Scotland weren’t lucky against Liechtenstein, says McManus

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Roaring success: Stephen McManus says Scotland's win was down to their fighting spirit.© SNS Group

Scotland may only have recorded the narrowest of victories over Liechtenstein but goalscorer Stephen McManus says luck played no part in the result. The Middlesbrough defender’s 97th minute header gave Craig levein’s team three points in the match despite a poor performance but McManus says attitude saw the side through.

A Kenny Miller strike had levelled the score after Liechtenstein had taken a shock lead but the Scots were struggling to beat the side ranked 141st in the world. Referee Viktor Shvetsov extended the stoppage time to seven minutes following injuries and time-wasting and Scotland took advantage by netting the winner with just seconds left.

"It wasn't luck,” McManus insisted.

“You just need to keep going and keep going and keep going. If you score in the last minute it's lucky, if you score in the first minute it's good play.

"It doesn't matter when you score, as long as you get the goals. I think it was definitely down to character rather than luck."

 The goal was McManus’ second in a Scotland jersey and it is unlikely that he will score any that are quite as important in the future. The defender had been at fault for Liechtenstein’s shock opener, standing off Mario Frick, but he said that the result was all-important, not personal performances or accolades.

"I've managed to score a couple goals and it was just nice to win the game,” he said. “It wasn't a classic to play in and we didn't play at the highest tempo but the most important thing is that we won the game."

The stopper, who earned his 23rd cap at Hampden, said he had enjoyed the match and was happy to see Scotland at the top of the qualifying group. He said that although there were critics, the result was good enough and ultimately more important than the performance.

"We are only two games in,” he said.”You can't win the group after two games but you can certainly be out of it. Fortunately for us, we are on four points.

"You enjoy nights like this, representing your country. There are enough folk sticking the knife in and having a go at us.

"We've not played well at all tonight but we've won the game and you need to look at the positives."