Scotland 1 Georgia 0

Published 11th Oct 2014

Georgia defender Akaki Khubutia's first-half own goal was enough to hand Scotland a unconvincing 1-0 victory in their European Championship qualifier at Ibrox. Inspired by the tenacity of stand-in skipper Scott Brown, the Dark Blues clung on to claim their first Group D victory against Temuri Ketsbaia's resolute troops. Scotland rode their luck with the opener when keeper Giorgi Loria pushed Shaun Maloney's 28th-minute strike onto team-mate Khubutia's knee and watched helplessly as it bounced past him into the away goal. They should have cemented their winning margin in the second half but had to nervously see out the last 10 minutes after Everton striker Steven Naismith missed two clear-cut chances to score again after the break. With 13 minutes remaining, Naismith - back at Ibrox for the first time since his controversial departure from Rangers two years ago - wasted another must-score chance. Fletcher latched onto Anya's ball in behind the Georgians' defence and knocked a clever back heel straight into the path of Naismith, who pushed his shot past Loria's far post. The Toffees striker was relieved to see Irakli Dzaria drag a 15 yard shot wide seconds later just as it looked his sloppy shooting might cost his side the victory. But the Scots could afford to see Loria save again from James Morrison in the final five minutes as they dug in to claim a much-needed three points ahead of Tuesday's clash with Poland in Warsaw.