Czech Republic forward’s breathtaking shot from near the half line stuns Scotland; coach hails ‘genius’ Patrik
Czech Republic’s Patrik Schick. Pics/AFP
Scotland’s long-awaited return to a major international tournament was ruined by Patrik Schick’s “genius” said Czech Republic coach Jaroslav Silhavy after a stunning finish from the Bayer Leverkusen forward sealed a 2-0 win at Hampden on Monday.
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Schick’s header just before half-time opened the scoring, but it was his stunning strike from just inside the Scotland half after the break that will live in the memory as one of the all-time great European Championship goals.
“We know he is a genius, he knows how to finish and that’s why he is there,” said Silhavy. “The second goal is something out of this world, we haven’t seen a goal like that in a long time.”
Czech Republic’s Patrik Schick’s stunning shot loops over out-of-position Scotland goalkeeper David Marshall
Schick said he had spotted Scotland goalkeeper David Marshall off his line earlier in the game and when his chance came to take advantage, produced an inch-perfect effort that curled and dipped just in time from 50 metres. “The goalkeeper was quite high. I took a look, I saw he was out there, so I slammed it in,” said Schick.
After a 23-year wait to qualify for a major tournament, Scotland’s hopes of making more history by getting out of the group for the first time now look slim. Steve Clarke’s men face England next on Friday at Wembley before hosting World Cup finalists Croatia at Hampden on June 22.
Scotland’s bad day started before kick-off when Arsenal’s Kieran Tierney was ruled out by injury. Without him, the home side’s three centre-backs were easily pressed into making mistakes trying to play the ball out from the back.
“We’ve done a lot of work with team shape and Kieran was involved in that,” said Clarke. “With 48 hours to go it does take a lot of changing, Kieran has ben an integral part of how we’ve played.” Without Tierney, there was even more emphasis on Andy Robertson to lead Scotland forward.
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