Scotland in command

The scoreless draw the Scots played against the Baltic republic in neutral Monte Carlo last February - following the game-that-never-was-in-Tallinn debacle - now looks likely to consign them to the runners-up berth in Group Four as Austria's victory over Sweden in Vienna on Saturday night leaves them one point behind the Scots with a match in hand.

Winning their last two games - home and away against Belarus - will bring them the section title, a cruel irony when it is remembered that Scotland have taken four points from them. Still, that has yet to be resolved, and a near-capacity crowd at Pittodrie yesterday contented themselves with enjoying a commanding victory, begun by Kevin Gallacher's early goal and continued during a second half of largely comfortable superiority.

Gallacher's opening goal was the product of rehearsal on the training field, and was almost a replica of the one which had set the Scots on the way to their 2-0 victory over Latvia in Riga last October.

Andrei Ostrovski conceded a free kick when he clambered over Gordon Durie from behind, the ball placed about four yards outside the penalty area and to the left. John Collins played it short to Gary McAllister and the Scotland captain, feigning to tee it up for Christian Dailly, suddenly swivelled inside and drove it low and hard towards the net with his right foot.

The Belarus goalkeeper, Valeri Shantolosov, actually dived to his right too early, but the ball hit his legs and bounced towards his left-hand post. There, it was met by Gallacher, who thumped it into the net from only two yards' range.

Brown's game plan had been revealed even before that fifth minute as his team's intention to blitz their visitors in the hope of just such an early strike had caused some sucking of breath in the capacity crowd. Those tactics, of course, are never sustained - especially when they produce a reward such as Gallacher's goal - and there were periods thereafter when the home support's excitement turned to apprehension.

But, after the injured Gary McAllister and Gordon Durie had been replaced within five minutes of the start of the second half, substitute David Hopkin and Gallacher each completed a double, with Belarus scoring from rather a soft penalty award when it was 3-0.

Hopkin, a little untidily, tapped McCoist's low cut-back over the line in the 54th minute and Gallacher, three minutes later, beat Shantolosov in the chase to Paul Lambert's precise chip, knocked the ball away from the goalkeeper and volleyed it home from eight yards.

Katchouro converted the penalty before Hopkin scored the goal of the game, beating three defenders on the edge of the area before coolly sending a low, right-footed drive to the right of Shantolosov from 16 yards.

The match was preceded by a minute's silence and a lament from a lone piper, during which it seemed hardly possible for 20,160 people to be so quiet, and ended with mild shouts of "Farry must go", directed at the SFA's chief executive. But, as a locally-based member of the media brethren cracked: "Ach, it wouldn't be Pittodrie if there wasn't a `somebody must go' shout."

Scotland: Leighton, Burley, Boyd, Calderwood, Dailly, McKinlay, Gallacher (Dodds 85), Lambert, Durie, G. McAllister (Hopkin 50), Collins. Subs Not Used: Goram, Weir, B. McAllister, McCoist, Donnelly. Goals: Gallacher 6, 58, Hopkin 54, 88.

Belarus: Shantolosov, Gerashchenko, Lavrik, Ostrovski, Dovnar, Jouravel (Tchernianki 65), Gerasimets (Balashov 78), Gurenko (Orlovski 52), Belkevich, Katchouro, Kulchii. Subs Not Used: Satsunkevich, Chilo, Romachtchenko, Shukanov. Booked: Lavrik, Dovnar. Goals: Katchouro 74 pen. Att: 20,160.

Referee: M Van Der Ende (Holland).