Bold George Burley reaps reward as Scotland notch Iceland victory

Sep 11 2008 By Keith Jackson

THEY were proud. They were passionate. They were properly prepared and organised. And they were willing to lay the lot on the line for their boss in his 90 minutes of need.

And, you know what, Scotland might just have a World Cup to go to and a manager on our hands after all.

OK, there's a long, long way to go to South Africa and George Burley still has some work to do to prove he knows the best way there. But last night in Iceland he made a start.

It wasn't always pretty but when Scotland and their manager needed a win more than ever, they stood shoulder to shoulder and they began to move forward as one.

And that was all we ever wanted.

Kirk Broadfoot, he of "limited ability", led the way with an opening goal that settled the nerves. And James McFadden scrambled us over the line in the second half when he bundled home on the rebound after his penalty had been saved.

Not even the sending-off of Stephen McManus or Eidur Gudjohnsen's expertise from the spot could crush this Scottish revival. Although it did scare us half to death.

And throughout it all Burley stood there on the trackside of the Laugardalsvollur Stadium, cajoling, clapping, pointing and shuffling for all he was worth. This was his night.

His first victory as Scotland's leader.

And by God didn't we all need it.

On a cold, dreich night in the North Atlantic, we remembered what it was like to feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Reykjavik had been wrapped up in an icy blanket of thick grey cloud ever since Scotland's arrival on Tuesday. It was grim and it was desolate. In fact, it actually felt like we had arrived at the end of the world.

Not for Burley, though. For the manager this was the start of a bright new future. A chance to wipe out the misery of Macedonia.

And credit where credit is due. For a man under such intense pressure, Burley stayed brave and true to his convictions.

Yes, he changed his formation to something far more reminiscent of the good old days but this was not a man running scared. This was a manager thinking smart.

Burley had watched his undermanned midfield being ripped asunder in Skopje and could not take such a risk again. So into the three central positions stepped Scott Brown, Darren Fletcher and Barry Robson.

But in the wider areas Burley's bold streak was confirmed by the presence on either flank of Shaun Maloney and Kris Commons.

It was their job to get forward and support James McFadden at the drop of a Glengarry. A 4-3-3 in possession. A 4-5-1 when required.

Without a ball being kicked, Burley's Scotland was better already. There was a reassuring sense of solidity and, in Maloney and Commons, also a statement of the manager's intent and a promise kept to the Tartan Army.

As ever, those foot soldiers were there in their thousands. In fact, as they belted out the national anthem before kick-off it was enough to swell the chests of Burley's players as they stood there in line.

It may sound a little corny but suddenly it felt good to be Scottish again. But would it last?

It looked fine for the first couple of minutes as Scotland stretched themselves out across the field and prodded eagerly at Iceland's defence. This was better. Much better. There were heart-stopping moments also as Iceland muscled their way into it with a great deal of menace.

It was enough, in fact, to bring Burley out from under his shelter for the first time and almost will his team up the pitch with a snap of his right arm.

From that moment on his toes were curled around the edge of his technical area. He pointed, he clapped, he encouraged and he attempted to position his players from the sidelines as if it was one giant game of Subutteo.

"You only sing when you're whaling" chanted the Scotland fans which lightened the mood everywhere except around Burley's dugout.

The manager continued to pace nervously, his heart rattling off his rib cage every time Fletcher failed to find another Scottish shirt with a pass.

Hemight even have keeled over if Gary Caldwell hadn't produced another heroic tackle to block Heidar Helgus on and if Gudjohnsen hadn't gone for the Hollywood finish on the followup, blasting his volley over the top.

But Burley stayed standing. And so did Scotland.

And then, in 18 minutes, came that wonderful breakthrough moment. A Robson corner, a Broadfoot charge and BANG!

It was like an entire nation had just taken a defibrillator to the chest.

We were alive again. Burley, though, barely moved an inch. He merely turned to Terry Buther and swapped a few words - "you", "f***ing" and "beauty" came instantly to mind.

But there was no time to get carried away. Burley was back, arms windmilling and reorganising his team.

He was transfixed. Almost to the point of being manic. Although every now and then he would take his eyes off it for a second, turning away in disgust whenever he felt the officials had not done his team justice.

But Scotland did not need any favours. They were winning this one all by themselves. Even when they were in trouble - like moments before the break when Hermann Hreidarsson looked a certain scorer only for McManus to scramble off the line - they found a way to survive.

They simply dug that little bit deeper. Like right after the restart when Caldwell raced back to make another vital contribution, lashing clear before Gudjohnsen could pounce in front of an empty net.

When McFadden's penalty was blocked by Kjartan Sturluson, a ravenous pack of white shirts raced in together just to make sure their talisman finished off the job.

Of course, it would not have been Scotland had there not been a terrible scare to survive.

McManus provided it with a blatant hand ball and Gudjohnsen turned up the heat from the spot after our captain had trudged off.

Burley? He just turned around and made another substitution, switching to a 4-4-1.

But it was Caldwell who closed this one out with one last moment of magnificence when, in injury time, he somehow blocked Helguson's shot to seal a win of monumental importance for his country and his manager.

KEY MOMENTS

THREE MINUTES

Scotland start brightly and Barry Robson's cross from the left is headed high and wide by Darren Fletcher.

FOUR MINUTES

Hermann Hreidarsson's shot from inside Scotland's six-yard box is blocked.

11 MINUTES

Aron Gunnarsson's shot from 14 yards is punched away to safety by keeper Craig Gordon.

12 MINUTES

Scotland debutant Kirk Broadfoot is booked on his debut for a clumsy touchline challenge on Bjarni Olafur Eiriksson.

15 MINUTES

Iceland are on top at this stage and Heidar Helguson heads a Gunnarsson cross just over.

16 MINUTES

Eidur Gudjohnsen volleys over from eight yards out and Scotland heave a sigh of relief.

18 MINUTES

Broadfoot gives Scotland the lead when he heads a Robson corner into the net from close range.

23 MINUTES

With the visiting defence stretched, Gudjohnsen just fails to latch on to what looks a dangerous through ball.

38 MINUTES

Robson is yellow-carded for kicking the ball away after having conceded a free-kick for a foul on Gunnarsson. Soon after this the Celtic midfielder has a shot saved at the near post by keeper Kjartan Sturluson.

47 MINUTES

Gary Caldwell clears away a dangerous cross from Birkir Mar Saevarsson inside his own six-yard box as dangerman Gudjohnsen waits to convert.

57 MINUTES

McFadden is brought down by Kristjan Orn Sigurdsson inside the box and a penalty is awarded. The Birmingham striker sees his spot-kick saved by Sturluson but he follows up and manages to bundle the ball over the line with Robson right beside him in case anything goes wrong.

74 MINUTES

Maloney sends Robson down the left and the wide man's cross causes panic in the Iceland penalty area before the home side somehow get it clear.

76 MINUTES

Scotland captain Stephen McManus is red-carded for handling a cross ball at the back post under pressure from Helguson. Gudjohnsen drills the resultant penalty past Gordon to ensure a tense finish to the game.

89 MINUTES

Emil Hallfredsson finds space on the left to deliver a cross but the ball sails out of play at the far post and the Scots are nearly safe.

90 MINUTES

Scotland have one last escape when Helguson's goalbound drive hits the head of Caldwell and goes over the bar.

Taken from the Daily Record