Scotland U21 3 - 0 Luxembourg U21: Scots winning start

SCOTLAND last night got their Uefa Under-21 Championships qualifying campaign off to the perfect start as a professional display did for luckless Luxembourg.

Scorers: Scotland U21: Walker (45), Watt (66), Toshney (84)

The visitors were stuffy, but debutant Hearts winger Jamie Walker finally broke their resolve with a strike in first-half stoppage time.

Tony Watt – who rejoined the squad on Friday after initially pulling out with an ankle knock – added a second just after the hour mark after the visitors got themselves in a mess with a passback to goalkeeper Steve Pfeiffer.

And a third goal was added seven minutes from time when Pfeiffer again blundered by dropping the ball at the feet of Lewis Toshney, who rammed it into an empty net.

It was the minnows who came up with some early half chances, skipper Dzenid Ramdedovic firing straight at goalkeeper Jordan Archer from a free kick and then Tom Laterza flashing a low cross across goal an instant too early for the arrival of team-mate David Turpel.

Scotland’s first sight of goal came after 18 minutes as Dylan McGeouch, Fraser Fyvie and Walker linked up before the Hearts teenager rolled the ball back for skipper Stuart Armstrong to fire wide from 20 yards out. Toshney went closer on 33 minutes, however, with Luxembourg struggling to clear from a Scots corner. When the home team worked it back to the Dundee defender on the edge of the box, he whipped a first-time shot towards the top right-hand corner but saw Pfeiffer push it on to the post.

But with the last kick of the first half, Scotland finally struck. Luxembourg were penned in by another corner as Fyvie worked a quick short exchange of passes with Stuart Bannigan before clipping the ball to Toshney at the far post. His headed knockdown was perfect for Walker to volley into the roof of the net.

The Scots had a couple of early scares in the second half, Turpel first blazing over from substitute Ryan Klepp’s lay-off and then sending in a tame second effort after cutting in from the right channel. However, a second Scotland goal did arrive on 66 minutes. Watt cut in from the right to shoot but Pfeiffer could only parry the ball. With time to blast clear, Giuliano Jackson instead opted to pass back to the grounded goalkeeper and he inexplicably picked it up four yards from his own goal. That left Finnish referee Dennis Antamo with little choice but to award the indirect free kick and Scotland made the most of it as Armstrong’s lay-off was battered through the onrushing wall and into the net by Watt.

And the win was sealed on 83 minutes when substitute Ryan Fraser saw his free kick dropped by Pfeiffer, leaving Toshney to blast home the third goal.

The young Scots’ manager Billy Stark admitted his side started nervously, but praised the midfield trio of Fyvie, Armstrong and Bannigan, saying: “Fraser is a confident boy and I thought Armstrong was a class act in the middle. Stuart Bannigan helped us to get a foothold in the game and control it.”

Scotland U21: Archer, Jack, Toshney, Robertson, McHattie, Fyvie, Armstrong, Bannigan (Feruz 68), McGeouch, Watt (McLean 76), Walker (Fraser 59). Subs not used: Kettings, Duffie, Wallace, Smith.

Luxembourg U21: Pfeiffer, Laterza (Lascak 73), Christophe De Sousa, Ramdedovic, Pit Hess, Sinani, Skrijelj, Bechtold, Texeira (Klapp 46), Corral Garcia (Jackson 63), Turpel. Subs not used: Rick Hess, Dragovic, Holtz, Edis Agovic.