National Team Friendly

National Stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) U21 France's Théodore Lepage started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. An unexpectedly hard shot by Théodore Lepage in the 7th minute of play forced U21 Scotland's goalkeeper Richard McKeochan to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. The audience thought a goal was coming when Olivier Giro got free with Richard McKeochan in the 9th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. U21 France's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Francis Allegretti in the 10th minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by Michael McHardie in the 12th minute of play forced U21 France's goalkeeper Mike Starck to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 15 minutes into the match, U21 France's goal looked a bit too open when Richard Clement came free, but Mike Starck reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. U21 Scotland's Richard McKeochan proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 18th minute of the match, managed to save U21 Scotland from getting a goal against them. 20 minutes into the match, Olivier Giro had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Richard McKeochan. U21 Scotland's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Olivier Giro was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 1-0. The audience thought a goal was coming when Olivier Giro got free with Richard McKeochan in the 23rd minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. 25 minutes into the match, U21 Scotland's goalkeeper Richard McKeochan had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Sofiane Hug. U21 Scotland's Richard McKeochan proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 30th minute of the match, managed to save U21 Scotland from getting a goal against them. After some fancy dribbling in the 38th minute, Théodore Lepage managed to get in a good position for a shot. U21 France's supporters rose to their feet, but Théodore Lepage was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Richard McKeochan breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Xavier Ruelle lost his temper 41 minutes into the game and shoved another player to the ground. He was immediately shown a red card. The referee blew the whistle for a penalty in the 40th minute of the game. One of U21 France:s players had nearly got his shirt torn off by an opponent while getting free in front of U21 Scotland:s goal. A nice corner shot did that Francis Allegretti got away a dangerous shot. Despite this Richard McKeochan quite easily got ahold of the ball to make the save.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Richard Clement to strike the kick off in the second half. U21 Scotland's Richard McKeochan played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Sofiane Hug in the 52nd minute of play. After a rather tough play, U21 Scotland's David McLergain got a free kick in the 53rd minute. Théodore Lepage sent away a hard shot on goal in the 55th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Francis Allegretti kicked well hit freekick during the 57th minute of the match. In the 62nd minute, Michael McHardie got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. U21 France's Just Fontaine was substituted for Théodore Lepage. Charlie Roberts struck a weak shot in the 69th minute. Mike Starck didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for U21 Scotland. Richard Clement's shot straight on target was not completely harmless. The ball had pretty good speed, but Mike Starck firmly grabbed it by the left post. Richard McKeochan made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Just Fontaine in the 87th minute of play. Charlie Roberts hit a great freekick 89 minutes into the match. 90 minutes into the game, Just Fontaine cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 4-1. Richard McKeochan was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. After a rather tough play, U21 Scotland's Keith McOwl got a free kick in the 95th minute. The referee blew his whistle, and the match came to a close. The players exchanged shirts and headed down the tunnel. The U21 France fans cheered their team off the field, for while U21 Scotland had put up a good fight, they were unable to come out of the game with any points to show for their effort.