It was a glorious night of football at Rugby Park as the Scotland under-21s took on the Azerbaijan under-21s in the UEFA under-21s championship qualifying with a win for Scotland taking them to third in the group. The last meeting between the two teams was a thrilling three-each draw in Baku.Tony Docherty hoped to start his tenure with three points.
It was Scotland who kicked us off for the first half. Taylor Steven and James Wilson combined early to try and get Scotland off to a strong start, managing to win their team an early free-kick. Liam Macfarlane had a fantastic opening contribution playing Wilson through on goal before it was cut out by Raul Mammadov.
Scotland put the early pressure on as Findlay Curtis played a great ball into the box, leaving the Azerbaijan defence scrambling. Barney Stewart recovered and saw his chipped effort just fall short of the target. Henry Fieldson cut out a very promising Azerbaijan attack with a fantastic slide tackle before attempting to slot Stewart through on goal, but it was dealt with well by Eshgin Ahmadov.
The young Scots didn’t let up as they tested the Azerbaijan defence, firing balls into the box from Dylan Loban and Findlay Curtis weren’t met by a head along with a Tyler Fletchers corner which was batted away by Sadig Mammadzada.
The deadlock was almost broken as Curtis beat his man on the wing before laying off Dylan Lobban, who found Steven. Steven’s shot looked to have looped over the goalie, but it was cleared off the line by the Azerbaijan skipper Aykhan Suleymali.
The Tartan Army came agonisingly close to scoring, as Curtis dispossessed the defender just outside the box before playing a one, two with Stewart and releasing a strong attempt into the bottom corner, but it was dealt with well by Mammadzada.
It was Azerbaijan who opened the scoring as Shahin Shaniyarov stole the ball from his opponent and played through Nariman Akhundzade. He dragged the ball wide across the box before slotting his attempt calmly into the bottom corner.
Tony Docherty’s men replied instantly as Curtis received the ball out wide before defeating two oncoming defenders and looping a beautiful ball into the box. Stewart jumped the highest of anyone and guided the ball well into the bottom corner to open Scotland’s account in the game.
The Tartan Army scored a rapid second as Loban whipped a great ball into the box, falling to Steven, who redirected the ball into goal, leaving the keeper scrambling. Stewart kept a calm head to poke home his second of the night amidst the chaos in the box.
Scotland added a third just over 60 seconds later as Curtis found Wilson open in the box. Wilson thundered his header into the side netting to place Scotland firmly in control.
Azerbaijan kept their composure at the back as Ahmadov, Suleymali and Sanan Muradli linked up well to try and carve out a chance. Suleymali was strong at the back as he held off multiple Scottish players to keep his team in possession.
Scotland were unlucky again as Fields on saw a stray ball fall towards him in the box, but he saw his header fly just wide of the target. Curtis held onto the ball well, as he dropped his opponent before playing a great through ball to Wilson, although Mammadzada came out quickly to collect. Curtis used his quick feet as he darted in and out of the Azerbaijan defence and beat the Tartan Army with a throw in to close out the first half.
Half time: Scotland U21 3-1 Azerbaijan U21
Azerbaijan kicked us off in the second half, but it was Scotland that started with a bang as they won a free-kick just outside the box but didn’t manage to test the Azerbaijan backline. Ryan Carr showed great strength to shoulder off his man and kickstart the Scotland attack.
The young Scots almost found the back of the net again as Curtis worked his way into the box before releasing a fierce curling effort that just flew over the crossbar. Azerbaijan nearly found the opener of the second half as Ahmadov whipped a great ball into the box that was met by Aghadadash Salyanskiy who fired his header just over.
Dockery’s men added another to their tally as Tyler Fletcher saw the ball fall to him in space. Composed, Fletcher rolled the ball into the bottom corner to add his first of the game.
Azerbaijan pulled one back as Hikmat Jabrayilzade whipped a free kick into the box. The ball bobbled its way through to Raul Mammadov, who placed it past the goalkeeper. Azerbaijan were pressing hard for another quickfire goal as Ahmadov and Hikmat Jabrayilzade played a clever one-two, to open up the Scotland defence before Ahmadov fluffed his lines.
Scotland played some clever football down the right flank as Curtis, Lobban and Andy Tod popped it between them to carve out a half chance. Fletcher showed outrageous skill as he lost his man with a classy body faint to create some space. Scotland made it a five-star performance as super-sub, Bobby Wales, drove through on goal and slotted his strike into the side netting. To finish the game with Scotland winning 5-2.
Scotland Player Of The Match:
Scotland’s player of the match on the night was Findlay Curtis. Curtis finished the match with 4 assists and was a handful for the Azerbaijan backline.
Scotland Magic Moment:
Scotland’s magic moment goes to Tyler Fletcher. The midfielder showed his overall composure across the 90 minutes, but in particular his brilliant body faint was a touch of real class on top of a solid performance.
Scotland Under 21s:
1. Liam Mcfarlane
2. Ben Mcpherson
4. Henry Fieldson
5. Joshua Feeney
6. Ryan Carr
7. Dire Mebude
8. Findlay Curtis
9. Barney Stewart
10. James Wilson
11. Taylor Steven
12. Ruairidh Adams
14. Bobby Wales
15. Connor Allan
16. Tyler Fletcher
17. Kyle Glasgow
18. Emilio Lawrence
19. Daniel Kelly
20. Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen (c)
22. Dylan Loban
23. Andrew Tod
Azerbaijan Under 21s:
2. Eshgin Ahmadov
3. Nughay Rashidov
4. Elgun Dunyamaliyev
5. Emin Rustamov
7. Moustafa Camara
8. Emil Suleymanov
9. Aghadadash Salyanskiy
10. Nariman Akhundzade
11. Nakid Aliev
12. Sadig Mammadzada
13. Sanan Muradli
14. Akbar Eyubov
15. Raul Mammadov
17. Nihad Ahmadzada
18. Shahin Shaniyarov
19. Lorenzo Mezzoreto
20. Aykhan Suleymali (c)
21. Okan Tahmzali
22. Khayal Farzullayev
23. Hikmat Jabrayilzade
