Liechtenstein manager Hans-Peter Zaugg has said he was proud of his side’s performance in the 2-1 defeat to Scotland at Hampden. The bottom seeds in Group I were ahead in the match just after half-time before Kenny Miller equalised on 63 minutes. Stephen McManus headed home the winner in the seventh minute of stoppage time.
“We are such a small nation and as such minnows, played a fantastic game here in Glasgow,” Zaugg said.
The manager was not so pleased when talking about referee Viktor Shvetsov’s performance. The match official went beyond the allocated stoppage time to allow for interruptions during that period.
Scotland’s crucial winner came right at the death, prompting Zaugg to criticise a decision which denied his side one of the most noteworthy results in their history.
“And then there’s a game where they show five minutes additional time on the board and then actually seven extra minutes were played,” he said ruefully.
“I can live with maybe half a minute more but that’s about it maybe one minute more but not as it was.”
The experienced coach would not go as far as to say that the result was unfair, saying that Scotland’s dramatic late goal was still perfectly legitimate.
“No, I don’t think we were cheated,” he admitted. “I mean, Scotland scored a goal after 98 minutes and it was a goal, it was a good goal.”
Craig Levein defended Shvetsov’s timekeeping, insisting that Liechtenstein’s tactics in attempting to run down the clock had ultimately backfired.
“The referee had every right to add on the time that he added on,” the Scotland manager said.
“Even in injury time there were substitutions and there was timewasting.
“That can work one of two ways, maybe that extra time was added on because of all the timewasting, which allowed us to score a goal.”
