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Scotland v Moldova

European Qualifiers for FIFA World Cup 2022 Hampden Park, Glasgow Saturday 4th September, 2021 | KO 7.45pm

European Qualifiers for FIFA World Cup 2022
Hampden Park, Glasgow
Saturday 4th September, 2021 | KO 7.45pm

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Scottish FA<br />

Hampden Park<br />

Glasgow<br />

G42 9AY<br />

0141 616 6000<br />

Scottish FA Online:<br />

e. info@scottishfa.co.uk<br />

w. www.scottishfa.co.uk<br />

Twitter. @<strong>Scotland</strong>NT<br />

Facebook.com/<br />

scotlandnationalteam<br />

OFFICE BEARERS:<br />

President<br />

Rod Petrie<br />

Chief executive<br />

Ian Maxwell<br />

Vice-president<br />

Mike Mulraney<br />

Programme produced on<br />

behalf of the Scottish FA by<br />

Ignition Sports Media<br />

ignitionsportsmedia.com<br />

Production: David Middleton<br />

Photography:<br />

SNS Pix, PA Images<br />

Commissioning Editor:<br />

Ronnie Esplin<br />

Managing Editor:<br />

Ross MacDonald-Allan<br />

Please note that the views<br />

expressed in this programme<br />

do not necessarily reflect<br />

those of the Scottish FA.<br />

The Scottish Football<br />

Association Limited is a<br />

private company limited<br />

by guarantee, registered in<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong>, with its registered<br />

office at Hampden Park,<br />

Glasgow G42 9AY and<br />

company number SC005453.<br />

IN THIS ISSUE...<br />

04 / MANAGER’S NOTES<br />

Steve Clarke is happy to see<br />

so many <strong>Scotland</strong> fans back at<br />

Hampden Park<br />

06 / HAMPDEN REBOOT<br />

Scots look for positive return to<br />

the national stadium<br />

12 / HOME IS WHERE<br />

THE HEART IS<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong> star gets ready for his<br />

delayed Hampden Park debut<br />

18 / WE’VE MET BEFORE<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong> 2-0 <strong>Moldova</strong><br />

20 / MOLDING A<br />

BRIGHTER FUTURE<br />

Tonight’s visitors are showing<br />

signs of progress<br />

26 / MOLDOVA IN NUMBERS<br />

The facts and figures around<br />

tonight’s visitors<br />

28 / PREVIOUS MEETINGS<br />

Tonight’s opponents have only<br />

faced each other twice...<br />

34 / ON THIS DATE<br />

4 September, 2016;<br />

Malta 1-5 <strong>Scotland</strong><br />

36 / GROUND REGULATIONS<br />

38 / END OF THE LINE<br />

The first encounter with<br />

<strong>Moldova</strong> spelled the end of<br />

the manager and goalscorer’s<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong> careers<br />

44 / A SPECIAL ENVIRONMENT<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong>’s top women<br />

players will get the chance to<br />

live the Hampden experience<br />

on a regular basis<br />

50 / PLAYER Q&A<br />

St Johnstone goalkeeper<br />

Zander Clark chuffed to get<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong> recognition<br />

56 / LEARNING THROUGH<br />

FOOTBALL<br />

The recent Euro 2020 finals are<br />

having a major influence on<br />

education in <strong>Scotland</strong><br />

63 / NO WIN BUT PLENTY WINE<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong> fan John Gold recalls an<br />

eventful trip to <strong>Moldova</strong><br />

MATCH OFFICIALS<br />

Referee:<br />

Lawrence Visser (BE)<br />

Assistant referee 1:<br />

Rien Vanyzere (BE)<br />

Assistant referee 2:<br />

Thibaud Nijssen (BE)<br />

4th official:<br />

Bram van Driessche (BE)<br />

HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021<br />

SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 3


HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021<br />

SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 4


MANAGER’S WELCOME<br />

Good evening and welcome to Hampden Park.<br />

Just being able to write those words - to<br />

welcome fans back to the national stadium<br />

for a qualification match - after the past 18<br />

months feels like a tremendous step forward<br />

in the battle against the horrific disease that<br />

has caused so much pain across the world.<br />

It will be a special moment to hear the roar<br />

of the <strong>Scotland</strong> fans when we walk out the<br />

tunnel tonight and having you all back in<br />

person comes at a very important time for<br />

the team.<br />

After Wednesday’s 2-0 defeat to Denmark<br />

we now face a crucial two matches, starting<br />

tonight against <strong>Moldova</strong>.<br />

It came as no secret to us that Denmark<br />

are a top side - you only had to look at their<br />

performances at EURO 2020 to see that -<br />

but the first half on Wednesday night left us in<br />

no doubt as to why they are the top seeds in<br />

the group.<br />

The intensity and quality they showed at<br />

the start of the game made life difficult for<br />

us. Conceding two goals in quick succession<br />

made it a long night for us. We could, and<br />

should, have done better for both goals and<br />

we didn’t give ourselves a platform in the<br />

game. While we showed good character in<br />

the second half and we improved in the game<br />

it was a disappointing night.<br />

In what is shaping up to be an extremely<br />

tightly-fought battle for second place in this<br />

group, it is understandable that many will<br />

consider this triple header as a potentially<br />

defining period in our World Cup qualifying<br />

aspirations. For the players, coaching staff<br />

and I, we see tonight as an opportunity to take<br />

a stride towards securing that play-off spot.<br />

With Israel and Austria playing each other,<br />

second place is still very much achievable.<br />

We can certainly give ourselves a massive<br />

lift tonight with a win and with the <strong>Scotland</strong><br />

supporters behind us in numbers, we have<br />

something on our side that has been missing<br />

for a long time.<br />

We are also well aware that the entire world<br />

is still dealing with Covid. Over the course of<br />

the last week we have seen that with the way<br />

it has affected the squad and we have had to<br />

adapt to the challenges we have faced.<br />

However, it is important to put the issues that<br />

the team and I have faced with Covid into<br />

perspective. All across the world we are still<br />

seeing people suffering from this horrific virus.<br />

Many are in hospital on ventilators while many<br />

others are suffering the effects of long Covid.<br />

As we all prepare to be reunited at Hampden<br />

this evening, I want to again take this chance<br />

to urge all of you to stay safe and, of course,<br />

give us all of your support tonight as we<br />

set our sights on a place at another major<br />

tournament.<br />

The backing of so many <strong>Scotland</strong> fans in<br />

Hampden has been a long time coming. I hope<br />

you enjoy your return to the national stadium.<br />

Enjoy the game.<br />

HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021<br />

SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 5


HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021 SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 6


› › ›<br />

HAMPDEN<br />

REBOOT<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong> look for positive return to<br />

the national stadium<br />

WORDS: ALASDAIR LAMONT, BBC SCOTLAND<br />

› › ›<br />

HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021<br />

SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 7


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<strong>Scotland</strong> return to Hampden Park tonight for the first time since<br />

that deflating defeat by Croatia in June. Hopes of a place in the<br />

knockout stages at Euro 2020 ended on that summer’s evening at<br />

the hands - or, more accurately, feet - of a Luka Modric-inspired<br />

Vatreni. Nonetheless, Steve Clarke’s mantra since has been ‘let’s<br />

make tournament qualification a regular occurrence, not a once-in-ageneration<br />

achievement’.<br />

Prior to the Euros, of course, the<br />

Scots had already set about the<br />

task of getting to the next major<br />

tournament - Qatar 2022. That<br />

opening triple-header in March<br />

did not go entirely to plan.<br />

Popular wisdom will tell you that<br />

to have a chance of qualifying,<br />

either directly by winning the<br />

group or through a play-off as<br />

one of the ten runners-up, you<br />

have to win your home games<br />

and take points off your rivals on<br />

their territory.<br />

So an opening draw at Hampden<br />

Park against Austria followed by<br />

a Groundhog Day draw in Israel<br />

were far from ideal, although<br />

certainly <strong>Scotland</strong> showed<br />

character to come back in both<br />

games to earn a point from each.<br />

The 4-0 victory over the Faroes<br />

finished off that batch of games<br />

in positive, if expected, style<br />

and ensured we would travel to<br />

Copenhagen realistically needing<br />

something from the match to<br />

retain any expectations of being<br />

able to top Group F.<br />

At that point, no one could have<br />

foreseen the near-tragedy that<br />

was to befall the Danes at the<br />

Euros, when Christian Eriksen<br />

suffered a cardiac arrest on the<br />

pitch before thankfully surviving<br />

but any casual observer might<br />

have anticipated their highlyimpressive<br />

run to the semis given<br />

the way they began World Cup<br />

qualification - a 4-0 win in Vienna<br />

the stand-out result as they<br />

amassed nine points from nine,<br />

scoring 14 without reply.<br />

HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021<br />

SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 9


HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021 SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 10<br />

It was against that backdrop<br />

Clarke’s depleted squad travelled<br />

to Copenhagen, still with a<br />

strong-looking starting XI but<br />

without some key performers<br />

such as John McGinn and<br />

Scott McTominay, or indeed a<br />

recognised right-back.<br />

It was always going to be difficult<br />

to bring anything home from<br />

the Parken stadium and the loss<br />

of two quick goals in the first<br />

half rendered that task all but<br />

impossible.<br />

The manager was frustrated by<br />

the manner in which those goals<br />

were conceded. “When you look<br />

at both goals we could’ve done<br />

better,” he admitted. “We didn’t<br />

give ourselves a platform in the<br />

game and it took us until 30<br />

minutes before we got a feel for it.<br />

By that time the game had gone<br />

beyond our reach.”<br />

There was a marked<br />

improvement in the second period<br />

but a comeback was beyond the<br />

Scots. Billy Gilmour again showed<br />

flashes of the quality his early<br />

international appearances have<br />

promised.<br />

And perhaps if Ryan Fraser’s effort<br />

had not been repelled by Denmark<br />

keeper Kasper Schmeichel, the<br />

visitors might have been able to<br />

muster a late rescue mission, but<br />

as it was they again found goals<br />

hard to come by.<br />

Expect changes to the team<br />

tonight, with John McGinn,<br />

Nathan Patterson and Stephen<br />

O’Donnell available again.<br />

There could also be a start for<br />

David Turnbull, who has had to<br />

wait patiently for a chance at<br />

international level, having been<br />

one of Celtic’s best performers<br />

over the past 14 months. With<br />

Patterson or O’Donnell’s addition,<br />

captain Andy Robertson will be<br />

able to resume his more natural<br />

left wing-back beat as he did<br />

in Wednesday’s second half.<br />

Returning Kevin Nisbet offers<br />

another striking option.<br />

Ultimately, it is difficult to escape<br />

the notion that we are now in<br />

an almighty scrap with Austria<br />

and Israel for second place and<br />

a play-off spot. And that means<br />

nothing less than three points will<br />

be acceptable against a <strong>Moldova</strong><br />

IF RYAN FRASER’S<br />

EFFORT HAD NOT<br />

BEEN REPELLED<br />

BY DENMARK<br />

KEEPER KASPER<br />

SCHMEICHEL, THE<br />

VISITORS MIGHT<br />

HAVE BEEN ABLE<br />

TO MUSTER A LATE<br />

RESCUE MISSION


side vying with the Faroes to<br />

avoid finishing bottom.<br />

As Clarke noted on Wednesday<br />

night: “When you lose there aren’t<br />

too many positives. We have to<br />

go away, recover well and get<br />

three points at Hampden on<br />

Saturday. You don’t have time<br />

to feel sorry for yourself. We’ll<br />

assess what happened and try to<br />

do better.”<br />

On the face of it, a win should be<br />

a formality. <strong>Moldova</strong>’s sole point<br />

so far in Group F came in their<br />

opening match at home to the<br />

Faroe Islands. They shipped eight<br />

goals in Copenhagen and four<br />

more at home to Israel.<br />

Then on Wednesday evening,<br />

they lost again, though this<br />

time it was a narrow home<br />

defeat to <strong>Scotland</strong>’s next<br />

opponent’s Austria. <strong>Moldova</strong>’s<br />

last competitive win of any sort<br />

was a 1-0 Euro 2020 qualifying<br />

victory over Andorra in June 2019,<br />

beating San Marino by the same<br />

scoreline in their most recent<br />

away win eight months earlier.<br />

It would be stretching things to<br />

identify any star players in their<br />

ranks, but Radu Ginsari is their<br />

playmaker and with seven goals<br />

is their top scorer too, albeit his<br />

last international strike came<br />

three years ago. Ginsari has<br />

played in Israel and Russia but<br />

is now back with Milsami Orhei<br />

in his homeland. Captain Artur<br />

Ionita is vastly experienced,<br />

playing for several years at<br />

Cagliari and now at Benevento in<br />

Italy’s Serie B.<br />

But this is a game <strong>Scotland</strong><br />

should and must win ahead of a<br />

trip to Vienna that will also have<br />

to yield something if Qatar 2022<br />

is to remain a realistic destination.<br />

HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021<br />

SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 11


HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021 SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 12


HOME IS<br />

WHERE THE<br />

HEART IS<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong> star gets ready for<br />

his delayed Hampden debut<br />

Billy Gilmour looks forward<br />

to hearing the Tartan Army<br />

in full voice as he gets<br />

ready to play for <strong>Scotland</strong><br />

at Hampden Park for the<br />

first time.<br />

So far the Norwich City midfielder,<br />

on loan from Chelsea, has won<br />

caps in matches in England,<br />

Luxembourg and Portugal with<br />

his most recent appearance<br />

coming on Wednesday night<br />

against Denmark in the<br />

2022 World Cup qualifier in<br />

Copenhagen.<br />

Following the loosening of<br />

Covid-19 restrictions in Denmark,<br />

almost 35,000 colourful and noisy<br />

home fans were in the Parken<br />

Stadium to cheer their heroes to<br />

victory over Steve Clarke’s side,<br />

making it 12 points from 12 as<br />

they motor on their way to Qatar<br />

next year.<br />

Travelling restrictions meant<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong>’s traditionally huge<br />

away support was absent but<br />

the fans will be at Hampden Park<br />

in their thousands tonight for the<br />

visit of <strong>Moldova</strong>.<br />

HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021 SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 13


An hour of Fun Football means more than just 60 minutes.<br />

Football seems to always be about the numbers.<br />

Shots on target. Possession stats. Successful dribbles.<br />

Tackles made. Offsides. Minutes played. The scoreline.<br />

While we’re thrilled to be celebrating hitting our target a<br />

year early, it’s never been just about the numbers. It’s always<br />

been about the kids and the enjoyment they get from our<br />

sessions. If there’s a smile on their faces, that’s a win for us.<br />

Here’s to plenty more hours of Fun Football!


Gilmour was due to start the<br />

2020 Euros Group D match<br />

against Croatia at the national<br />

stadium in June but tested<br />

positive for Covid-19.<br />

And after being impressed by<br />

the enthusiasm of the Danish<br />

fans on Wednesday night, he<br />

can’t wait to perform in front of<br />

a home support and believes<br />

they will help the Scots get the<br />

qualification campaign back to<br />

winning ways against a side<br />

who lost 2-0 away to Austria on<br />

Wednesday and who sit bottom<br />

of Group F.<br />

The 20-year-old said: “The main<br />

thing now is trying to take the<br />

positives out of the match and<br />

take them into the game at<br />

Hampden.<br />

“We know just how big a game<br />

it is and we have made sure we<br />

rested and got ourselves ready,<br />

both mentally and physically.<br />

“We’ll have the added boost of<br />

our fans being in Hampden in<br />

good numbers. I think the game<br />

with Denmark showed just<br />

how important the fans can be<br />

when they get behind their team<br />

like that, and we all know the<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong> fans will give us that<br />

welcome and backing to try and<br />

help us over the line.<br />

“<strong>Moldova</strong> will be another difficult<br />

match. There are no easy games<br />

at this level and we don’t need<br />

to be reminded of that - we’ll be<br />

prepared and ready to go out<br />

there and give our all for three<br />

points.”<br />

Clarke’s squad, depleted for<br />

the trip to Copenhagen and still<br />

missing key players, have had to<br />

regroup following a difficult night<br />

to say the least against the Euro<br />

2020 semi-finalists.<br />

Kasper Hjulmand’s talented side<br />

were two goals ahead after only<br />

15 minutes through a powerful<br />

header from Daniel Wass and<br />

a well-worked goal by Joakim<br />

Maehle.<br />

It wasn’t really until the second<br />

half, after Clarke had rejigged his<br />

team at the interval, that <strong>Scotland</strong><br />

began to play with more purpose<br />

and belief.<br />

WE KNOW<br />

JUST HOW BIG<br />

A GAME IT IS<br />

AND WE HAVE<br />

MADE SURE<br />

WE RESTED<br />

AND GOT<br />

OURSELVES<br />

READY, BOTH<br />

MENTALLY AND<br />

PHYSICALLY<br />

HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021 SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 15


HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021 SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 16


However, up against a confident<br />

side who have not lost a qualifier<br />

for a major tournament since<br />

2016, the deficit was too much to<br />

claw back.<br />

Gilmour, who came through the<br />

Rangers youth academy before<br />

his move to Chelsea in 2017,<br />

following his 16th birthday,<br />

revealed regret at such a slow<br />

and insipid start to the game.<br />

He said: “I felt we lacked that<br />

impetus in the first half to get on<br />

the ball and we sat off Denmark.<br />

In the second half we were a lot<br />

better and showed that impetus<br />

we were probably missing - it<br />

was a lot better than the first half.<br />

“We got at them more and tried<br />

hard to get ourselves back in<br />

the game. We played with an<br />

intensity we should have shown<br />

from the start. We need to work<br />

hard and help each other out on<br />

the pitch, not only against a top<br />

team like Denmark but in every<br />

game and we know we are<br />

capable of better than what we<br />

showed in the first half.”<br />

Gilmour established himself<br />

in Clarke’s squad in time for<br />

this summer’s Euros, the first<br />

tournament <strong>Scotland</strong> had<br />

qualified for since the 1998 World<br />

Cup.<br />

The Ayrshireman is not allowing<br />

himself to be satisfied with<br />

appearances at just one major<br />

finals though, even if it was a<br />

man-of-the-match performance<br />

against ‘Auld Enemy’ England in a<br />

goalless draw at Wembley - and<br />

has already consigned the Euros<br />

to the past, to be revisited only<br />

post-career.<br />

Despite the tricky start to the<br />

2022 World Cup qualifying<br />

campaign, where <strong>Scotland</strong> have<br />

five points from 12 after a victory<br />

over the Faroe Islands and draws<br />

at home to Austria and away to<br />

Israel, Gilmour is determined to<br />

help <strong>Scotland</strong> get to the finals in<br />

Qatar.<br />

He said: “Like every player in this<br />

squad, pulling on the <strong>Scotland</strong><br />

shirt is an incredibly proud feeling<br />

for me, so to be back representing<br />

my country after being a part of<br />

the Euros was special, it’s just<br />

disappointing that the result<br />

didn’t go our way on Wednesday.<br />

“We know that it can be easy<br />

to talk about the summer we<br />

had and being a part of a major<br />

tournament, but for all of us, our<br />

sole focus is on what lies ahead<br />

and giving everything we’ve got<br />

to try and qualify for the World<br />

Cup.”<br />

WE ALL KNOW<br />

THE SCOTLAND<br />

FANS WILL<br />

GIVE US THAT<br />

WELCOME AND<br />

BACKING TO<br />

TRY AND HELP<br />

US OVER THE<br />

LINE<br />

HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021 SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 17


HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021 SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 18


WE’VE<br />

MET<br />

BEFORE<br />

SCOTLAND 2<br />

MOLDOVA 0<br />

WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS<br />

SATURDAY 4 JUNE, 2005<br />

TWO GOAL-SCORING<br />

SUBSTITUTES PROVED<br />

THE DIFFERENCE THE LAST<br />

TIME SCOTLAND FACED<br />

MOLDOVA IN A COMPETITIVE<br />

INTERNATIONAL 16 YEARS AGO.<br />

Walter Smith’s injury-ravaged<br />

squad managed to edge a<br />

nervous win in the only previous<br />

occasion the two nations have<br />

met at Hampden, as the Scots<br />

resurrected the nation’s World<br />

Cup qualification hopes that had<br />

seen them winless and in Group<br />

Five’s bottom two prior to kick-off.<br />

Yet West Ham United’s Christian<br />

Dailly capitalized on goalkeeper<br />

Evghenii Hmaruc spilling Lee<br />

McCulloch’s cross on 52 minutes<br />

for his first international goal in<br />

three years, before 74 th -minute<br />

replacement James McFadden<br />

fired home in the closing minute<br />

as an organised and disciplined<br />

performance won the day.<br />

Smith conceding post-match:<br />

“When players finish the season,<br />

these are hard matches to play.”<br />

HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021<br />

SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 19


HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021 SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 20<br />

MOLDING<br />

A BRIGHTER<br />

FUTURE<br />

Tonight’s visitors are showing<br />

signs of progress<br />

Words: Gordon Parks, Daily Record<br />

› › ›


HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021<br />

SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 21


EXCLUSIVE RETAIL PARTNER


<strong>Moldova</strong> head cocah<br />

Roberto Bordin is overseeing<br />

his nation’s forward strides<br />

THE NATIONAL<br />

TEAM IS THE<br />

BIGGEST SPORTS<br />

REFERENCE FOR<br />

EVERYONE. IT<br />

HAS THE TASK OF<br />

REPRESENTING<br />

THE WHOLE<br />

COUNTRY AND<br />

ALL ITS PEOPLE<br />

<strong>Moldova</strong>n football is hoping to<br />

reap the rewards of a push for<br />

improvement which saw the<br />

construction of more than 340<br />

artificial mini-pitches.<br />

And national boss Roberto<br />

Bordin believes his arrival as<br />

head coach earlier this year has<br />

been timed to perfection for a<br />

country now starting to enjoy the<br />

fruits of that labour.<br />

It's been a slow burner for the<br />

former Soviet republic since the<br />

formation of their own football<br />

association in 1990 but their rise<br />

in credibility within European<br />

football has been led by FC<br />

Sheriff, who have qualified five<br />

times for the UEFA Europa<br />

League group stage.<br />

A 1-0 friendly win over<br />

Azerbaijan back in June was<br />

another indication of a nation<br />

making forward strides and<br />

Bordin insists on-field results will<br />

be the barometer for the health<br />

of the game under his reign.<br />

He said: "I am lucky to experience<br />

a historic moment in which<br />

the top management of the FA<br />

of <strong>Moldova</strong>, starting with the<br />

president Leonid Oleinicenco,<br />

develops a new era in local<br />

football. We must continue to<br />

work and invest, both in sports<br />

structures and in the training of<br />

athletes and coach education.<br />

I consider very important the<br />

support of the federation for the<br />

activity of the technical sector<br />

not only of the national team, but<br />

of each club. Certainly, the work<br />

will only lead to good results on<br />

the field.<br />

"I don't know when they will<br />

come but continuing like this,<br />

I hope to be able to give some<br />

satisfaction to the <strong>Moldova</strong>n fans<br />

soon."<br />

The 56-year-old made his name<br />

as a scheming midfielder for<br />

the likes of Napoli and Atalanta<br />

during a career spent in Serie A<br />

and his role now is to ensure his<br />

national side becomes a shining<br />

light which inspires a footballmad<br />

population.<br />

He said: “The national team is<br />

the biggest sports reference<br />

for everyone. It has the task of<br />

representing the whole country<br />

and all its people, even those<br />

who live abroad. Therefore, the<br />

responsibility is as great as the<br />

HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021<br />

SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 23


HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021 SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 24<br />

honour we have in guiding it.<br />

Personally, I will do my best every<br />

day to improve the results and<br />

the image of the national team of<br />

<strong>Moldova</strong> and to contribute to the<br />

development of football in this<br />

extraordinary, growing country."<br />

That vision is shared by<br />

<strong>Moldova</strong>n central defender Igor<br />

Armas, who insists the scoreline<br />

from Hampden tonight will help<br />

the national mood for a country<br />

not reared on making shock<br />

headlines.<br />

He said: "The people in our<br />

country love the national team<br />

a lot, even if our results are not<br />

the most gratifying, but when the<br />

national team plays, the stadium<br />

on normal days is full and<br />

everyone is waiting with all their<br />

heart that today the national<br />

team will get a good result.<br />

"We can certainly say that<br />

football is the number one sport<br />

in the Republic of <strong>Moldova</strong>,<br />

even if we have many good<br />

athletes who bring medals and<br />

participate in the Olympics,<br />

football arouses the greatest<br />

interest among citizens, as<br />

evidenced by the latest success<br />

of the Sheriff, as the first<br />

<strong>Moldova</strong>n team qualified to the<br />

Champions League group stage."<br />

Sheriff's latest European<br />

adventure has landed them<br />

a Champions League group<br />

stage which has lined up the<br />

glamour of games against Real<br />

Madrid, Inter Milan and Shakhtar<br />

Donetsk.<br />

It's another example of the<br />

growing respect being earned for<br />

Molovan football, but 34-yearold<br />

Armas admits there is also<br />

a huge dose of reality when it<br />

comes to their ambitions for<br />

World Cup qualification.<br />

He said: "Of course, before the<br />

start of the qualifying campaign,<br />

each footballer, each fan has<br />

the dream and the desire to<br />

be at the top of the group. But<br />

unfortunately, now we cannot<br />

fight on an equal level with the<br />

teams in the group that aspire<br />

to qualify for a World Cup. Our<br />

Centre-back Igor Armas in<br />

action with France’s Antoine<br />

Griezmann during a Euro 2020<br />

Qualifier<br />

I LOVE MY JOB<br />

AND I DON'T<br />

THINK THIS<br />

CAN SURPRISE<br />

ANYONE. IT'S<br />

NORMAL FOR<br />

THOSE WHO DO<br />

THIS JOB


goal is to come out on the field<br />

with our heads held high at every<br />

match and our fans to be proud<br />

of our attitude and performance."<br />

Armas was a keen observer as<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong> performed on the big<br />

stage during this summer's Euro<br />

2020 finals and he saw enough<br />

to be convinced the collective of<br />

Steve Clarke's side is stronger<br />

than any individuals.<br />

He said: "I don't have favourite<br />

players in the Scottish national<br />

team, but I watched the team's<br />

matches at the European<br />

Championship and I really liked<br />

how eager they were to play and<br />

how aggressive the players on<br />

the field are, that's something<br />

we need to do. We should play<br />

with such desire as the Scottish<br />

team do, especially in the match<br />

against England.<br />

“I am waiting for a beautiful<br />

match, and I hope with full stands<br />

to feel the atmosphere of British<br />

football and, of course, to get a<br />

positive result."<br />

National boss Bordin also<br />

opted to stay away from naming<br />

names within the Scottish squad<br />

but he's also a believer in the<br />

bigger picture of the strength of<br />

a side being spread throughout<br />

the team.<br />

He said: “<strong>Scotland</strong> are an<br />

excellent team with important<br />

players and proved to be very<br />

competitive at the last European<br />

Championship.<br />

"I'm not talking about individual<br />

players, but about the team,<br />

because I think that the results<br />

are always obtained as a team.<br />

Together with my staff we watch<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong> matches and prepare<br />

every game in the best possible<br />

way. We work to be able to<br />

offer a good game and to try our<br />

chances with a strong opponent.<br />

"I love my job and I don't think<br />

this can surprise anyone. It's<br />

normal for those who do this job."<br />

Denmark's midfielder Lasse<br />

Schone and <strong>Moldova</strong>'s<br />

defender Igor Armas vie for<br />

the ball during a FIFA World<br />

Cup 2022 qualifier<br />

HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021<br />

SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 25


HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021 SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 26<br />

MOLDOVA<br />

IN NUMBERS<br />

175<br />

<strong>Moldova</strong>’s current<br />

FIFA ranking<br />

Their best was 37th in<br />

April 2008 and lowest<br />

of 177th in November<br />

2020<br />

It has been 16 years since<br />

<strong>Moldova</strong> last played <strong>Scotland</strong><br />

<strong>Moldova</strong><br />

have had six<br />

unsuccessful<br />

attempts to<br />

reach the<br />

World Cup<br />

finals<br />

<strong>Moldova</strong>’s biggest defeat was 8-0<br />

against Denmark in this current World<br />

Cup qualification group


<strong>Moldova</strong> have<br />

played <strong>Scotland</strong><br />

twice, with one<br />

draw and one<br />

defeat<br />

It’s 30 years since <strong>Moldova</strong><br />

played their first game, a 4-2<br />

defeat by Georgia in Chisinau<br />

<strong>Moldova</strong>’s 1-0<br />

friendly victory over<br />

Azerbaijan in June<br />

2021 was a first win<br />

in two years<br />

<strong>Moldova</strong>’s biggest<br />

win was a 5-0<br />

victory over<br />

Pakistan in 1992<br />

Of the current<br />

squad nine are in<br />

their thirties, with<br />

defender Vadim<br />

Bolohan the<br />

oldest at 35<br />

Current <strong>Moldova</strong>n captain<br />

Alexandru Epureanu, who<br />

plays for Istanbul Basaksehir,<br />

is the country’s all-time<br />

appearance maker with a<br />

century of international caps<br />

after first debuting in 2006<br />

Serghei Clescenco is<br />

the nation’s all-time<br />

leading scorer with 11<br />

goals between 1991<br />

and 2006<br />

HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021<br />

SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 27


HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021 SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 28


PREVIOUS<br />

MEETINGS<br />

Tonight’s opponents have<br />

only faced each other twice...<br />

Walter Smith was just<br />

settling into his new<br />

job as <strong>Scotland</strong> boss<br />

the first and last<br />

time <strong>Moldova</strong> visited<br />

Hampden Park.<br />

The 2006 World Cup campaign<br />

was looking like a forlorn hope,<br />

but the former Rangers and<br />

Everton manager was tasked<br />

with getting it back on track.<br />

The Scottish FA had named Smith<br />

as new national team manager<br />

the previous December, following<br />

the resignation of Berti Vogts,<br />

and his tenure began in March<br />

2005 with a 2-0 defeat by Italy in<br />

the San Siro, where Andrea Pirlo<br />

struck with two free-kicks, one<br />

either side of half-time.<br />

HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021<br />

SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 29


Although the performance in<br />

front of around 10,000 Tartan<br />

Army was encouraging, the<br />

result left the Scots with only<br />

two points from their first four<br />

Group 5 qualifying fixtures<br />

- the draws coming against<br />

Slovenia and <strong>Moldova</strong> in a<br />

section which also included<br />

Belarus and Norway.<br />

Qualification hopes were<br />

slipping away but the visit<br />

of <strong>Moldova</strong>, a landlocked<br />

country situated in Eastern<br />

Europe which had previously<br />

been part of Romania and<br />

then the Soviet Union until<br />

its break-up, promised an<br />

upturn.<br />

The <strong>Moldova</strong>n Football<br />

Federation was founded in<br />

1990 but the national team<br />

did not play an international<br />

match until 1991, when they<br />

lost to Georgia.<br />

<strong>Moldova</strong> were the group<br />

minnows and despite the 1-1<br />

draw the first time the two<br />

countries had met in Chisinau<br />

the previous year, three<br />

points were expected by the<br />

home fans when the teams<br />

met in Glasgow in June 2005.<br />

A goal from West Ham’s<br />

Christian Dailly and a late<br />

clincher from fellow substitute<br />

James McFadden, then with<br />

Everton, kept World Cup<br />

hopes alive... but only just.<br />

It was a solid rather than<br />

spectacular performance<br />

from a side which saw the<br />

return between the sticks of<br />

Craig Gordon, who was in<br />

his first spell at Hearts, the<br />

only player from that day still<br />

plying his trade.<br />

Dailly replaced the injured<br />

Jackie McNamara in the<br />

26th minute and although<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong> had several chances<br />

in the first half, watched by<br />

just over 45,000 fans, it was<br />

goalless at the interval.<br />

The breakthrough came in<br />

the 52nd minute when<br />

<strong>Moldova</strong> goalkeeper Evgheni<br />

Hmaruc could only tip a cross<br />

from Lee McCulloch towards<br />

his own goal and Dailly gladly<br />

knocked the ball in from<br />

almost on the line.<br />

<strong>Moldova</strong> responded and<br />

Gordon saved from Serghei<br />

Rogaciov’s shot on the turn,<br />

before Ghenadie Olexici<br />

knocked the ball wide from in<br />

front of goal, then fired into<br />

the side-netting.<br />

Smith’s side were living<br />

dangerously but McFadden,<br />

on for McCulloch with 16<br />

minutes remaining, sealed<br />

the win in the 88th minute by<br />

driving past Hmaruc from 12<br />

yards, after Kenny Miller had<br />

bulldozed the opening.<br />

The new <strong>Scotland</strong> boss was<br />

happy to oversee a qualifying<br />

group win achieved by<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong> at the fifth attempt.<br />

He said: “I’m obviously<br />

pleased with the outcome of<br />

the game. It was an awkward<br />

one for us. I felt for the first<br />

hour we played well and the<br />

game went very much as I<br />

had expected.<br />

“We were pleased to get a<br />

little bit of a break with the<br />

first goal, but after that, I felt<br />

we could have tried to control<br />

the game a little bit more.<br />

“Our possession of the ball<br />

was slack but I think that was<br />

mainly down to tiredness<br />

with some of the boys having<br />

finished their seasons two or<br />

three weeks ago.<br />

“<strong>Moldova</strong> pushed people<br />

forward and caused us a<br />

little bit of concern, but we<br />

managed to get the second<br />

goal and, effectively, that was<br />

the game over. Over the 90<br />

minutes though, we deserved<br />

to win the game.”<br />

If the result was expected it<br />

was nonetheless a boost for<br />

HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021<br />

SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 31


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A LATE CLINCHER<br />

FROM SUBSTITUTE<br />

JAMES McFADDEN<br />

KEPT WORLD CUP<br />

HOPES ALIVE BUT<br />

ONLY JUST<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong>, but <strong>Moldova</strong> coach<br />

Victor Pasulko was dismissive<br />

of the Scots’ chances of<br />

reaching the play-offs, with<br />

Italy on course to win the<br />

group. As it turned out, Gli<br />

Azzurri went on to win the<br />

tournament in Germany the<br />

following summer.<br />

He said: “It will be very<br />

difficult for the <strong>Scotland</strong><br />

team. Norway, Slovenia and<br />

Belarus are a little bit better<br />

than <strong>Scotland</strong>.”<br />

Pasulko proved to be correct.<br />

Ultimately, <strong>Scotland</strong> finished<br />

third in the group, five points<br />

behind Norway, who went<br />

into the play-offs before<br />

losing to Czech Republic, and<br />

10 points behind winners<br />

Italy. <strong>Moldova</strong> finished bottom<br />

with five points.<br />

The dropped points under<br />

Vogts in <strong>Scotland</strong>’s first-ever<br />

meeting with <strong>Moldova</strong> on 13<br />

October 2004, had helped<br />

eliminate the Scots.<br />

Vogts had been banished<br />

to the stands by referee<br />

Paul Allaerts at half-time<br />

in the 1-0 defeat at home<br />

to Norway the previous<br />

Saturday, and even so early<br />

in the campaign his job was<br />

in jeopardy.<br />

The German was sat in the<br />

Stadionul Republican among<br />

some of the Tartan Army<br />

who witnessed a quirk in the<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong> line-up.<br />

Steven Caldwell joined<br />

brother Gary as the first<br />

pair of siblings to play for<br />

the <strong>Scotland</strong> senior side<br />

since Jock and David Shaw<br />

in 1946.<br />

Both had their work cut out.<br />

The home side carved the<br />

game’s first real chance,<br />

which Ghanadie Olexici<br />

headed over, before taking<br />

the lead in the 28th minute<br />

through Serghei Dadu. The<br />

striker took a flick on by<br />

Serghei Rogaciov at<br />

the back post and brushed<br />

aside centre-back Gary<br />

Caldwell to fire past Gordon<br />

from six yards.<br />

The goal stunned <strong>Scotland</strong><br />

into action and three minutes<br />

later they levelled through<br />

Steven Thompson. The<br />

Rangers striker got on the<br />

end of a Darren Fletcher<br />

cross from the right, which<br />

had been diverted into his<br />

path, and fired a low drive<br />

past goalkeeper Hmaruc for<br />

his third international goal.<br />

There was no late rally by<br />

the Scots. Indeed, <strong>Moldova</strong><br />

came back into it and Dadu<br />

headed over before Serghei<br />

Rogaciov missed the target<br />

from six yards.<br />

Afterwards, Vogts conceded<br />

that a bad night could have<br />

been worse for <strong>Scotland</strong>.<br />

He said: “The preparation<br />

was fine and all the boys<br />

did their best. But we didn’t<br />

have many chances and<br />

there were more chances<br />

for <strong>Moldova</strong>. Again, I’m very<br />

disappointed.”<br />

The draw was damaging<br />

enough and Vogts resigned<br />

the following month.<br />

HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021 SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 33


HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021 SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 34<br />

MALTA 1-5 SCOTLAND<br />

SUNDAY 4 SEPTEMBER, 2016 | WORLD CUP QUALIFIER<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong> were top of their<br />

World Cup Qualifying group<br />

above England on this day five<br />

years ago, thanks to a Robert<br />

Snodgrass hat-trick in Valletta.<br />

The then Hull City midfielder<br />

opened the scoring on nine<br />

minutes with a fortuitous crosscome-shot,<br />

converted a penalty<br />

after Malta’s Jonathan Caruana<br />

was sent off and then claimed<br />

the match ball with six minutes<br />

remaining as the Scots struck<br />

four or more goals away from<br />

home in a qualifier for the first<br />

time in 15 years.<br />

It wasn’t all plain sailing for<br />

Gordon Strachan’s men though.<br />

Despite taking an early lead they<br />

were being held at half-time<br />

following Alfred Effiong’s headed<br />

equaliser.<br />

Yet the visitors, who gave a<br />

debut to 19-year-old Oliver<br />

Burke, made their superiority<br />

count in the second-half. Chris<br />

Martin converted a cross from<br />

the excellent Matt Ritchie and<br />

Steven Fletcher headed a fourth,<br />

before Snodgrass stole the<br />

headlines as the hosts finished<br />

with nine men after Luke<br />

Gambin’s dismissal.


HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021<br />

SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 35


HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021 SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 36<br />

SCOTTISH FA<br />

GROUND REGULATIONS<br />

ENTRY TO THIS GROUND, WHETHER ON PAYMENT OR OTHERWISE, SHALL BE DEEMED FOR ALL<br />

PUPOSES TO CONSTITUTE AN UNQUALIFIED ACCEPTANCE TO BE BOUND BY AND AN UNDERTAKING<br />

TO COMPLY WITH THESE GROUND REGULATIONS AND RELEVANT FOOTBALL RULES.<br />

1. All matches are played in<br />

accordance with the RULES<br />

AND REGULATIONS of The<br />

Scottish Football Association, The<br />

Scottish Professional Football<br />

League and, where applicable,<br />

the Regulations of FIFA/UEFA<br />

Competitions (“Football Bodies”<br />

and “Football Rules”). Capitalised<br />

words and phrases in these<br />

ground regulations (“Ground<br />

Regulations”), except where<br />

herein defined, have the meanings<br />

given to them in the Rules and<br />

Regulations of The Scottish<br />

Professional Football League;<br />

a copy of which is available at:<br />

http://spfl.co.uk/docs/<br />

2. PLAY OR AN EVENT cannot be<br />

guaranteed to take place on any<br />

particular day or at any particular<br />

time and the relevant Home Club<br />

(“Club/Event Organiser”) at the<br />

match concerned (“the Match”)<br />

or event in the stadium to which<br />

these Regulations apply (“the<br />

Ground”) reserves the right to<br />

change its advertised fixtures<br />

without prior notice and without<br />

liability.<br />

3. All TICKETS for Matches (“Tickets”)<br />

sold/issued (“Allotted”) by or on<br />

behalf of the Club/Event Organiser<br />

are issued on the express<br />

conditions that no ticket holder<br />

shall sell or transfer same for a<br />

higher price than appears on the<br />

face of the ticket. In the event of<br />

any breach of this regulation, the<br />

Club/Event Organiser reserves<br />

the right to cancel each ticket<br />

concerned and to retain any<br />

money paid on allotment.<br />

4. In the event of a MATCH BEING<br />

ABANDONED after having<br />

kicked-off, you may be entitled<br />

to a refund of the admission<br />

charge paid in the determination<br />

of the Club/Event Organiser<br />

acting reasonably. Where a<br />

match is abandoned before the<br />

expiry of the first-half, admission<br />

arrangements for the re-arranged<br />

fixture will be issued to those who<br />

attend the abandoned match.<br />

The arrangements in cases where<br />

the match is abandoned after the<br />

expiry of the first-half shall be a<br />

matter for the discretion of the<br />

Club/Event Organiser.<br />

5. In the event of a MATCH BEING<br />

POSTPONED, for any reason,<br />

before having kicked off, any ticket<br />

purchased for the match will be<br />

valid on the postponed date.<br />

6. All persons entering the ground<br />

must pay for admission or<br />

otherwise hold a genuine TICKET<br />

or other permission from the Club/<br />

Event Organiser which was validly<br />

issued.<br />

7. Unauthorised persons are not<br />

permitted to ENTER UPON THE<br />

FIELD OF PLAY, trackside or any<br />

place which is not a spectator<br />

area. Such incursions will be<br />

treated with utmost seriousness<br />

and will be liable to arrest and<br />

criminal proceedings as well as to<br />

disciplinary sanctions by the Club/<br />

Event Organiser which may lead<br />

to long term exclusion from the<br />

ground.<br />

8. Only persons specifically<br />

authorised in writing by the Club/<br />

Event Organiser are permitted to<br />

offer newspapers, periodicals or<br />

any other ARTICLES FOR SALE<br />

in the ground and any charitable<br />

collection will only be permitted<br />

within the ground with the prior<br />

written consent of the Club/Event<br />

Organiser.<br />

9. Unnecessary NOISE such as<br />

from the use of radio sets and<br />

behaviour likely, in the opinion<br />

of the Club/Event Organiser to<br />

cause confusion, annoyance, fear,<br />

upset or nuisance of any kind is<br />

not permitted in any part of the<br />

ground.<br />

10. The use of disorderly, violent and/<br />

or threatening behaviour and/<br />

or the use of foul and/or abusive<br />

language, racial, sectarian,<br />

homophobic or discriminatory<br />

abuse, singing and/or chanting<br />

of any kind and damage to<br />

property is all strictly forbidden,<br />

is UNACCEPTABLE CONDUCT<br />

and each and all of same and if<br />

constituting a criminal act and/<br />

or acts may result in arrest and/<br />

or prosecution and/or in conduct<br />

which does not constitute a<br />

criminal act and/or in the case<br />

of a criminal act, a ‘ban’ from<br />

the ground, regulated football<br />

matches, the confiscation of any<br />

ticket purchased or held and/<br />

or any other sanction as may be<br />

determined by the Club/Event<br />

Organiser and/or in the case of<br />

a failure to comply with and/or a<br />

breach of Football Rules by the<br />

relevant Football Body.<br />

11. The following articles MUST<br />

NOT BE BROUGHT INTO THE<br />

GROUND prohibited weapons,<br />

knives, fireworks, smoke canisters,<br />

air-horns, flares, weapons,<br />

dangerous or hazardous items,<br />

laser devices, bottles, glass<br />

vessels, cans, poles and any<br />

article that might be used as a<br />

weapon and/or compromise public<br />

safety. It is an offence punishable<br />

by law and Unacceptable<br />

Conduct for any person to enter<br />

or attempt to enter the ground<br />

whilst in possession of any article<br />

which is a firework or any article<br />

or substance whose purpose<br />

or any part of its purpose is the<br />

emission of a flare for purposes<br />

of illuminating or signalling or the<br />

emission of smoke and/or gas and<br />

any person in possession of such<br />

articles will be refused entry to<br />

the ground and if having entered,<br />

to expulsion from the ground and<br />

such other sanction as may be<br />

determined by the Club/Event<br />

Organiser and reported to the<br />

Police.<br />

12. It is a criminal offence and<br />

UNACCEPTABLE CONDUCT for<br />

any person to enter or attempt<br />

to enter the ground: 1 whilst<br />

in possession of a container or<br />

any other item which is or was<br />

capable of holding liquid or any


other thing and which, if thrown,<br />

would be capable of causing<br />

injury to another person; 2 whilst<br />

in possession of alcohol; and/or 3<br />

whilst drunk.<br />

13. Any person entering the ground<br />

may, at the sole discretion of<br />

the Club/Event Organiser be<br />

SEARCHED and is deemed to<br />

have consented to be so searched,<br />

for any item or Material the<br />

possession or use of which may<br />

result in and/or cause or contribute<br />

to Unacceptable Conduct.<br />

14. STANDING IS FORBIDDEN in<br />

seated spectator viewing areas.<br />

15. BANNERS and/or other articles<br />

which could, or might be used as<br />

a weapon, or cause annoyance<br />

or unnecessary obstruction or<br />

offence and/or which may cause<br />

or contribute to Unacceptable<br />

Conduct are not permitted within<br />

the ground.<br />

16. Under no circumstances is it<br />

permitted to THROW or otherwise<br />

cause any objects or materials<br />

to enter on to the pitch, pitch<br />

surroundings, track(s) and/or<br />

technical area.<br />

17. At all times, the RIGHT OF<br />

ADMISSION is reserved to and by<br />

the Club/Event Organiser and no<br />

transfers within the ground are<br />

permitted. Spectators found in an<br />

area for which they do not have a<br />

valid ticket may be ejected.<br />

18. MOBILE TELEPHONES,<br />

SMARTPHONES and other<br />

similar mobile telephonic devices<br />

(“Mobile Devices”), excluding<br />

cameras which are not part<br />

of and subsidiary to a Mobile<br />

Device, are permitted within the<br />

ground, PROVIDED THAT, (i)<br />

they are used for personal and<br />

private use only, which, and by<br />

way of example only, shall not<br />

include the capturing, logging,<br />

recording, transmitting, playing,<br />

issuing, showing, or any other<br />

communication of any material<br />

(“Capturing), for any commercial<br />

purpose; and (ii) no material<br />

that is captured by a mobile<br />

device or other device may<br />

be published, communicated,<br />

transmitted, sent, broadcast and/<br />

or otherwise made available by<br />

any means to any third party<br />

including, without limitation, social<br />

networking sites or any other<br />

means of communication and/or<br />

transmission.<br />

19. Save as provided in paragraph 18<br />

above, NO PERSON (other than a<br />

person who holds an appropriate<br />

licence) MAY RECORD,<br />

TRANSMIT, PLAY, ISSUE.<br />

CAPTURE, LOG, BROADCAST,<br />

SHOW OR OTHERWISE<br />

COMMUNICATE ANY MATERIAL<br />

including and/or comprising any<br />

audio, visual or audio-visual<br />

material or any information or<br />

data, by digital or other means, in<br />

relation to a match taking place in<br />

the ground, any players or other<br />

persons present in the ground<br />

and/or the ground, nor may they<br />

bring into the ground or use within<br />

the ground (or provide to, facilitate<br />

or otherwise assist another<br />

person to use within the ground)<br />

any equipment or technology<br />

which is capable of capturing,<br />

logging, recording, transmitting,<br />

playing, issuing, showing or<br />

otherwise communicating (by<br />

digital or other means) any such<br />

Material as described above. Any<br />

person failing to comply with<br />

these restrictions is deemed to<br />

be liable to have such equipment,<br />

technology and material in<br />

whatever form, confiscated<br />

without compensation by the<br />

Club/Event Organiser. Copyright,<br />

Database Rights and any other<br />

intellectual property rights in<br />

any such unauthorised recording<br />

or transmission is assigned (by<br />

way of present assignation<br />

or assignations of future<br />

rights) to the relevant Football<br />

Authority organising the match<br />

in its relevant competition. You<br />

further agree (if and whenever<br />

required to do so by said relevant<br />

Football Authority to promptly<br />

execute all instruments and do<br />

all things necessary to vest the<br />

right, title and interest in such<br />

rights to said relevant Football<br />

Authority absolutely and, where<br />

legally permissible, with full title<br />

guarantee.<br />

20. All PERSONS ENTERING<br />

GROUND are admitted only<br />

subject to these Ground<br />

Regulations and to the Football<br />

Rules and Regulations of The<br />

Scottish Football Association and<br />

The Scottish Professional Football<br />

League<br />

21. The Club/Event Organiser reserves<br />

the right: (i) for its employees,<br />

agents, security staff and<br />

contractors to REMOVE FROM<br />

THE GROUND; and (ii) to IMPOSE<br />

SANCTIONS as regards future<br />

entry to the ground on, any person<br />

who does not comply with these<br />

Regulations and/or the Rules of<br />

The Scottish Football Association,<br />

The Scottish Professional Football<br />

League and/or, where applicable,<br />

the Regulations of the FIFA/<br />

UEFA Competitions or whose<br />

presence in the ground is or could<br />

reasonably be considered as<br />

constituting a source of danger,<br />

nuisance and/or annoyance to<br />

other persons within the ground.<br />

22. SMOKING [INCLUDING ALL<br />

PIPES AND E CIGARRETTES] IS<br />

STRICTLY FORBIDDEN inside<br />

the Ground [in all areas where<br />

smoking is illegal]. [Otherwise<br />

smoking is only permitted in areas<br />

where it is expressly identified<br />

and in a form (e.g. E cigarettes)<br />

which is expressly stated to be<br />

permitted.]*<br />

23. On no account will admission<br />

to the Ground be granted to a<br />

person who is subject of a current<br />

FOOTBALL BANNING ORDER.<br />

24. CCTV cameras may be in use<br />

in and around the Ground and<br />

recordings of images, both<br />

moving and still, from such CCTV<br />

cameras and any other cameras<br />

in or on the Ground may be<br />

used in any proceedings and/<br />

or for any purposes relating to<br />

the management and/or control<br />

of the ground by the Club/<br />

Event Organiser, the Police, the<br />

Visiting Club and the relevant<br />

Football Authority. By entering<br />

the ground you are deemed to<br />

have consented to the use of such<br />

images from such CCTV systems<br />

and cameras and for such images<br />

to be shared with and/or used<br />

by the Club/Event Organiser, the<br />

relevant Football Body and by and<br />

with the owners and operators<br />

of any club participating in any<br />

match at which such images are<br />

captured and/or recorded.<br />

INFORMATION<br />

You should be aware that in terms<br />

of a protocol with Police <strong>Scotland</strong><br />

the details, images and/or result<br />

of any arrest, detention and/or<br />

prosecution occurring in connection<br />

with a match may be shared with<br />

the Club/Event Organiser. FOOTBALL<br />

BANNING ORDERs may be imposed<br />

on individuals who breach and/<br />

or fail to comply with these Ground<br />

Regulations. In each regulation text<br />

appears in capitals and/or in bold;<br />

this is an indication of the subject of<br />

the regulation and does not imply<br />

any modification of the meaning or<br />

significance of the relevant text in<br />

its context.<br />

HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021<br />

SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 37


HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021 SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 38


END OF<br />

THE LINE<br />

The first encounter with<br />

<strong>Moldova</strong> spelled the end of<br />

the manager and goalscorer’s<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong> careers<br />

› › ›<br />

HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021<br />

SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 39


HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021 SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 40<br />

Steven<br />

Thompson<br />

scored<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong>’s<br />

first ever<br />

goal against<br />

<strong>Moldova</strong> in<br />

2004<br />

Steven Thompson retains mixed<br />

feelings about the first time <strong>Scotland</strong><br />

took on tonight’s opponents.<br />

The former striker tucked away the<br />

equalising goal in the 1-1 draw inside<br />

the Stadionul Republican, Chisinau,<br />

on 13 October 2004 with some<br />

assurance.<br />

However, the result further damaged<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong>’s 2006 World Cup qualifying<br />

hopes, leaving them with two points<br />

from their first three Group F games.<br />

As it transpired, manager Berti Vogts<br />

soon resigned and Thompson’s third<br />

international goal came in his last<br />

of 16 appearances for <strong>Scotland</strong>.<br />

Although former Rangers and Everton<br />

boss Walter Smith stepped in,<br />

ultimately <strong>Scotland</strong> failed to qualify.<br />

Thompson enjoyed a 20-year career<br />

at Dundee United, Rangers, Cardiff<br />

City, Burnley and St Mirren before<br />

entering the media, and reflecting on<br />

that night in <strong>Moldova</strong> almost 17 years<br />

ago, he says: “I would like to think my<br />

first thoughts were scoring the goal<br />

in the game but probably what rings<br />

out for me is that it was my last cap<br />

for <strong>Scotland</strong>, which at the time, having<br />

scored the goal and played quite well, I<br />

didn’t think it would be.<br />

“But you never know in football and it<br />

is funny because Tommy Burns, who<br />

was assistant to Berti, used to always<br />

tell us, ‘make sure you enjoy it, make<br />

sure you leave everything out on the<br />

pitch because you never know when it<br />

will be your last cap’. And it rang true<br />

for me aged 26.<br />

“That was also Berti’s last game. It<br />

was horrible after the match. As we<br />

made our way to the airport, the fans<br />

were giving it tight to Berti and to us. It<br />

was not a nice scene. At that point we<br />

all thought Berti couldn’t survive.<br />

“It is always tricky when you are<br />

away to these smaller nations, the<br />

expectation is there to go and win the<br />

game easily. Don’t get me wrong, we<br />

should have won the game, you should<br />

be beating <strong>Moldova</strong>.


“I was in a couple of squads when<br />

Walter took over but he didn’t fancy<br />

me so that was it, that was my<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong> career over. What Tommy<br />

had said was very true. You never<br />

know when it will be your last.<br />

“There were other players starting to<br />

play well like Kenny Miller, Kris Boyd,<br />

so you get moved to the side.<br />

“When I was at Burnley, when George<br />

Burley was <strong>Scotland</strong> manager, he<br />

made contact with my manager Owen<br />

Coyle and I was supposed to be in a<br />

squad. We were playing Nottingham<br />

Forest on the Saturday and I injured<br />

my ankle ligaments from a bad<br />

challenge and couldn’t make it. So I<br />

might have sneaked my way back in<br />

at that point in time. I certainly thought<br />

I would get another cap but that’s the<br />

way it went.”<br />

Thompson’s <strong>Scotland</strong> career also<br />

began at the same time as Vogts’<br />

tenure. He was called up to the<br />

German’s first squad while still<br />

at Dundee United and made his<br />

international debut on 27 March 2002<br />

against France in a friendly at the<br />

Stade de France in front of around<br />

77,000 fans.<br />

The star-studded home side was<br />

comprised of the bulk of the team<br />

which won the 2000 Euros, with<br />

star names such as Fabien Barthez,<br />

Marcel Desailly, Patrick Vieira, Zinedine<br />

Zidane, Thierry Henry and David<br />

Trezeguet.<br />

Thompson replaced Stevie Crawford in<br />

the 63rd minute when <strong>Scotland</strong> were<br />

4-0 down and they lost a fifth near<br />

the end. It was quite the introduction<br />

to international football for the former<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong> Under-21 forward.<br />

He said: “Alex Smith, my manager<br />

at Dundee United, pulled me into<br />

the office and told me I was in the<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong> squad. I couldn’t believe it.<br />

I was shaking and my legs almost<br />

gave way. It was amazing.<br />

“I remember turning up at training<br />

for <strong>Scotland</strong> and thinking, ‘My God,<br />

how am I going to cope with all these<br />

players?’<br />

“But in the very first training session<br />

Paul Lambert had an absolute torrid<br />

time. His touch was all over the place,<br />

he was giving the ball away and it<br />

totally put me at ease because you<br />

wouldn’t have expected that from Paul<br />

Lambert.<br />

“So it wasn’t as terrifying as I first<br />

thought, but of course when he went<br />

on the pitch for games he played well.<br />

“We took an absolute doing against<br />

France but it was an incredible<br />

experience to play against a team<br />

like that. The sad thing was a few of<br />

us got our shirts nicked at Charles de<br />

Gaulle airport on the way home.<br />

“I switched shirts with Mikael Silvestre,<br />

who came on at half-time. That was<br />

my first strip, playing France, and got<br />

home and there was no shirt in my<br />

bag so I have no strip from my very<br />

first cap, which is quite sad.<br />

Thompson<br />

celebrates<br />

his third<br />

international<br />

goal with<br />

Stevie<br />

Crawford<br />

HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021<br />

SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 41


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“It was a whirlwind. My <strong>Scotland</strong><br />

career was only over the course of<br />

about three years but I loved every<br />

minute of it. I loved being away with<br />

the boys and getting to know different<br />

players from different teams.<br />

“A bit of me thinks I could have had<br />

more caps but just to get capped and<br />

score a few goals as well, I look back<br />

on that with a lot of pride and a lot of<br />

happiness.<br />

“I have Berti to thank for that. I loved<br />

wee Berti and Tommy Burns, they<br />

were great for me personally and I<br />

will always be thankful. Although we<br />

weren’t particularly successful there<br />

was some nice moments within it.”<br />

While almost every <strong>Scotland</strong> player<br />

from the game against <strong>Moldova</strong> in<br />

2004 has gone on to manage or coach<br />

at clubs to some extent, Thompson<br />

has forged a new career in sports<br />

media, moving seamlessly from pundit<br />

to presenter at BBC <strong>Scotland</strong>, and he<br />

has no pangs of regret, no desire to<br />

kick a ball again.<br />

He said: “I had done my badges and,<br />

at 33/34, I was thinking I will probably<br />

go down the coaching route, but I<br />

wasn’t proactive and I wanted to play<br />

as long as I could, to 35/36.<br />

“I started to do more and more<br />

on Sportscene and the BBC were<br />

quite keen for me do more when I<br />

retired from playing. I never foresaw<br />

presenting. That escalated quickly but<br />

I am loving it.<br />

“It is more difficult than being a pundit,<br />

a lot more preparation, stress and<br />

pressure, but the more I do it the more<br />

I feel I am relaxing into it.<br />

“It takes years to get good at and<br />

hopefully I can continue to get better<br />

at it. It has been a test for me but you<br />

need to get out of your comfort zone<br />

from time to time.<br />

“I just hope it will be a better outcome<br />

against <strong>Moldova</strong> this time than it was<br />

the first time we played against them.<br />

I would imagine that, being at home,<br />

we would be comfortable enough.”<br />

Top left: Berti<br />

Vogts gave<br />

Thompson<br />

his first<br />

international<br />

cap<br />

Top right:<br />

Thompson<br />

now works for<br />

BBC <strong>Scotland</strong><br />

Above:<br />

Celebrating<br />

his first<br />

international<br />

goal in a<br />

friendly<br />

against<br />

Canada<br />

HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021<br />

SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 43


HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021 SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 44


A SPECIAL<br />

ENVIRONMENT<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong>’s top women players will<br />

get the chance to live the Hampden<br />

experience on a regular basis<br />

Rachel Corsie is thrilled that<br />

the home of Scottish football<br />

is to become the domain of<br />

the <strong>Scotland</strong> Women’s National<br />

Team.<br />

A key target of the ‘Accelerate<br />

Our Game’ strategy launched<br />

by the Scottish FA in July is to<br />

have the SWNT playing out of<br />

Hampden Park.<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong> Women have<br />

previously played matches<br />

at places such as Fir Park,<br />

Tynecastle, Easter Road and<br />

St Mirren’s ground but they will<br />

contest all their home fixtures in<br />

the 2023 World Cup qualification<br />

campaign at the national<br />

stadium with Spain, Ukraine,<br />

Hungary and Faroe Islands the<br />

welcome visitors this season.<br />

Corsie, who will retain the<br />

captain’s armband under new<br />

boss Pedro Martinez Losa,<br />

remembers her last game at<br />

Hampden in May 2019, when<br />

a record crowd for a women’s<br />

match in <strong>Scotland</strong> of 18,555<br />

turned up to see the Scots beat<br />

Jamaica in a World Cup warmup<br />

game. The defender believes<br />

the permanent move to Mount<br />

Florida will further energise<br />

women’s football in the country.<br />

“There was a huge turnout<br />

for the World Cup send-off game<br />

against Jamaica and there was<br />

a lot of hype around it,” said the<br />

32-year-old Kansas City player,<br />

who has racked up a remarkable<br />

123 caps.<br />

“There will be hype around this<br />

World Cup campaign and the<br />

ticket sales have gone well and<br />

the fans play such a huge part,<br />

especially in <strong>Scotland</strong>.<br />

“It makes for a special<br />

environment that a lot of the<br />

other teams don’t have the<br />

benefit of and it is a perfect<br />

HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021<br />

SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 45


example of needing to make the<br />

most of that and use it to our<br />

advantage. Playing at Hampden<br />

is incredible. Everyone knows<br />

what it means, everyone in the<br />

team, the fans, the country.<br />

“It is a huge statement from the<br />

Scottish FA and everybody is<br />

extremely excited about that. We<br />

have seen the women’s game<br />

grow and we talk about the<br />

women’s game growing but this<br />

is going to be a real example of<br />

the change and the push to take<br />

it to a new level.”<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong> start their campaign<br />

away to Hungary on 17<br />

September before the Faroe<br />

Islands travel to the south side of<br />

Glasgow on 21 September.<br />

Corsie believes the pain of<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong>’s last qualification<br />

campaign, where they finished<br />

third behind Finland and Portugal<br />

after four wins and four defeats<br />

to miss out on Euro 2022, will act<br />

as an incentive to put things right<br />

this time.<br />

The Aberdonian said: “It is the<br />

start of a new campaign and<br />

there will be a number of players<br />

involved from the last campaign<br />

who felt that disappointment,<br />

that sense of under-achievement<br />

which is one of the toughest<br />

feelings as an athlete, that you<br />

didn’t do as well as you hoped.<br />

We let ourselves down the<br />

last time and it is important to<br />

remember how it felt.<br />

“Not that you need motivation<br />

to play for your country, but it<br />

can be a good reminder that you<br />

have to be absolutely at your<br />

HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021<br />

SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 47


HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021 SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 48<br />

best and make sure that you do<br />

absolutely everything to find a<br />

way to get results.<br />

“The game is not just developing<br />

in the bigger nations, every<br />

nation is closing the gap. I have<br />

been involved in the national<br />

team for the last 10 years and<br />

the teams that are in pots three,<br />

four and five - you can’t just<br />

overlook them.<br />

“You have to make sure you are<br />

ready for every game and the<br />

last campaign highlighted that<br />

results were tight in every group.<br />

“So there is a little extra bit of<br />

drive and fight in everyone’s<br />

bellies to get back to pushing for<br />

a major tournament and there<br />

is no bigger tournament than a<br />

World Cup.”<br />

A mural of Corsie on display in her<br />

home town of Aberdeen


Paradoxically, while drawn<br />

by the pull of <strong>Scotland</strong>’s<br />

national stadium, Corsie is<br />

one of Scottish football’s most<br />

far-travelled and successful<br />

exports.<br />

After starting out at her home<br />

town team Aberdeen Ladies,<br />

she had spells at Glasgow City<br />

(twice), Notts County, Seattle<br />

Reign, Utah Royals, Canberra<br />

United in Australia and<br />

Birmingham City before signing<br />

for Kansas, a new franchise in<br />

the National Women’s Soccer<br />

League in the United States,<br />

earlier this year.<br />

Corsie said: “It probably sounds<br />

strange to say I hate change. I<br />

am probably risk averse so to<br />

think I have moved around and<br />

gone with it isn’t natural to me,<br />

but I have certainly loved it.<br />

“I have played at some really<br />

great clubs in great cities and<br />

met a lot of really good people,<br />

so I feel fortunate for that and I<br />

am still really enjoying it.<br />

“My mum still wants me to<br />

come home at some point but<br />

there is time for that.<br />

“Having been in Seattle and Salt<br />

Lake, Kansas is a different city to<br />

experience.<br />

“Possibly Scottish people<br />

wouldn’t understand that it is<br />

possible to be too hot. You might<br />

look at the weather map and<br />

think, ‘I would love to be there<br />

and sit outside all day’. You<br />

wouldn’t!<br />

“Things haven’t gone as well as<br />

we would have hoped in terms of<br />

results but it is a new franchise<br />

so there will be bumps in the<br />

road. But it has been good.”<br />

With experience of playing and<br />

living in a country which takes<br />

women’s football very seriously,<br />

Corsie is aware of the sport’s<br />

potential. The US are the most<br />

successful in international<br />

women’s football, having won<br />

four World Cups among many<br />

other honours.<br />

THERE IS A LITTLE EXTRA BIT OF<br />

DRIVE AND FIGHT IN EVERYONE’S<br />

BELLIES TO GET BACK TO PUSHING<br />

FOR A MAJOR TOURNAMENT AND<br />

THERE IS NO BIGGER TOURNAMENT<br />

THAN A WORLD CUP<br />

She said: “It is up there as one<br />

of the most popular sports for<br />

female athletes over here. It has<br />

opened my eyes. I have been<br />

here (on and off) for seven years<br />

now and you start to realise<br />

that it is possible to be seen as<br />

a professional player, to be high<br />

profile, to have that prestige<br />

around it, to have that career<br />

that is valued.<br />

“I would love to see more of that<br />

back home where there is still<br />

room for growth. It is important<br />

that we have role models. There<br />

are some great role models here<br />

and they have led the way for<br />

the game.”<br />

Returning to more imminent<br />

matters, Corsie is bracing<br />

herself for a tough qualification<br />

campaign.<br />

She said: “Spain is the team<br />

that everyone will look to as the<br />

big one, which undoubtedly it<br />

is as they are a top nation and<br />

obviously that will be a hard<br />

game.<br />

“It will be really important<br />

that we are very focused<br />

and disciplined, starting with<br />

Hungary away, that is not<br />

straightforward. But equally<br />

it is a game we look forward<br />

to knowing we go in with<br />

confidence that we are the better<br />

team and a positive result there<br />

starts us off on the right note.”<br />

HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021<br />

SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 49


HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021 SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 50<br />

ZANDER CLARK<br />

WORDS: MICHAEL LAMONT, SCOTTISH FA<br />

Zander Clark capped off the best six months of<br />

his career at the end of August with a call-up to<br />

the <strong>Scotland</strong> squad.<br />

Arriving into the international<br />

camp in Edinburgh at the start of<br />

the week has proved to be just<br />

reward for a whirlwind last few<br />

months which has seen the<br />

St Johnstone No.1 become part<br />

of history, winning a famous cup<br />

double with the Perth side.<br />

The goalkeeping colossus proved<br />

to be a key figure for Callum<br />

Davidson as his side lifted the<br />

League Cup and Scottish Cup<br />

before impressing in Europe,<br />

running both Galatasary and<br />

LASK close. Now the Clydebank<br />

boy is hoping to make his impact<br />

with the national team, having<br />

watched on as a fan in the<br />

summer as <strong>Scotland</strong> took to the<br />

EURO 2020 stage.<br />

Despite experiencing success<br />

at the national stadium, Clark<br />

has missed the fans and is<br />

eagerly anticipating their return<br />

to Hampden Park tonight as<br />

<strong>Moldova</strong> come to town.<br />

How did you find out you<br />

Q were in the <strong>Scotland</strong> squad<br />

for the first time and what was<br />

your reaction?<br />

I received a phone call from<br />

A one of our player liaison<br />

officers at St Johnstone to say<br />

he’d passed on my details to<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong>, so I knew I was going<br />

to be there or thereabouts and<br />

when the email came through<br />

that I’d been selected I was<br />

absolutely buzzing. This is<br />

something I’ve always aimed for<br />

since I was young, so to have<br />

that opportunity to meet up with<br />

the squad has been a proud<br />

moment.<br />

I think I found out about half an<br />

hour before it was announced<br />

publicly and I tried to keep it<br />

from the family just so it was a<br />

surprise for them. I phoned my<br />

fiancée on my way home from<br />

training and asked her to put<br />

on Sky Sports News so she was


HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021<br />

SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 51


IT’S BEEN TOO<br />

LONG NOT<br />

BEING PART<br />

OF MAJOR<br />

TOURNAMENTS<br />

AND HOPEFULLY<br />

THAT WAS THE<br />

FIRST OF MANY<br />

MORE TO COME<br />

IN THE NEAR<br />

FUTURE<br />

A proud first international<br />

squad call-up for Zander Clark<br />

tuned in for it. It was great to<br />

share that moment with those<br />

people close to me as it was a<br />

good achievement personally,<br />

but also for all of them as they’ve<br />

done so much for me.<br />

Last season was incredible at<br />

St Johnstone, and then the<br />

European experience was brilliant<br />

too. To receive the call-up has<br />

been the icing on the cake after all<br />

of the hard work I’ve put in.<br />

Did you watch much of this<br />

Q summer’s Euros?<br />

I was only a pup when we<br />

A played at the ‘98 World Cup<br />

so I was tuned in to all the games<br />

during the summer and loved<br />

to see the country so excited<br />

about the national team. It was<br />

a great moment seeing the team<br />

walk out at Hampden for that<br />

Czech Republic game. It’s been<br />

too long not being part of major<br />

tournaments and hopefully that<br />

was the first of many more to<br />

come in the near future.<br />

A few of the St Johnstone boys<br />

went down for the Wembley<br />

game and that probably shows<br />

how interested everyone was.<br />

People were just wanting to be<br />

part of it.<br />

During the summer, towns were<br />

decked out in <strong>Scotland</strong> flags and<br />

it was amazing to see. When you<br />

were walking down the street it<br />

would be unusual not to see a<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong> shirt or a flag hanging<br />

out the window.<br />

I think the guys did well at the<br />

tournament against tough<br />

opposition. We were unlucky not<br />

to win against England and that<br />

in itself shows how well the team<br />

did that night, considering how<br />

well they ended up doing in the<br />

tournament.<br />

Who are you close with in the<br />

Q <strong>Scotland</strong> squad?<br />

I know a few of the guys and<br />

A it’s been great to be with<br />

them this week. John McGinn is<br />

a fellow Bankie so I’ve known<br />

him for a while. The two of us are<br />

from Clydebank and whenever<br />

we’re in each other’s company<br />

we always get on well. It’s been<br />

great to see how well he’s done.<br />

I know Stephen O’Donnell well<br />

and I was delighted to see<br />

how he did at Wembley. Social<br />

media can be a hard place at<br />

times but seeing him put in the<br />

performance he did after some of<br />

the undeserved stick he received<br />

was brilliant. That’s the kind of<br />

person he is - he’s strong willed<br />

and doesn’t let anything like<br />

that affect him. I’ve played with<br />

him before at youth level and<br />

have known him through playing<br />

against him too. I usually see him<br />

on a Sunday when myself and<br />

my fiancée are going for a walk<br />

around Strathclyde Park and<br />

SOD is usually out there as well<br />

with his other half and the wee<br />

one. It’s been good to be with him<br />

this week.<br />

What are your memories<br />

Q watching <strong>Scotland</strong> growing<br />

up?<br />

I remember the heartbreak of<br />

A the Italy game in 2007. I didn’t<br />

have a ticket but I remember<br />

being desperate to go into the<br />

centre of Glasgow just to soak<br />

up the atmosphere as the place<br />

was absolutely jumping. The<br />

whole country is always buzzing<br />

HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021<br />

SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 53


when <strong>Scotland</strong> are playing, so<br />

whenever they had a game I<br />

would always try to get into the<br />

stadium or at the very least be in<br />

the city centre to be part of it.<br />

To actually be in a squad now is<br />

really special.<br />

You must be looking forward<br />

Q to being back at Hampden<br />

Park tonight after experiencing<br />

so much success at the stadium<br />

recently?<br />

Yes, I’ve certainly enjoyed my<br />

A last few visits to the national<br />

stadium. Winning trophies and<br />

playing at Hampden is something<br />

you dream of, so to do that was<br />

amazing but it was just such a<br />

shame there weren’t any fans<br />

there to enjoy it with us. It was<br />

all a bit surreal but took nothing<br />

away from the special memories<br />

that we had earlier this year.<br />

You’ve recently been playing<br />

Q in Europe with St Johnstone,<br />

how has that experience helped<br />

you prepare for international<br />

duty?<br />

You always take bits and bobs<br />

A from people you play against,<br />

and even more so when they<br />

are of the highest standard like<br />

Galatasary and LASK were. It<br />

put me in good stead and I’ve<br />

enjoyed camp this week, training<br />

with the players, as there is<br />

quality right the way through.<br />

What was the key to the<br />

Q success with St Johnstone?<br />

I would say probably the<br />

A togetherness of the group.<br />

We’ve got a great changing room<br />

and boys who all want to do<br />

well for each other. We’re very<br />

much all in it together and we’d<br />

run through brick walls for each<br />

other if it meant winning games.<br />

Since I’ve been at the club there’s<br />

always been a good atmosphere<br />

and it definitely helped last<br />

season.<br />

It’s been great to join up with<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong> this week as it is a<br />

similar vibe here in that it does<br />

feel like a club environment and<br />

I think that will definitely help us<br />

on the field, like it does with<br />

St Johnstone.<br />

ABOVE: Clark enjoyed Europa<br />

League action for St Johnstone<br />

against Galatasaray following<br />

his double cup success<br />

BELOW: Celebrating Scottish<br />

Cup victory with team-mates<br />

in May of this year<br />

HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021<br />

SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 55


HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021 SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 56<br />

LEARNING<br />

THROUGH<br />

FOOTBALL<br />

The recent Euro 2020 finals<br />

are having a major influence<br />

on education in <strong>Scotland</strong>


HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021<br />

SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 57


Take on a challenge that puts children first<br />

Scan code to find out<br />

how you can get involved


The emergence of Chelsea<br />

midfielder Billy Gilmour<br />

in the 2020 European<br />

Championships this summer<br />

has given increased hope for<br />

the future of the <strong>Scotland</strong><br />

national team.<br />

Off the park, one of the Scottish FA's<br />

most important legacies from the<br />

delayed tournament is an educational<br />

tool which could benefit schoolkids for<br />

years to come.<br />

The game's ruling body, in partnership<br />

with Glasgow City Council, has<br />

developed an online platform designed<br />

to support teaching and learning using<br />

the context of football.<br />

Relaunched in the wake of the Euros,<br />

‘Learning Through Football’ offers<br />

learning opportunities in seven<br />

curricular areas of Curriculum for<br />

Excellence: Languages (i.e. Literacy<br />

and Modern Languages), Maths<br />

and Numeracy, Health & Wellbeing,<br />

Science, Technologies, Expressive Arts.<br />

It is aimed predominantly at primary<br />

schools, which have more of a broad<br />

brush approach to education, but can<br />

also be utilised in secondary schools.<br />

Paul McNeill, Head of Community<br />

Development at the Scottish FA,<br />

explained the thinking behind the<br />

classroom-based teachers’ resource.<br />

He said: "This is a legacy from the<br />

Euros, which obviously didn't happen<br />

in 2020 because of Covid, so it has<br />

been more than two years in the<br />

making.<br />

"It is a basic platform to use the<br />

power of football to help with the<br />

learning and development within an<br />

educational environment.<br />

"In 2018-19 we wanted to use the<br />

Euros in Glasgow, which was of course<br />

a host city, to engage with as many<br />

people as we could.<br />

"We managed to link it with the<br />

Curriculum for Excellence. Teachers<br />

can go into the platform, pick up a<br />

couple of subject ideas and they can<br />

use football as a vehicle for learning.<br />

"Schools have used it and we have<br />

had very positive feedback with<br />

teachers saying they could engage<br />

different areas of the class.<br />

"An example; some schools asked the<br />

kids where Baku was. It was a host<br />

city in the Euros. How long does it take<br />

to get to Baku?<br />

HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021 SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 59


HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021 SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 60<br />

"How can you say hello in the 11<br />

different countries that were hosting<br />

the Euros?<br />

“Croatia and Czech Republic were in<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong>'s group. What about learning<br />

a few sentences in Czech or Croatian?<br />

"Use any subject matter" said McNeill.<br />

"For maths, you can use the UEFA<br />

coefficients, the statistics used for<br />

ranking and seeding teams in club and<br />

international competitions.<br />

"That is a mathematical equation.<br />

How do we work it out? You deliver<br />

maths but use a real-life experience<br />

to do it.<br />

"Those are the types of things we<br />

want to do.<br />

"The first thing we have done with the<br />

new website is an interview with Dr<br />

John MacLean, talking about his role<br />

with the Scottish FA.<br />

“Kids might say, 'why do we need a<br />

doctor in the dugout?' And of course<br />

the situation with Denmark's Christian<br />

Eriksen, when he collapsed in the<br />

Euros, shows you the importance of<br />

having a doctor.<br />

"There might be a child inspired to say,<br />

'I want to become a doctor, I want to<br />

see how I can do that.' Maybe that<br />

youngster who is a reluctant learner<br />

and doesn't want to read, if you put<br />

it in a sporting context that they are<br />

interested in, they will pick the book<br />

up. There are numerous ways it can<br />

help learning.<br />

"This is our legacy. We want to get this<br />

out for all schools to use.<br />

"We want to take it forward in<br />

the next few years as it is a great<br />

opportunity to do something positive."<br />

David Weir's background is in primary<br />

school teaching but these days he is<br />

PE Lead Officer at PEPASS (Glasgow’s<br />

Physical Education, Physical Activity<br />

and School Sport) while also working<br />

with the Scottish FA.<br />

He developed ‘Learning Through<br />

Football’, first as a hard copy<br />

document before it was taken online<br />

and, thanks to the commitment of the<br />

Scottish FA, he is excited about the<br />

prospect of how big the free-to-access<br />

online resource could get.<br />

He said: "My job was primarily<br />

to create the ideas, the learning<br />

opportunities and explore maths,<br />

numeracy, expressive arts, sciences,<br />

technologies to see how football could<br />

provide a real context within those<br />

curricular areas to try to encourage<br />

learning.<br />

"I came up with the ideas and the<br />

Scottish FA were keen to drive that to<br />

make it bigger and better.<br />

"I was keen to speak to a number<br />

of teachers who had used ‘Learning<br />

Through Football’ before the summer


Opposite:<br />

David Weir,<br />

PE Lead<br />

Officer at<br />

PEPASS<br />

and the feedback was that the<br />

learning was massively engaging,<br />

not only with perhaps stereotypical<br />

football fans, but also challenging<br />

those who maybe are not football fans<br />

which is one of the things the Scottish<br />

FA were massively keen to do.<br />

"They didn't want it to be learning<br />

about football, they wanted it to be<br />

learning through football.<br />

"They wanted it to appeal to those<br />

who perhaps needed the engagement<br />

of football, those who might not like<br />

maths or numeracy but when it is put<br />

in a context they are more familiar<br />

with and excited about, all of a sudden<br />

they are wrapped up in learning.<br />

"We also asked teachers about<br />

learners who might groan when<br />

told they would be learning through<br />

football. As it went on they were<br />

appreciating it, they could apply a<br />

skill like writing to a context they were<br />

not so familiar with, which was also<br />

challenging and it has proved to be<br />

popular with parents and teachers.<br />

"This online platform which is being<br />

revamped and relaunched is just a<br />

starting point, we have improved it<br />

already and it really is just beginning<br />

to scratch the surface of what is<br />

possible."<br />

HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021 SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 61


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NO WIN BUT<br />

PLENTY WINE<br />

<strong>Scotland</strong> fan<br />

John Gold recalls<br />

an eventful trip to<br />

<strong>Moldova</strong><br />

A near 2,000-mile trek to<br />

<strong>Moldova</strong> proved hugely<br />

enjoyable for the Shetland<br />

Tartan Army in 2004 - although<br />

the local wine festival proved<br />

more memorable than the<br />

football.<br />

John Hay, Adam Swift, Donald<br />

Willmore, Peter Farquhar and<br />

myself arrived in Chisinau on<br />

Saturday, 9 October ahead of the<br />

World Cup qualifier the following<br />

midweek. We flew out early,<br />

missing the home game against<br />

Norway but hoping to catch it on<br />

television over there.<br />

The first thing we did when we<br />

arrived was to try and sort out<br />

our visas at the arrivals desk.<br />

It was usually $50 but the kind<br />

lady behind the desk, obviously<br />

delighted to see us all in kilts,<br />

explained that if we said we were<br />

there for the wine festival then<br />

we could get a week’s free Visa.<br />

So, after some hilarity, guess<br />

what? We said we were there for<br />

the wine festival.<br />

HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021<br />

SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 63


HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021 SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 64<br />

We were met outside the airport<br />

by Andrew, a <strong>Moldova</strong>n who we<br />

had befriended on the Tartan<br />

Army Message Board and who<br />

had kindly agreed to meet us on<br />

our arrival. He turned up with<br />

two bottles of local wine and<br />

toasted us into the country. So<br />

there we were, only five minutes<br />

into <strong>Moldova</strong> and already<br />

sampling the local wine. Much<br />

more would follow later.<br />

We arrived at the hotel via a<br />

minibus cab that seemed to<br />

stop and pick up anyone and<br />

everyone, who just piled on and<br />

passed their money down to<br />

the driver. That was quite an<br />

experience.<br />

After a mix-up at the hotel where<br />

they seemed to have lost our<br />

booking, Andrew finally got it all<br />

sorted for us and we dumped<br />

the bags and went in search<br />

of a local sports bar to try and<br />

watch the <strong>Scotland</strong>-Norway<br />

game. We eventually found a bar<br />

but unfortunately we couldn’t<br />

find one with the game on so<br />

we settled for a few beers and<br />

got updates from friends at<br />

Hampden.<br />

After several hours of<br />

refreshments we got the bill<br />

over and Andrew questioned<br />

it. He went back to the<br />

bar and eventually came over<br />

with another bill and explained<br />

that there were different rates<br />

and that they were trying to<br />

John Gold and John Hay show<br />

off the Shetland Tartan Army<br />

flag on the pitch


“I’D HIGHLY RECOMMEND A TRIP TO<br />

MOLDOVA. JUST BE CAREFUL OF THE WINE -<br />

IT CAN BE LETHAL”<br />

John Gold, Donald Willmore, Peter Farquhar and Adam Swift enjoyed Chisinau<br />

charge us the tourist rates, not<br />

knowing that we were sitting in<br />

the company of some <strong>Moldova</strong>ns.<br />

It turned out it was so cheap<br />

anyway that we left a bigger tip<br />

than what they were trying to<br />

charge us in the first place!<br />

After learning of our 1-0 defeat<br />

to Norway, we thought we better<br />

try and cheer ourselves up, so<br />

what better way than to visit<br />

the wine festival? After all, that’s<br />

what we were there for....<br />

Well, what a day was had at the<br />

festival. There were stalls galore<br />

with wine and food and we only<br />

managed to get to a couple of<br />

stalls before we were invited<br />

by one owner to stay behind<br />

his for the day and have wine<br />

and a BBQ with them. This also<br />

helped him bring in the crowds<br />

as everyone wanted photos with<br />

us in our kilts.<br />

Getting back to the hotel was<br />

a bit of a blur, that’s probably<br />

why I woke up in the morning<br />

behind the couch in reception,<br />

much to the amusement of the<br />

receptionist.<br />

Chisinau is quite a place. It<br />

is awash with Soviet-style<br />

architecture and cathedrals and<br />

it’s well worth taking a day out<br />

to tour round the many buildings.<br />

We were glad to have Andrew as<br />

our tour guide.<br />

The pubs and clubs were all<br />

very welcoming, the local food<br />

was excellent and very cheap<br />

and indeed it was one of the<br />

only trips where we actually had<br />

money left at the end, we just<br />

couldn’t spend it.<br />

The match itself was again<br />

another disappointment, ending<br />

1-1 which, to be honest, probably<br />

flattered us as we were poor but<br />

like all TA trips we made some<br />

good friends along the way and<br />

we all lived to party another day.<br />

I’d highly recommend a trip to<br />

<strong>Moldova</strong>. Just be careful of the<br />

wine - it can be lethal.<br />

HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021<br />

SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 65


HAMPDEN PARK / SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2021 SCOTLAND v MOLDOVA / 66<br />

SCOTLAND<br />

MANAGER:<br />

Steve Clarke<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

Zander Clark<br />

St. Johnstone<br />

Craig Gordon<br />

Heart of Midlothian<br />

Liam Kelly<br />

Motherwell<br />

Liam Cooper<br />

Leeds United<br />

Declan Gallagher<br />

Aberdeen<br />

Grant Hanley<br />

Norwich City<br />

Jack Hendry<br />

Club Brugge<br />

Scott McKenna<br />

Nottingham Forest<br />

Stephen O’Donnell<br />

Motherwell<br />

Nathan Patterson<br />

Rangers<br />

Andy Robertson<br />

Liverpool<br />

Kieran Tierney<br />

Arsenal<br />

Lewis Ferguson<br />

Aberdeen<br />

Billy Gilmour<br />

Norwich City *<br />

John McGinn<br />

Aston Villa<br />

Callum McGregor<br />

Celtic<br />

Kenny McLean<br />

Norwich City<br />

David Turnbull<br />

Celtic<br />

Ché Adams<br />

Southampton<br />

Ryan Christie<br />

AFC Bournemouth<br />

Lyndon Dykes<br />

Queens Park Rangers<br />

Ryan Fraser<br />

Newcastle United<br />

Kevin Nisbet<br />

Hibernian<br />

*on loan from Chelsea<br />

MOLDOVA<br />

HEAD COACH:<br />

Roberto Bordin<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

O<br />

Stanislav Namaşco<br />

Keshla Azerbaijan<br />

Dumitru Celeadnic<br />

Sheriff Tiraspol<br />

Cristian Avram<br />

FC Buzău<br />

Iulian-Sebastian Agachi<br />

CSF Balti<br />

Igor Armaș<br />

Voluntari<br />

Oleg Reabciuk<br />

Olympiacos<br />

Veaceslav Posmac<br />

Tuzlaspor<br />

Daniel Dumbrăvanu<br />

Lucchese<br />

Denis Marandici<br />

NK Celje<br />

Vadim Bolohan<br />

Milsami Orhei<br />

Alexandru Belousov<br />

Sheriff Tiraspol<br />

Ion Jardan<br />

Petrocub Hincesti<br />

Maxim Potîrniche<br />

Petrocub Hincesti<br />

Ioan-Călin Revenco<br />

Petrocub Hincesti<br />

Artur Ioniță<br />

Benevento<br />

Vadim Rață<br />

Voluntari<br />

Cristian Dros<br />

Slavia Mozyr<br />

Sergiu Platica<br />

Petrocub Hînceşti<br />

Victor Bogaciuc<br />

Petrocub Hînceşti<br />

Cornel Cotogoi<br />

Petrocub Hînceşti<br />

Ion Nicolaescu<br />

Dunajská Streda<br />

Vitalie Damaşcan<br />

Sepsi OSK Sf. Gheorghe<br />

Nicolae Milinceanu<br />

PAS Giannina<br />

Danu Spătaru<br />

Ararat-Armenia<br />

Nicky Cleșcenco<br />

Sion<br />

Mihail Ghecev<br />

Veres<br />

Radu Gînsari<br />

Milsami Orhei<br />

Alexandru Antoniuc<br />

Milsami Orhei


A SUPPORT LIKE<br />

NO OTHER

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