France 0-1 Scotland … so sweet, we won it twice

By: Ian Rose | September 14th, 2007

Hey everybody. First, my sincere apologies for not posting earlier. As JT correctly surmised, I have been in a fog of beer and whiskey since the joyous victory of Scotland over France in Paris on the 12th. That is not an excuse, as missing the opportunity to blog the historic occasion of two wins over France in one Euro campaign is inexcusable. But its a reason. So, let’s get to the game.

As most everyone knows, it was James McFadden of Everton who netted the only goal in the match, meeting the scoreline that Celtic’s Gary Caldwell provided in the home match with France in October. Like October’s meeting, this match started with a strong showing from France that Scotland’s defense did well to just survive. The first half was dominated by the French, with nice chances from Malouda and Abidal, but Craig Gordon and the Scot defense held well and went to the break with what was, to France, an extremely worrying draw. If they were honest, many on the Scottish side would have admitted that they would have accepted that draw as a good result at the Stadt de France. But twenty minutes into the second half, McFadden’s lovely long-distance goal painted the inside of the top corner, and gave Scotland a lead its stingy defense would not lose.

What an absolutely amazing result. When this group was picked, with the two World Cup finalists and quarterfinalists Ukraine, Scotland was understandably pessimistic, and no one, myself included, would have predicted that we would take 6 points from our matches with France, a team that has dominated the rest of the group. Scotland now sits in the lead of the group, one point above Italy and two above France, with all three having three matches left. Incredible. I wish I could be a better writer just now, and truly express what an achievement this is for Scottish football and what a personal joy it is for me, but alas, my celebration hangover remains, and I’m not on top of my game.

Congratulations to all of Scotland on a great win, and a great campaign on the way to the Euro 2008 tournament. Italy still looms ahead, and we still need some points, but we are in a great position, and the whole nation should be proud. Scotland Forever.