Matt Phillips’ first Scotland goal gave Alex McLeish’s side a 1-0 win over Hungary in their friendly in Budapest.
McLeish began his second tenure as Scotland boss with an uninspiring 1-0 defeat by Costa Rica at Hampden Park.
However, Phillips’ strike from a Ryan Fraser pass just after the break proved enough to give the Scots a morale-boosting win.
Tweet of the match
Full Time | Hungary 0 – 1 Scotland. Alex McLeish gets his first victory of his second spell in charge thanks to a Matt Phillips goal. pic.twitter.com/CzVCLoesza
— Scotland (@ScottishFA) March 27, 2018
Moment of the match
After captain Charlie Mulgrew had his penalty saved by Peter Gulacsi just before the break, Matt Phillips opened the scoring three minutes into the second half. The burly attacker’s first goal for Scotland proved enough to give the visitors the victory.
View from the bench
After losing 1-0 to Costa Rica in what was the start of his second spell as Scotland boss, McLeish was keen to get a positive result against Hungary and made seven changes with Jack Hendry making his debut. The 1-0 win should not be underestimated. The Scots have friendly matches in Peru and Mexico at the end of the season and against Belgium in September. Those are difficult games for Scotland so it was crucial to get the victory in Hungary.
Moan of the match
70′ | Substitution for Scotland
OFF ArmstrongON McLean
[0-1]
— Scotland (@ScottishFA) March 27, 2018
Not for the first time in an international friendly, a raft of second-half substitutions from both sides broke up any flow of the game.
Ratings
Scotland: Allan McGregor 7, Jack Hendry 6, Charlie Mulgrew 5, Scott McKenna 7, Ryan Fraser 6, Stuart Armstrong 8, John McGinn 7, Andy Robertson 6, Callum McGregor 7, James Forrest 6, Matt Phillips 7.
Substitutes: Barry Douglas (for Robertson 67) 6, Kenny McLean (for Stuart Armstrong 70) 5, Ryan Christie (for Forrest 76) 5, Callum Paterson (for Fraser 81) 6, Oli McBurnie (for Phillips 84) 6, Jason Cummings (for Callum McGregor 90+2) 6.
Hungary: Peter Gulacsi 7, Kenneth Otigba 6, Attila Fiola 6, Balazs Dzsudzsak 7, Adam Szalai 7, Gergo Lovrencsics 5, Laszlo Kleinheisler 5, Adam Pinter 6, Roland Varga 7, Richard Guzmics 6, Szilveszter Hangya 6.
Substitutes: Janos Szabo ( for Hangya 46) 5, Akos Elek (for Pinter 46) 5, Krisztian Nemeth ( for Dzsudzsak 57) 6, Mate Patkai (for Kleinheisler 68) 5, Daniel Bode for Szalai, 78), 5, Nemanja Nikolic (for Varga, 84) 6.
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