Cyprus 1 - 2 Scotland: Miller’s magic lights up a workmanlike Scottish win

SCOTLAND had failed to score in losing their previous four friendly games on away soil, so any sort of win in Larnaca was to be welcomed. And what Craig Levein’s side served up in Cyprus certainly was of the any-sort variety. It was streaky, far from convincing and hardly an evening’s work to engender rampant optimism, but that wasn’t the point.

Levein said the proof of the wisdom in putting the game on would be in the winning and, in fairness, that was achieved courtesy of two corking goals. The audacity and execution of Kenny Miller’s lobbed opener after 23 minutes was delightful. A fitting way, indeed, for the 31-year-old to bag himself a 16th international strike and so move ahead of James McFadden and Robert Hamilton and out on his own as Scotland’s sixth-highest goalscorer.

Jamie Mackie’s second in international colours soon after the break was another piece of individual excellence but the concession of a goal inside three minutes and the fact that Cyrpus twice had efforts off the goal frame in the opening half meant Scotland were never able to comfortably do a number on their hosts that was expected of them.

Even when Levein could name a side that featured seven of his first picks. Injuries to Charlie Adam, Steven Naismith, Scott Brown and Alan Hutton denied the Scotland manager his full complement. Those absences provided the opportunity for Mackie to make his first international start in a year, the Queens Park Rangers attacker having spent most of that time out of action following a leg break in January.

The make-up of the Cypriot side also seemed to firmly tip the odds in favour of the visitors. Nikos Nioplias, in charge since June, has dispensed with a clutch of mainstays. The results have been less than impressive. Ahead of last night Cyprus had lost their past four games, posted only a solitary win in 13 attempts and were one of only four teams not to claim a victory in the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign.

The Mediterranean country have dropped like a stone in the FIFA rankings to lie a lowly 120th. The island’s football public showed exactly what they thought of their national team’s declining fortunes, and the draw of playing Scotland, it must be said, by giving the encounter in Anorthosis Famagusta’s ageing stadium a wide berth. In filling two-thirds of one of the open ends behind the goals and having as many pockets of followers in the near empty main stand – the only other section in use – Scotland supporters must have outnumbered the home contigent by as much as eight to one.

For the opening 20 minutes the Tartan Army members adopted the poses they strike so often on the road. They stood or sat with arms folded, and grimaced, as, with a certain inevitability, the easy game in theory proved altogether more arduous in practice.

Scotland had a truly laboured look about them in the opening exchanges and their inability to match the tempo and runs of their opponents really ought to have been punished. Twice in the early minutes Allan McGregor was called upon to make saves and the threat was apparent with the sightings on the Scotland goal all too effortlessly engineered. And it was no surspise when the Rangers keeper was required to look altogther more lively shortly afterwards. Former Ibrox youth player Georgios Efrem turned inside Christophe Berra and unleased a ferocious effort from the edge of the area that McGregor managed to push on to the bar.

This 17th minute escape shook Scotland from their torpor and after Miller tugged an effort wide the 31-year-old produced an exquisite finish midway through the first period to snare Levein’s side a lead their efforts hardly justified. There was no disputing the worth of the opener, though.

The Cardiff City striker took a touch with the outside of his right-foot to control a lofted Berra ball from deep and then conjured up a gilded lob from an angle on the right of the box that arced over the head of the helpless Antonis Giorgallidis in the Cypriot goal for his 16th international striker.

Only three minutes after that goal Cyrpus came perilously close to equalising. Only the goal frame again thwarted them, Sinisa Dobrasinovic cracking it with a thumping drive. Yet, the half might have ended with Scotland 2-0 up after a terrific slaloming run from Mackie ended with the attacker, playing wide on the left, forcing the home keeper to produce a fine fingertip save.

Mackie’s zig-zagging at defenders did yield the desired result and Scotland’s second a mere 11 minutes into the second period, however, with the player snaring his second international goal – he also scored in the 3-0 win over the Faroe Islands at Pittodrie last November – when he buried a low shot into the right-hand corner of Giorgallidis’s net from close to the byeline. It was an impressive goal, even more so for a player only just returning to first-team football following a broken leg.

But any belief that it might set Scotland up for a scare-free last half hour or so were immediately dashed when Dimitris Christofi was played in behind Phil Bardsley and lashed the ball low beyond McGregor. Levein still made the changes he had discussed pre-match...only later than planned, with Craig-Mackail-Smith taking over from Miller in the 63rd minute and Jordan Rhodes not appearing to partner him and earn a first full cap until he replaced Mackie four minutes from the end. Scotland didn’t cave in as a result.

Cyprus: Giorgallidis; Demetriou, Parpas (Nikolaou 58), Merkis, Alexandrov (Katsis 70); Solomou, Satsias, Dobrasinovic (Vasileiou 74), Avraam; Effrem, Christofi. Subs not used: Charalambous, Sielis, Stavrov, Mytidis, Kissis, Mastrou.

Scotland: McGregor; Whittaker, Caldwell, Berra, Bardsley (Crainey 74); Fletcher (McArthur 63); Robson (Conway 79); Morrison, Cowie, Mackie (Rhodes 87); Miller (Mackail-Smith 63). Subs: Gilks, Stevenson, Crainey, Hanley, MacKenzie, Samson.