
Fraser Hornby hit a hat-trick as a crowd of over 2,000 watched Scotland run out as comfortable victors over Andorra at Tynecastle in group D of the UEFA European Championship qualifying.
Scotland played some good stuff struggled to turn that possession into quality chances. A penalty moments prior to the interval gave the hosts liftoff and from then on, it was only going to go one way.
Hornby, who proved to be a real asset for Scotland with his physicality, rounded off his hat-trick with two goals in the latter stages of the second half to move Scotland onto 11 points, and keep the pressure on the English and the Dutch.
The first meaningful chance came on five minutes as Mikey Johnston slipped a reverse ball into the path of Fraser Hornby, but the striker saw his low shot blocked and roll behind for a corner. He was at it again a few minutes later but this time Iker was to deny, as the keeper held on to his downwards header.
Hornby continued to be at the forefront of the action, although he had a penalty claim waved away after hitting the ground in the midst of a give-and-go with Stevie Mallan.
Scotland were comfortably on top for the majority of the first period but struggled to create a real clear-cut opportunity. A bit of luck helped the lively Hornby in behind once again with 23 minutes on the clock, although once more, Iker was on hand to push behind from close range.
Hibs defender Ryan Porteous went close with a downward header from Billy Gilmour’s corner before Stevie Mallan brought Iker back into action with a low free kick - forcing the keeper into a smart save.
Chelsea’s Gilmour was lively and put plenty of good deliveries in during the first half and a few minutes before the interval he found Hornby with a clever low ball - but the forward could only hit the keeper from extremely close range. The ball fell out to Mallan but the former Barnsley man’s low drive was deflected behind for a corner.
This time Gilmour’s delivery was on the money and referee Dejan Jakimovski pointed to the spot as Alex Martinez hauled down Porteous at the back post. The wide man went into the book as Hornby stepped up confidently and sent Iker the wrong way, dispatching the spot kick into the bottom left corner to give Scotland a much needed lift going into the break.