Serbia v Scotland: extra time in Euro 2020 play-off – live! | Football
99 min: Heavy Serbian pressure now. Scotland are on the rack at the moment. The home side’s latest corner is dealt with but … Gudelj returns it with interest and Marshall makes a *brilliant* save, tipping round the post at full stretch. These are fraught times.
97 min: Mitrovic has an effort deflected wide. Scotland are missing Dykes, who had been winning everything up top and holding it up imperiously.
96 min: Hungary scored twice right at the death to beat Iceland 2-1, drama fans. And Northern Ireland provided some fun of their own too, equalising late on against Slovakia to put their own tie into extra time.
94 min: This is still there for Scotland. It’s a test of mental strength now but they need to remember that they’ve been consistently the better side throughout this game.
92 min: Rajkovic has to help a long-range drive from O’Donnell over the bar. Scotland will be encouraged to have a corner, which is punched away by Rajkovic before Jack lashes off target.
End of 90 minutes: Serbia 1-1 Scotland
Into extra-time we will go, and Scotland need to clear their heads as this has been agonising. They’d barely been in trouble, and could have scored more themselves … but then Jovic struck at the last.
90+2 min: That is pretty much the first cross Scotland haven’t defended expertly all night. What a kick in the guts. There were only two minutes of added time to play.
Goal! Serbia 1-1 Scotland (Jovic, 90)
Oh, my word. Oh no. Mladenovic produces a much, much better delivery this time and Jovic rises like a salmon to beat Marshall with a textbook downward header, bouncing up and in. We are heading for extra time.
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90 min: Serbia make space in the box and Jovic just can’t connect properly from the cutback. He still earns a corner, and …
88 min: Mladenovic hoists an attempted cross embarrassingly behind the goal and sums up Serbia’s night so far, really.
87 min: Christie, the likely hero here, is replaced by Paterson. Plenty of fist-bumps as he walks past the bench.
85 min: A let-off there, Jovic bulleting a header fractionally wide at the near post after Mladenovic gets away and crosses. That was a real chance for Serbia!
84 min: Katai miscues an attempted lob after Gallagher clears a right-sided cross, which are pretty much all Serbia have currently.
83 min: Gallagher does brilliantly to hold off Mitrovic and concede a corner. It’s a poor set-piece from Lazovic and Scotland, who just don’t look flustered at all here, survive with ease. Couple of subs now – the superb Dykes is off and McBurnie on, while the tireless McGinn is replaced by McLean. So close now …
78 min: Jovic earns Serbia a corner. Might be a few more of these. This one is headed away at the near post and Dykes brilliantly clears a subsequent delivery. But it’s another flag kick now, and some real pressure. Again, Scotland field it before Mitrovic flicks a header wide when it’s played back again. Nailbiting times, these.
75 min: Robertson is so good (newsflash!). He stops a Lazovic incursion towards his own box and then runs half the length of the field to get Scotland going again.
73 min: A Christie set-piece causes havoc and Serbia, at sixes and sevens, somehow scramble it away. Another goal would win this.
71 min: Now Christie, from an angle, cracks one across goal and inches wide! Serbia have brought on Katai and the Real Madrid forward Jovic for Milinkovic-Savic and Maksimovic.
70 min: Nearly spoke too soon! At one end McGregor shoots just wide from 25 yards, but then Serbia do put something together and Milinkovic-Savic heads into the side-netting when decently placed.
69 min: Tierney can’t find Robertson after a nice move, but Scotland are showing absolutely no sign of strain here.
66 min: Scotland’s players just look … hungrier. They box Serbia in by their own corner flag again. The hosts just haven’t operated with this intensity at all.
63 min: Gallagher makes a big block as Mitrovic looks to turn him and shoot. Serbia are starting to step up the tempo, although that’s not saying too much as they have been very passive so far.
61 min: Robertson concedes a cheap corner but Tadic, having worked it short, once again overhits his delivery. Serbia’s big names have been well out of whack so far.
60 min: Serbia have brought on Mladenovic for Kostic, and the sub immediately gets away down the left only for O’Donnell to get back and block. The home side have half an hour to end their own awful European Championship run.
55 min: No question at all, Scotland deserve this. Serbia have been so patchy and, from the first minute, Clarke’s side have looked ice cool. They win a corner now but can’t work a chance for number two.
Goal! Serbia 0-1 Scotland (Christie 52)
But there it is! What a goal from Christie, who seems to be running out of options in a crowded zone just outside the box, but turns superbly – helped by teammates’ runs distracting the defence – and lashes a low drive in off the post! Scotland are on their way to the Euros if this holds!
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51 min: What a chance for Robertson! Scotland should be ahead. Dykes holds the ball up expertly, waits, waits, and lays it into the path of the left wing-back, who you’d put your house on bulging the net from 15 yards. But he lashes over at full pelt! Best opening of the game by some way.
49 min: The all-action McGinn wins a free-kick midway into Serbian territory. It’s a decent position to seek out Dykes and company, but Christie’s cross flies beyond everyone.
47 min: I’d been wondering where Simon McMahon was!
“This is all rather worrying if you ask me. Scotland have been the better side but Serbia look dangerous, and conditions are dreadful, meaning mistakes are likely. I don’t like our chances if we concede first. And I hope Gallagher’s booking doesn’t prove costly – it wasn’t even a foul; I think the referee thought he had handled when in fact it was the Serbian player whose flailing arm caught the ball. Anyway, COME ON SCOTLAND!!!”
Ewan Paton writes: “Just great to see Scotland competitive in a serious match again, with a chance of qualifying. At 14, I had a letter published in the Glasgow Evening Times criticising the real negativity being directed towards a squad including Souness, Strachan, Archibald, McStay, Sharp and Charlie Nicholas, whose legendary manager had just died tragically at pitch side in Cardiff, and who had travelled successfully to the other side of the world (Australia) to qualify via a playoff for their fourth World Cup in a row.”
Other play-off half-times: Hungary 0-1 Iceland, Northern Ireland 0-1 Slovakia.
Friendlies latest: England 2-0 Republic of Ireland, Wales 0-0 USA.
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Half-time: Serbia 0-0 Scotland
A good half from Scotland, who have set a platform to go on and win the game. They controlled the first 15 minutes and, while it’s been more even since then, still look the more structured and composed. Just the half-chance apiece really, to Lukic and McGinn; it’s tight, it’s tense, and this second half should be a belter.
45 min: Tadic’s delivery is uncharacteristically awful and that should see us through to the break.
44 min: Gallagher is booked for a seemingly innocuous foul 30 yards out. Tadic is over this …
43 min: Tierney goes on a tremendous, scurrying burst into the box and gets towards the line. He cuts back with intent but a defender gets there first and the ball rolls to Rajkovic. That was a very, very smart change of tempo from the Arsenal man though and almost opened Serbia up.
40 min: McGinn tries to roll Gudelj and run free, but the referee isn’t having it. Not sure he actually did that much wrong there; McGinn certainly feels wronged.
38 min: A decent little spell for Serbia, forcing a couple of stretched clearances even if it doesn’t yield all that much. Scotland would definitely not want to go in behind here.
36 min: Christie loses his footing as he *almost* works a shooting chance on the edge of the box. It’s opening up a touch.
35 min: McGregor makes an absolutely vital run to cover a Lazovic break with Robertson the wrong side of the ball – wonderfully assiduous work from him.
32 min: Chance for McGinn! A half-chance anyway. He’s played into all kinds of space on the left but never quite looks confident enough to have a pop from that side, eventually shooting and forcing a relatively comfortable save from Rajkovic. Your Andy Robertsons possibly bury that.
31 min: Dykes does well to head on a long free-kick but is then pulled up for fouling Stefan Mitrovic. This currently has a going-the-distance feel about it.
29 min: A couple of decent deliveries from the left have just caused Scotland some concern. Mitrovic (let’s assume I mean the striker if I don’t give his first name) does get his head on the second of them but it loops through to Marshall.