England 1 Scotland 3 - exclusive industry match report

With national pride at stake, neither captain was sure what to expect from their opposition, with neither sure of his starting XI until a few minutes before kick-off.

The first ten minutes started a fairly even affair as both teams tested the water, although the deadlock was broken after just 12 minutes by the away side when a free-kick on the right of the penalty box was whipped across goal by Antoniewicz, meeting the head of Roy Osuji and nestling in the back of the net.

A few minutes later Osuji was forced off with a suspected hamstring pull, meaning that the Scots were forced to alter the shape of their side to take a more defensive approach.

England began to press for an equalizer throughout the second half and were given plenty of opportunity to shoot from long range, rarely testing Scots keeper Michael Etheridge.

A stern Scottish defence was not to be found wanting and was able to snuff out most of the opposition’s pressure and protect the lead, although England were clearly unhappy with the physicality of the Scot’s style, with one claim for a penalty waved away by the referee, and a bust up between the sides being literally a case of handbags at dawn.

For England, Simon Broadbent was especially lively in midfield, coming in from the left and running through the middle, but he was well marshaled and given little room to create.

A controversial decision from the ref (there were a few) saw the ball end up in the England goal once again, with three Scotland players beating the offside trap to challenge goalkeeper Greg Foster to reach a cross in the air. Central defender Ben Tagoe got his head to the ball, but the referee chose to blow the whistle for a free-kick to England instead.

The first half came to an end with the Scots doing the bulk of the defending, with one member of the crowd stating that she was “mainly enjoying the tantrums” rather than the overall quality.

The second half went much the way of the first with England very much pressing - but wasteful - up front, heading wide and shooting high from outside the box.

Scot’s keeper Michael Etheridge’s reflexes were called into action, but by his own side when left back Rob Morrice forced a finger tip save through an astray backpass. Morrice did however make emends later in the game, clearing the ball off of the line to prevent an equalizer in front of an open goal.

England continued to press, but with little luck, and were soon made to pay when a counter attack saw Antoniewicz make space for himself 20 yards from goal and unleash a powerful shot, which took a deflection and went past the despondent keeper.

As is the old mantra in football, you’re at your most vulnerable when you’ve scored and the English side took full advantage within a minute, when Matt Stirland brought his side immediately back into the side with a shot from five yards out and 15 minutes left to play.

The final stages were cagey, but Scotland looked to have solidified their victory with three minutes left when the ball was played through the middle, meeting the head of Colum McClune who had made a run from the left, but was easily held by the keeper just a yard in front.

A minute later however, McClune killed the tie off with a counter attack from the Scots which saw Tagoe chest down a pass and run into the midfield before playing the ball wide left for McClune to run towards goal and around to the keeper for a tap-in.

There was barely time for England to restart the game before the final whistle was blown.

Final Score: England 1 - Scotland 3

England will have felt hard done by with the final score not reflecting the chances that they created and missed, but the Scots will feel satisfied at a job well done.

After the game, Neil Griffiths told The Drum; “I am absolutely gutted. To get turned over by a scratch Scottish side cobbled together at late notice and chock full of English Mancunians was a real pisser. On reflection it is very clear that our guys just don’t have what it takes to compete at football’s highest level – they literally could not score in a brothel.”

Griffiths continued; “Tactics and team selection will be given very careful consideration over the winter months, ahead of the spring return. I am willing to consider any player who is English, has been to England or knows anyone who has been here on a weekend break”.

Meanwhile a jubilant Antoniewicz, limping slightly, praised the effort of both sides; “Any victory against England is sweet, but this one was especially so. Credit to the english lads because they played very well. But in the end we fully deserved the win. We scored a good goal early, then stood up to the pressure brilliantly. We've scored three away from home, had a good goal wrongly chalked off and could have grabbed a few more.

“We should have a full squad to choose from for the return match and unusually for Scotland we can look forward to that one with some confidence.”