NEXT STOP..THE WORLD Why settle for the World Cup when you're as lucky as Brown?; LATVIA 0 SCOTLAND 1.
THAT'S qualification for the 2002 World Cup finals taken care of. So, what's next? Why not the World Series or the next Superbowl? With Craig Brown leading the way nothing is beyond Scotland.Certainly Belgium and Croatia can ditch their notions about finishing top of Group Six and not just because they played out a goalless draw in Brussels on Saturday night a couple of hours after Scotland had beaten Latvia 1-0 in Riga.
Fate continues to smile down warmly on Brown like some kind of powerful and genial ally.
His radical tactics didn't even have the effect of slowing Latvia never mind knocking them out of their stride, but forget planning, strategy and even skill. In the football business it is better to be lucky than good, not that I'm suggesting for a moment that our man Brown is without loads of smarts.
He does know what he's doing even if it isn't always particularly clear to the rest of us ... like his decision to play Matt Elliott up front in the Skonto Riga Stadium.
The central defender had been used in that role before by none other than Martin O'Neill when he was manager of Leicester City but the secret behind such a move is sterling service.
As many genuine strikers have discovered over the years, playing up front for Scotland can be an extremely lonely existence.
As Billy Dodds said after Latvia's fans had been sent home wondering how their team had been beaten: "A Scotland striker has to survive on scraps."
On Saturday night Elliott was starved throughout the first half while Latvia's forwards gorged themselves on good balls played through the Scottish midfield.
"Don't blame him," Brown was pleading all the way back from Latvia. "It wasn't his fault and the decision to play him up there wasn't a mistake.'
Well, yes and no, Craig. Elliott wasn't to blame but of course the decision to deploy him at the sharp end and then deny him ammunition was an error.
It was a bit like sending the SAS behind enemy lines armed only with water pistols.
Still, it all ended well and the Scots are on their way thanks to Neil McCann's perseverance which pushed him into the right place at the right time - four minutes from the end, in fact - to score the only goal of a frantic match.
Brown had dragged Don Hutchison back into midfield to help compensate for the loss of Craig Burley and Paul Lambert and with Barry Ferguson playing left- midfield, it was assumed plenty of ball would be squirted out to McCann on the left wing.
The Scottish manager expected to see the Rangers winger skin Latvia's right- back Juris Laizans but it didn't happen.
Laizans wasn't half as bad as Brown thought he was and McCann couldn't get beyond the defender and into positions where he could make measured deliveries.
The attacking flair Brown had talked about all week prior to the match remained hidden and his boldness was subsiding as Scotland's midfield and defence struggled to subdue their lesser-known opponents.
It was not going to plan at all and then came a lucky break, although David Weir won't consider his achilles injury anything other than a painful injustice.
He sustained a four-to-five-inch gash and had to be kept indoors after the break.
Brown also told Callum Davidson to remain behind and the Hearts duo, Colin Cameron and Gary Naysmith, were sent out.
Reverting back to 3-5-2 from the 3-4-3 which failed miserably in the first half, Scotland began to enjoy greater possession and by now Elliott had returned to his familiar central defensive beat in place of Weir, with McCann pushing inside up front alongside Dodds.
Naysmith was much more comfortable in the left-wingback position and although the balance of Brown's side was better, the play still lacked creativity and also the vitality which marked Latvia's work.
Then again Scotland's midfield had only one genuine middle man and that was Ferguson, who was overrun in the first 45 minutes, and this Latvian dominance put enormous pressure on Colin Hendry and co at the back.
However, a degree of indecision between the captain and Christian Dailly didn't help and allowed Marians Pahars to look dangerous.
The Southampton striker first broke through in two minutes when he darted and twisted into Scotland's box forcing Dailly to tackle.
Pahars went down but all appeals for a penalty were dismissed.
Pahars and Andrejs Rubins continued to drop off their markers and then surge forward causing panic in Scotland's rearguard throughout the first half and, early in the game, Andrejs Stolcers turned away from Hendry with embarrassing ease.
Sullivan, however, dropped down quickly to smother Stolcers' shot.
Then a Hendry passback to Sullivan made the keeper look ridiculous as he almost fell over the ball conceding a corner.
It was around then the Tartan Army - about 1300 made the trip - began to worry.
Another darting Pahars run, which left Weir on his backside, opened up the defence again and Dailly, flinging himself full-length, headed clear.
Laizans should have been booked for a wild lunge at McCann in 17 minutes but he escaped punishment and a little later Elliott's touch and power deserted him when he hit a rather weak shot from close range.
Stolcers showed him how to do it, at least so far as ferocity of shot was concerned, when he smacked a 22-yard drive a yard over Sullivan's bar.
Latvia's captain Vitalijs Astafjevs played a good ball to Imants Bleidelis who then chipped into the box where Pahars got away from Weir again only to do no more than prod the ball straight at a grateful Sullivan.
Cameron gave Scotland's midfield more drive and he started the second half with a decent shot which brought Latvian keeper Aleksanders Kolinko into play but Hendry and his defenders, although much better organised by now, were still having to put in some last- gasp challenges to protect Sullivan.
A good move involving Laizans, Bleidelis, Stolcers and Pahars finished with Hendry's timely tackle although Pahars went down dramatically hoping to fool the Swiss referee into awarding a penalty.
He didn't and the Scots breathed again.
They were moving the ball better this half but still lacked any serious threat, although Dodds ought to have scored in 69 minutes when Naysmith's good first- time pass released McCann.
He held the ball up on the left until Dodds, who had darted off his marker, Olegs Blagonadezdins, was in place. The ball arrived and Dodds, unmarked, rose only to head wide when it looked easier to hit the target.
A little later Latvia tore downfield again and Sullivan had to stretch to knock away Stolcers' shot and then, in 77 minutes, Hutchison tripped Pahars and a mighty scrum of heaving bodies came together on the edge of Scotland's box.
Pahars, who had thrown the ball at Ferguson, was booked after the referee had restored order.
Valentins Lobanovs was also booked after a lunge at Dodds but the Rangers player was cautioned for time wasting after Scotland had engineered their breakthrough in 86 minutes.
Hutchison forced his way into Latvia's box where he was eventually blocked by Blagonadezdins who inadvertently prodded the ball across the face of his own goal.
His keeper, by now stranded in no man's land, was horrified but McCann was grateful.
He swept the ball into the net and Scotland's campaign was off to a flyer.
They didn't deserve their win but they were more than delighted to start another World Cup qualifying campaign by stealing points from Latvia.
Almost four years ago Scotland beat them 2-0 in Riga at the beginning of the journey to France 98 even though Latvia deserved at least a draw that time also, but Brown is now hoping history will repeat itself.
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| Title Annotation: | Sport |
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| Author: | Traynor, James |
| Publication: | Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland) |
| Date: | Sep 4, 2000 |
| Words: | 1304 |
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