused substitutes: Tmal, Kilma, Chalus, Havelka, Fortelny, Zitny
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
