Anthony Ralston broke the deadlock against Armenia with an impressive header
“To make my first outing and achieve my first goal, it’s a lot to catch.”
With two more games for Scotland in the next six days, Anthony Ralston may not have time to stop in his impressive show against Armenia.
But when the dust is reached in this marathon season, the 23-year-old can be very pleased.
Having established himself as a regular at Celtic, he may be about to do the same for his country.
Ralston was in the middle of the action from the first whistle to a rain-soaked Hampden, preparing two things close to Stuart Armstrong and Andy Robertson before opening the scoring with a strong header from behind.
He kept going up and down the far right for 75 minutes, earning a warm standing ovation from the tartan army and the party man award.
“I felt amazing,” he told Premier Sports immediately after the 2-0 victory in the League of Nations.
“I enjoyed every minute and I’m glad I contributed to the team.
“It’s a very proud time, my family and my little one were here tonight, being there singing the national anthem will live with me forever.”
His goal came in the 28th minute when he got up and made a beautiful cross from Armstrong.
“I just tried to get into the back post, I headed it down and at the angle where I was I didn’t know if it was going, but I could see it was touching the net, so it was another proud moment.” he beamed in front of the television cameras.
“Every children’s dream is to play for your country, to score for your country, so to do so is very special.”
‘Good night everyone’
Scott McKenna scored the other goal before the break, also the first for Scotland, and Nottingham Forest’s midfielder could have been celebrating a quick double if the VAR’s cameras hadn’t caught his offside when he threw the ball. above the line. again just before the break.
“I had no doubt about Tony because he plays for Celtic and they face an opposition that sits down to defend and makes it difficult for them,” coach Steve Clarke said.
“I knew I would find the right position on the pitch, and when I scored the goal, it was definitely the right position.
“Scott did well, I thought all three of them did well as a unit.
“If he hadn’t been so impetuous and taken half a step offside, he would have made a double tonight. It was a good night for everyone.
“I think the key was to keep the pace of the game, the pace of the game and keep looking for weaknesses and we finally opened them up.
“We knew it wouldn’t be easy, they also showed a bit of a threat on the counterattacks. It’s a good result for us and we hope another unbeaten streak starts.”
Praise the “outstanding leader” Robertson
The League of Nations has given Scotland the road to Euro 2020, and with away games against the Republic of Ireland and Armenia next week, Clarke is set to overcome the pain of losing the semi-final. from last week’s World Cup. in Ukraine, which is also in group B1.
“It was important to refresh him,” the coach said of his six changes to the starting eleven. “It was also important for the guys who played last week and went back.
“I must mention the captain [Robertson], I thought it was exceptional. He was excellent in the locker room before the game. He himself, John McGinn and Callum McGregor are leaders in taking us to the pitch for three good performances, but I thought the captain was outstanding.
“Overall, as a captain, as a leader, it’s a role in which Andy has grown up. Sometimes he just doesn’t get the mentions he might have to do and captains are important right now.”