To see Scotland play at Somerset Park is something special and fairly rare. To see an Ayr United player do so in that match in recent history has been downright extinct.
by Marc Roseblade
Watching Mark Shankland run out onto the Somerset turf on Tuesday night for the Scotland under 17s friendly match against Serbia filled most watching Ayr United supporters with pride that that club, and more notably the Ayr United Football Academy, could finally be producing players of the quality required to play at an international level.
Scotland coach Ricky Sbragia thought so or he wouldn't have asked the youngster to be part of the squad in this International challenge match which pitted him alongside players from Liverpool, Rangers, Celtic, Dundee United and Falkirk to name a few.
The youngster was happy to bide his time on the bench for the first half;we all knew before hand that he would be allowed time to sparkle in the second half and when that time came, the largest roar of the night amongst the 600+ watching supporters bellowed out for their home team favourite.
The match started like a scene from the movie the Fast and the Furious, with all guns blazing, wheels spinning, smoke flaring.
The game swung from end to end in the early exchanges with both teams taking it in turn to pepper their opponents goal with shots. First up were Scotland but found little change from an early corner, instead finding out the hard way how fast the Serbian midfielders were on the break but fortunately the defence managed amicably top clear the danger.
Scotland's Denny Johnstone was first to guide an effort on target but in what was to be the par for the match, the keepers were to be more than a match for their striking counterparts for the majority of the 80 minute playing time.
Johnstone was to prove a thorn in the side of the Serbians all night and narrowly missed out on opening the scoring on 10 minutes with a stunning daisycutter to the near side post that Rajkovic in the visitors goal managed to guide past the post for a corner. Moments later though, Milan Spremo was to strike a simply tremendous curling shot past the diving Ryan Crump in the Scotland goal area.
The lead was perhaps against the run of play up to this point if chances on goals counted as possession, but the Serbs were comfortable playing with the ball at their feet or chasing the ball down from the Scots players.
It was hectic throughout the field, with both teams players finding very little time on the ball to make any headway for their side but it was the Scots who were creating the chances in front of goal and it seemed it would only be a matter of time before an equalizer would be scored.
Cameron Smith, Craig Sibbald and Darren Petrie all saw their efforts fail to bulge the net but it was Celtic attacker Johnstone who managed the breakthough for the home side when Aberdeen's Cameron Smith fed him though into a one-on-one situation with the keeper, before composing himself in front of goal, and whilst under pressure from an out rushing keeper, slotted home from 10 yards into the bottom left hand corner of the net to make the score 1-1.
Scotland were boosted by this goal and continued to push for a leading goal before the half time break was upon them and despite shots hitting the target area from Lewis Kidd and Johnstone, the players left the field at the break with the scores all even.
It would take a monumental effort from the players to match the high tempo of play that had been exhibited in the first and as expected the substitutions that were to litter the second period of play would dampen the speed and style of play that made the first so exciting.
Despite this, Serbia bolted from the blocks and were more dominant in this 40 minutes that their home team hosts and early in the half Scotland found themselves lucky to not be another goal down but for a selfless piece of defending that the Scotland player yellow carded for what could be described as taking one for the team when the Serbians were breaking free and outnumbered the defensive backline 4 to 2.
Although being the more dominant of the two sides in the opening exchanges, Serbia were failing to make their possession pay dividends and nearly paid the penalty when Scotland defender found himself up field and in space but unfortunately saw his shot fly high and wide.
With 25 minutes remaining on the clock, the moment arrived that most of the supporters had been waiting for, the moment that saw Ayr United starlet Mark Shankland take to the field for the first time in a Scotland shirt.
The roar was deafening in the stand where the crowd had been herded together, louder than the earlier goal which must have bemused the visiting players but the youngster took it all in his stride and sprinted on to the field like a true pro.
Shankland had been one of seven substitutions made by the Scotland coach so the continuity of the match was obviously altered from the earlier pace set by the opening squad. Serbia also made five substitutions during the match which swayed the balance of the game slightly onto a slower, less frantic style but this didn't stop Shankland from harrying his opponents defence, trying to pick up the pace, steal the ball and hopefully score.
He managed the first two but unfortunately never managed the goal but his ingenuity and willingness to break down the defence, press the goalie must not have gone unseen by the watching Scotland coaching staff.
Serbia went close to scoring the winning goal near the end when a superbly whipped in ball to the box was met by the head of Milan Jokic but fortunately for the Scottish team, the Partizan player couldn't direct the effort goalward and it drifted over the bar.
With minutes remaining, Scotland continued to look for the winner with Fraser Aird aiming a couple of efforts toward goal and Mark Shankland nearly latched onto a perfectly weighted ball into the box but the goalkeeper was alert and beat the striker to the ball to thwart him from a debut strike.
After the final whistle shrilled, most watching the match would agree the result was a fair one for both teams involved.
Afterwards Scotland coach commented by saying:"They were a very good team, we knew that before hand and they scored a great goal, but we fought back and Denny scored a good goal to get us back into it."
"The players application is brilliant at training and I really hope we qualify for the Euros."
Talking about Mark Shankland's participation in the squad he said:"I know the position I played in him today isn't his preferred position but there's only so much I can fiddle around with the team. I've seen him a couple of times and although it's a big step up it's up to him how much more he wants. He done well at the camp and this gives him a taste of the international setup."
Mark Shankland also spoke afterwards stating:"It was great, especially running out in front of the crowd at Somerset. I was nervous to begin with but knew that I would get on at some time as Ricky had told us all before hand we would get playing time.."
"I hope I get some more time in the closed door match on Thursday and try to cement a place in the squad for the upcoming Euro Championships Elite Group next month. Serbia are similar in style to Denmark who are in the group next month so this was a good test for the team and gave me a taste of what I can achieve."
The team will now play Serbia again in a closed door match on Thursday before the Euro Championship Elite Group marches into town in March.
Somerset Park will again be the venue on March 20th where Scotland will host Lithuania before Denmark and Lithuania battle it out on Thursday 22nd. Scotland play Iceland the same evening but the venue for that match will be Strathclyde Home Stadium in Dumbarton. Scotland's final group match will take place on Sunday 25th against Denmark at Cappielow, whilst the Strathclyde Homes Stadium hosts the final game of the group between Lithuania and Iceland.
by Marc Roseblade
Watching Mark Shankland run out onto the Somerset turf on Tuesday night for the Scotland under 17s friendly match against Serbia filled most watching Ayr United supporters with pride that that club, and more notably the Ayr United Football Academy, could finally be producing players of the quality required to play at an international level.
Scotland coach Ricky Sbragia thought so or he wouldn't have asked the youngster to be part of the squad in this International challenge match which pitted him alongside players from Liverpool, Rangers, Celtic, Dundee United and Falkirk to name a few.
The youngster was happy to bide his time on the bench for the first half;we all knew before hand that he would be allowed time to sparkle in the second half and when that time came, the largest roar of the night amongst the 600+ watching supporters bellowed out for their home team favourite.
The match started like a scene from the movie the Fast and the Furious, with all guns blazing, wheels spinning, smoke flaring.
The game swung from end to end in the early exchanges with both teams taking it in turn to pepper their opponents goal with shots. First up were Scotland but found little change from an early corner, instead finding out the hard way how fast the Serbian midfielders were on the break but fortunately the defence managed amicably top clear the danger.
Scotland's Denny Johnstone was first to guide an effort on target but in what was to be the par for the match, the keepers were to be more than a match for their striking counterparts for the majority of the 80 minute playing time.
Johnstone was to prove a thorn in the side of the Serbians all night and narrowly missed out on opening the scoring on 10 minutes with a stunning daisycutter to the near side post that Rajkovic in the visitors goal managed to guide past the post for a corner. Moments later though, Milan Spremo was to strike a simply tremendous curling shot past the diving Ryan Crump in the Scotland goal area.
The lead was perhaps against the run of play up to this point if chances on goals counted as possession, but the Serbs were comfortable playing with the ball at their feet or chasing the ball down from the Scots players.
It was hectic throughout the field, with both teams players finding very little time on the ball to make any headway for their side but it was the Scots who were creating the chances in front of goal and it seemed it would only be a matter of time before an equalizer would be scored.
Cameron Smith, Craig Sibbald and Darren Petrie all saw their efforts fail to bulge the net but it was Celtic attacker Johnstone who managed the breakthough for the home side when Aberdeen's Cameron Smith fed him though into a one-on-one situation with the keeper, before composing himself in front of goal, and whilst under pressure from an out rushing keeper, slotted home from 10 yards into the bottom left hand corner of the net to make the score 1-1.
Scotland were boosted by this goal and continued to push for a leading goal before the half time break was upon them and despite shots hitting the target area from Lewis Kidd and Johnstone, the players left the field at the break with the scores all even.
It would take a monumental effort from the players to match the high tempo of play that had been exhibited in the first and as expected the substitutions that were to litter the second period of play would dampen the speed and style of play that made the first so exciting.
Despite this, Serbia bolted from the blocks and were more dominant in this 40 minutes that their home team hosts and early in the half Scotland found themselves lucky to not be another goal down but for a selfless piece of defending that the Scotland player yellow carded for what could be described as taking one for the team when the Serbians were breaking free and outnumbered the defensive backline 4 to 2.
Although being the more dominant of the two sides in the opening exchanges, Serbia were failing to make their possession pay dividends and nearly paid the penalty when Scotland defender found himself up field and in space but unfortunately saw his shot fly high and wide.
With 25 minutes remaining on the clock, the moment arrived that most of the supporters had been waiting for, the moment that saw Ayr United starlet Mark Shankland take to the field for the first time in a Scotland shirt.
The roar was deafening in the stand where the crowd had been herded together, louder than the earlier goal which must have bemused the visiting players but the youngster took it all in his stride and sprinted on to the field like a true pro.
Shankland had been one of seven substitutions made by the Scotland coach so the continuity of the match was obviously altered from the earlier pace set by the opening squad. Serbia also made five substitutions during the match which swayed the balance of the game slightly onto a slower, less frantic style but this didn't stop Shankland from harrying his opponents defence, trying to pick up the pace, steal the ball and hopefully score.
He managed the first two but unfortunately never managed the goal but his ingenuity and willingness to break down the defence, press the goalie must not have gone unseen by the watching Scotland coaching staff.
Serbia went close to scoring the winning goal near the end when a superbly whipped in ball to the box was met by the head of Milan Jokic but fortunately for the Scottish team, the Partizan player couldn't direct the effort goalward and it drifted over the bar.
With minutes remaining, Scotland continued to look for the winner with Fraser Aird aiming a couple of efforts toward goal and Mark Shankland nearly latched onto a perfectly weighted ball into the box but the goalkeeper was alert and beat the striker to the ball to thwart him from a debut strike.
After the final whistle shrilled, most watching the match would agree the result was a fair one for both teams involved.
Afterwards Scotland coach commented by saying:"They were a very good team, we knew that before hand and they scored a great goal, but we fought back and Denny scored a good goal to get us back into it."
"The players application is brilliant at training and I really hope we qualify for the Euros."
Talking about Mark Shankland's participation in the squad he said:"I know the position I played in him today isn't his preferred position but there's only so much I can fiddle around with the team. I've seen him a couple of times and although it's a big step up it's up to him how much more he wants. He done well at the camp and this gives him a taste of the international setup."
Mark Shankland also spoke afterwards stating:"It was great, especially running out in front of the crowd at Somerset. I was nervous to begin with but knew that I would get on at some time as Ricky had told us all before hand we would get playing time.."
"I hope I get some more time in the closed door match on Thursday and try to cement a place in the squad for the upcoming Euro Championships Elite Group next month. Serbia are similar in style to Denmark who are in the group next month so this was a good test for the team and gave me a taste of what I can achieve."
The team will now play Serbia again in a closed door match on Thursday before the Euro Championship Elite Group marches into town in March.
Somerset Park will again be the venue on March 20th where Scotland will host Lithuania before Denmark and Lithuania battle it out on Thursday 22nd. Scotland play Iceland the same evening but the venue for that match will be Strathclyde Home Stadium in Dumbarton. Scotland's final group match will take place on Sunday 25th against Denmark at Cappielow, whilst the Strathclyde Homes Stadium hosts the final game of the group between Lithuania and Iceland.
