Stephen McManus seals the great escape as Scots are spared from humiliation

Published on Tuesday 7 September 2010 16:01

CRAIG Levein's appointment as manager was supposed to bring a solidity to Scotland. Rather, after one of the most stressful evenings anyone can recall at Hampden Park, it appears his tenure could be a roller-coaster ride for all concerned after Scotland narrowly avoided what would have stood as a greatest ever humiliation.

• Scotland defender Stephen McManus celebrates his dramatic winning goal against Liechtenstein at Hampden last night, scored after seven minutes of injury time Picture: SNS

Scotland snatched victory from what would have been a disastrous draw with Liechtenstein – ranked 141st in the world – with a winner in the seventh minute of injury time from Stephen McManus. Kenny Miller had earlier equalised an opening goal from Mario Frick, whose strike just a minute after half-time had stunned Hampden Park. Scotland left the pitch at half-time to a volley of jeers after an insipid opening during which they had not managed a shot on goal.

Levein's arrival might also have brought something not normally associated with Scotland – luck. The hosts were the beneficiaries of a great dollop of fortune to avert perhaps the most embarrassing result visited upon the Scottish international team – more shameful, even, than the draw against the Faroes Isles eight years ago, under Berti Vogts. The Liechtenstein manager Hans-Peter Zaug later complained bitterly at the end about the adding on of between seven and eight minutes of injury time. He looked haunted when he faced reporters. "We were told five minutes of injury time," he whispered. "In fact seven were played. I could have lived with half a minute more..."

• Webchat: Discuss the Scotland performance with Moira Gordon from 1pm today

• Match report: Scotland 2 - 1 Liechtenstein

• Stephen Halliday: Levein has already used up a big chunk of luck

McManus took advantage of the extra seconds. He met Barry Robson's corner to send Scotland to the top of Group I, with Lithuania having posted a shock win away to the Czech Republic. This was all that concerned Levein afterwards, although he accepted that his side's peformance had fallen far below the standard expected. He also regretted selecting a more adventurous line-up, with James McFadden hauled off at half-time and then Kris Boyd replaced midway through the second-half. "One goal can make a lot of difference," he said. "I changed it today, perhaps a little bit against my better judgment. But we retrieved the situation, luckily."

Had McManus not scored with almost the final act of match then Levein would have faced a severe backlash, one he might have found difficult to survive.

Relief was an over-riding emotion at Hampden last night, and it had flooded through the manager when McManus' header flashed into the goal. He was struggling to compose himself when he faced reporters afterwards. "I haven't had a lot of time to get my thoughts together," he said at the end, when asked the possible significance of McManus' goal. "I am obviously a very happy man. The statistics show that tonight we are top of the group with four points. That, to me, is the most important thing."

He paid tribute to Liechtentsten, who vindicated Levein's insistence prior to the game that they should not be treated lightly. "What will happen is that criticism will be levelled at our performance - I understand that. But I'd like to make a point of complimenting Liechtenstein's performance. I made the point earlier in the week that this wasn't an easy game."

But as for a deeper analysis of the result, that will be left for later. Levein was simply concentrating on Scotland managing to collect four points from six in this opening double-header.

"That's irrelevant," he said, with reference to the performance. "The result matters. Also what matters is that the Czech Republic lost to Lithuania. I am chuffed to bits. There is big difference between two and four points." Levein paid trubute to the fans, despite their very public show of displeasure at half-time. "There was a situation here tonight where the fans could really have had a go at us," he said. "But they stuck with us, and after we got a goal back they cheered us on until the end. They go home with us top of the group."

Levein also praised his players for not giving up. "They didn't play with much fluency, but they never gave up," he said. In the circumstances, Lee McCulloch's booking, which means he will miss the crucial trip to Prague next month, was a minor blow amid the attendant drama.

McManus accepted the team's performance left much to be desired but was defiant in the face of the inevitable criticism which will come their way despite the result. "We didn't play as well as we would have liked," said the Middlesbrough defender. "We never played with the fluency or tempo that we want to play with. But it's alright for people to have a pop, we only think of the positives and we won the match. Teams like Liechtenstein can look poor technically but we know all teams at international level are difficult to play against.

"We are only two games into the campaign and while you can't qualify at this stage, you can certainly be out of it. Getting four points means we are still very much in the hunt, especially with Lithuania winning."

The defender's second goal for his country was a heartbreaker for Liechtenstein but he had no sympathy for them. "Their time-wasting was frustrating and they got what they deserved," he said.