UEFA European Under-17s Championship - Qualifying Rounds
Scotland 2 - 0 Armenia
Tuesday 22nd October 2019
Forthbank, Stirling

Scotland: Chris Mochrie (8), Jayden Fairley (58)

Scotland under-17s began their qualification campaign for the European Championships with a 2-0 win over Armenia.

It was a dream start for Scotland when they opened the scoring eight minutes into the game. It was a great ball from Liam Smith that sent through Kevin Hanratty one on one with the Armenian keeper. After his shot was well saved, Chris Mochrie was there to tuck away the rebound to put the hosts ahead.

For the majority of the first half it was a battle in the midfield of the park, with Scotland shading it on the side of possession but limited chances.

The next real chance, and the final of the first half, came five minutes from the break when Leon King’s free kick from the edge of the box fizzed over the bar.

Tricky play from Smith coming in from the wing caused problems in the Armenian box as Scotland started the second half brightly. His ball pinballed around in the six yard box before hitting the post and resulting in a corner.

When the game needed a spark of magic, Jayden Fairley answered the call in spectacular fashion. The midfielder picked up the ball and his left-footed effort from long range flew into the top corner to double Scotland’s lead.

It was a professional performance for the remainder of the second half for Scotland as they saw out the game comfortably.

Brian McLaughin’s team will be back in action this Friday night against Iceland before ending this section of the campaign with Croatia on Monday.

Scotland: Tom Ritchie, Adam Devine, Leo Watson, Leon King, Liam Morrison ©, Jayden Fairley, Liam Smith, MacKenzie Carse, Chris Mochrie, Barry Hepburn, Kevin Hanratty

Subs: Jay Hogarth, Michael Mellon, Regan Thomson, Lewis Coulton, Alex Lowry, Dane Murray, Ben Nelson, Ryan Duncan, Calvin Ramsay

Armenia: Matinyan, Tamazyan, Simonyan, Mkrtchyan, Arakelyan, Vardanyan, Piloyan, Serobyan, Sahakyan, Hayrapetyan, Galstyan

Subs: Matirosyan, Samvelyan, Hovhannisyan, Hovhannisyan, Atayan, Hakobyan, Davtyan, Hakobyan, Babayan