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Scotland 3-0 Cyprus: McTominay brace seals victory for Tartan Army
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Will Evans
LiveScore
Scott McTominay (right) celebrates scoring Scotland's second goal of the game
Scott McTominay (right) celebrates scoring Scotland's second goal of the game

A late double from Scott McTominay helped Scotland to a convincing 3-0 win over Cyprus at Hampden Park.

The hosts got their European Championship qualifying campaign up and running in the 21st minute, when Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn struck his 16th goal for the Tartan Army from close range.

But it took until the 87th minute for Steve Clarke's side to make sure of the points.

Substitute McTominay fired home a smart finish to settle nerves in Glasgow, before putting the game to bed three minutes into stoppage time.

The visitors ended the game with 10 men after a late red card for full-back Nicholas Ioannou.

Clarke was understandably delighted with the victory and praised the impact of his subs.

He said: "We spoke a lot about getting off to a good start and I thought we started the game really well. 

"The movement, the rotation of the players, the creation of space was good. We deserved the lead at that time.

John McGinn opened the scoring for Scotland against Cyprus
John McGinn opened the scoring for Scotland against Cyprus

"I thought up until 30 minutes we were good and I don't know whether we went a bit casual, we switched off a little bit and Cyprus made it difficult for us. 

"Second half was a slightly difficult game and we slowed the game too much, but it is nice to look at the bench and bring on Scott McTominay and Ryan Christie."

Cyprus boss Temuri Ketsbaia was gracious in defeat, despite being disappointed by his side's performance.

He said: "I believe we lost to the better team. Scotland deserved to win the game, well done to them. Congratulations. 

"I'm disappointed that we didn't give our best. We tried to change our formation, we tried to put more offensive players. It cost us because we conceded two easy goals."

A far tougher proposition lies in store for Scotland on Tuesday night, when they take on Spain in their next Group A fixture.

Tags

ScotlandCyprusEuropean ChampionshipScott McTominay
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