Scotland look to build on strong start

Scotland will this weekend host an out of form Wales at Murrayfield, looking to build on the battling performance they produced in Paris last week. Despite losing the game 34-21 the Scots can be proud of their display and Andy Robinson will be pleased to have seen his side score three tries in the intimidating Stade de France.

After going behind after just three minutes the Scots were always chasing the game but came out of the opening game with their heads held high. The backs looked inventive and direct and the three touchdowns were thoroughly deserved by Scotland. Alistair Kellock lead the side by example and the new skipper covered every blade of grass as well as scoring a try. The latest Six Nations betting odds now suggest Scotland will be able to give the other sides a real run for their money.

The only major concern for Robinson and his coaching staff will be the way the forwards were dominated by the French in the scrum, conceding a penalty try to the French set-piece, despite the visitors boasting the heavier pack. Tight-head prop Euan Murray came in for some bashing by the press following the loss but his captain Kellock has come out to make it clear the whole pack were to blame rather than just the prop.

“We were disappointed with our scrum – we’ve got to fix that, Euan can only play as well as the rest of the pack. They’re going to put pressure through the tighthead – every team will try to,” he said.

The signs of improvement throughout the side were evident though and with Wales winless in eight tests the Scots will probably go into the match as favourites as long as the forwards can tweak a few things.

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No Defence for Scotland Boss

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It is hugely ironic that a man so obsessed with defending can offer no defence of his own. On Friday evening, Craig Levein sunk Scottish football to new depths with his incredible 4-6-0 formation in Prague in a match which saw Scotland lose the game 1-0 and suffer a major blow to their hopes of qualifying for Euro 2012.

Let us put this into perspective – Scotland were not playing the Czech squads of the Euro 1996 final or Euro 2004 semi finals, featuring the likes of Pavel Nedved, Milan Baros, Karol Poborsky and Vladimir Smicer. They were playing a team who finished 5th in their qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup, who were on their 4th manager since their shock exit to Turkey at Euro 2008 and who (despite playing at home) were outnumbered by Scottish supporters. Their last match was a home defeat by Lithuania and their stock in world football has never been lower.

Yet astonishingly, Levein opted to play without a single striker and instead play exclusively for a 0-0 draw. This is despite main forward Kenny Miller being in the form of his life and despite fielding a midfield almost exclusively of players who ply their trade in the English Premier League. Had Scotland approached the game in the correct manner, a victory was very much there for the taking and three points could have taken us a huge step closer to Euro 2012.

Sure, Levein was without a number of players he’d have loved to have called upon such as James McFadden, Scott Brown and Lee McCulloch. But the quality was still there – Darren Fletcher is a key man in the Manchester United squad, James Morrison a regular for high flying West Brom and Graeme Dorrans the subject of a

Can Scotland pull off shock win?

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Rewind a few months back to March of this year and the day on which Craig Levein brought wide smiles to the faces of every Scottish football fan with a victory over the Czech Republic in his first game in charge of the national side. As enjoyable and satisfying as Scotland fans undoubtedly found that victory, it was only a friendly. Their next test against the Czech Republic is far more meaningful and will, in fact, provide Levein’s biggest challenge since he took charge of Scotland.

Scotland desperately need to ignite their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, which has so far provided a mixed bag for Scottish fans. They’ve managed to secure four points from two games but unconvincing performances against opponents Scotland would widely be expected to beat easily have left many fans scratching their heads in bemusement.

Thinking back to these two performances, you could be forgiven for writing off the Scots’ chances ahead of this tie. However, Scotland love nothing more than keeping their best performances for their most crucial fixtures, pulling off majestic performances against bigger teams time and time again to prove their critics wrong in the most public of fashions. The Czech Republic, who have themselves endured a torrid time so far in their qualifying campaign, seem to tick all the right boxes in this respect for Scotland.

Scotland’s task won’t be an easy one; you can’t simply forget about their struggles so far in qualifying and the Czech Republic have some star names at their disposal. Furthermore, fitness concerns are hanging over the heads of several crucial players, including goalkeeper Allan McGregor and defenders Alan Hutton and Gary Caldwell. However, it would take a brave man to disregard that famous Scottish spirit and write off their chances. If you do fancy a bet on the Scottish, you’re sure to get some tempting prices, particularly on betting exchanges. Not sure how to gamble? Maybe this game is the time for you to learn how to use Betfair.