McGinn's left foot seals maximum points for the Tartan army against a proud Haiti
Reading Time: 3min | Sun. 14.06.26. | 07:31
The match had added incentive as the initial draw between heavyweights Brazil and Morocco meant any side that won here would be in the frontrunning to qualify for the next round
52 years after appearing at the World Cup in West Germany, in 1974. Haiti find themseleves on the world's stage once more. Scotland on the other hand had to wait for 28 years. The two sides met in Boston, where both sets of fans , the travelling Scottish and the large Haitian community in Boston made the lively prior to kick off.
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The match had added incentive as the initial draw between heavyweights Brazil and Morocco meant any side that won here would be in the frontrunning to qualify for the next round. Steve Clarke in his seventh year had all to prove with his charges, buoyed by Napoli man Scott McTominay who in two seasons has 22 goals for Napoli. The 0-1 win for Scotland will leave them in good stead for knockout round qualification
Scotland looked very threatening from the onset with some good wide combinations and numbers in the box.
John McGinn , fresh off Europa league triumph with Aston Villa combined well with Andy Robertson to cross but McTominays 16th minute header was off target.
Haiti, coached by Sebastien Migne, slowly grew in the game. Their most notable pattern of going long to the striker Frantzdy Pierrot then playing off him with the pace of Ruben Providence and Don Deedson Louicious , coupled with the threat of danger man Wilson Isidor.
McTominay's trademark late runs saw his effort come off the post in the 17th minute . The breakthrough for the Tartan Army came in the 28th minute when a Gannon- Doak cross was not properly cleared , with Placide pushing the ball to McGinn whose left footed effort hobbled in.
Haiti then forced Anguss Gunn into a double save after some good work wide by Providence.
Haiti , although a goal down in the first half had the more attempts of the two sides their eight against Scotland's seven but both sides each had two on target.
During the second half, Haiti, had to come out of the blocks flying looking to get a goal. They had a corner routine slightly overhit. For Scotlands,Gannon- Doak was lively with his quick feet, looking to provide the much needed injection in attack.
A 60th minute cross from an advanced Andy Robertson looking for Lawrence Shakland lay emphasis on the importance of the wide areas for Steve Clarke's men.
Haiti controlled the tempo pushing for an equalizer but all went in vain.Pierrot seeing his header not connect.
Next up for Scotland is a match against Morocco at the same venue while Haiti face Brazil.
WORLD CUP - GROUP STAGE
First round
Thursday, 11.06.
Mexico - South Africa 2-0 (1-0)
/Quinones 9, Jimenez 67/
Friday, 12. 06.
South Korea - Czech Republic 2-1 (0-0)
/Hwang In Beom 67, Oh Hyeon-Gyu 80 - Krejci 59/
Canada - B&H 1-1 (0-1)
/Larin 78 - Lukic 21/
Saturday, 13.06.
USA - Paraguay 4-1 (3-0)
/Bobadilla 7 og, Balogun 31, 45+5, Reyna 90+8 - Mauricio 73/
Qatar - Switzerland 1-1 (0-1)
/Khoukhi 90+4 - Embolo 17 pen/
Brazil - Morocco
/ Vinicius, 42- Saibari 21/
Haiti 0-1 Scotland
,McGinn-29/
Sunday, 14.06.
07.00: (4.50) Australia (3.50) Turkey (1.83)
20.00: (1.03) Germany (15.0) Curacao (50.0)
23.00: (2.10) Netherlands (3.45) Japan (3.50)
Monday, 15.06.
02.00: (3.60) Ivory Coast (2.90) Ecuador (2.30)
05.00: (2.00) Sweden (3.35) Tunisia (4.00)
19.00: (1.10) Spain (9.50) Cape Verde (27.0)
22.00: (1.70) Belgium (4.00) Egypt (4.75)
Tuesday 16.06.
01.00: (7.50) Saudi Arabia (4.20) Uruguay (1.47)
04.00: (1.95) Iran (3.35) N.Zealand (4.20)
22.00: (1.47) France (4.50) Senegal (6.75)
***odds are subject to change***