Scotland 1 - Northern Ireland 0: Berra late than never for Strachan's men

GORDON STRACHAN insisted last night’s friendly with Northern Ireland was a worthwhile exercise as Scotland secured a late victory.

Christophe BerraWillie Vass

Christophe Berra celebrates his late winner

Christophe Berra connected with debutant Matt Ritchie’s corner five minutes from time to power a downward header into the corner of the net.

It was Berra’s third goal for his country and sparked relief among the Tartan Army after what had been a dull friendly with both nations clearly more interested in this weekend’s qualifiers.

National manager Strachan reckons overcoming the Northern Irish has helped in the build-up to Sunday’s Euro 2016 clash against Gibraltar at Hampden.

He said: “It was important to win this game, just to make us feel good about ourselves. 

“The performance was good at times. We got used to the pitch as well which is a bit slick.

“There are one or two things I’d like us to do better but I was delighted to win the game and get a clean sheet.

“I got what I expected from the players. Some played better than others, that happens. I have a system in mind for Sunday against Gibraltar. We’ll have a look at it now.

“It does bring a pressure when people expect us to win easily but we go into it feeling good about ourselves. Every game you play, you go into it thinking the other team is going to score, no matter who they are. It is a different challenge from Germany, but it’s still a challenge.

“Matt Ritchie got better as the game went on, got more of the ball and was more comfortable, He’s tidy in everything he does. That’s a big thing in international football, not to give ball away. He can be pleased with his debut.”

Michael O’Neill, whose Northern Ireland side face Finland this weekend, said: “It was disappointing to lose the goal so late in the game. We won’t be too despondent about it because we left out a lot our first-choice players and we came through the match unscathed.”

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