Faroe Islands ... 2 Scotland ... 2The Faroe Islands have been famous for years for puffins, knitwear and little else. Now they can add handing the Scottish team the odd humiliation to their achievements.
It happened in a 1-1 draw three years ago and again at the weekend when a shambolic performance from Bert Vogts's side saw them escape from the cliff-top Toftir Stadium with a point they scarcely deserved. For 45 minutes the Scots produced a display of incompetence that left their manager bewildered.
It was not a ringing endorsement of Vogts's coaching ability, either, to hear him say: "I don't know what went wrong. I can't give you any answers."
The Scotland manager is under increasing fire after five defeats and a draw and following his pre-match plea for the pressure to be piled on him rather than his players he has been granted his wish. Against the Faroes he took bewildering decisions.
Playing Paul Dickov on the right of midfield left the Leicester City striker looking like a fish out of water. Later, with Scotland having clawed their way back into the match at 2-1 after losing two ridiculous goals in the first 12 minutes, he needlessly replaced right-back Maurice Ross with another right-back, Graham Alexander.
Faroes two-goal star John Petersen, a primary school teacher, declared: "I was surprised how bad Scotland were. I'm only sorry I didn't make it 3-0 with an easy chance."
Perhaps most damning of all was Scotland's influential midfield man Barry Ferguson, who said: "Time's running out. We can't keep saying give Berti time. That's six games and we've yet to win." However, Scottish Football Association chief executive David Taylor said he supported Vogts, adding: "Berti is here for the long-term." The manager, meanwhile, is struggling to defend himself. He confessed: "You cannot play like that, with no emotion, speed or fight, at international level but I can't explain why we started so badly. The players couldn't tell me either. It's my job to put it right before we meet Iceland next month."
Those players, of course, also deserve to accept blame. Premiership defenders David Weir of Everton and West Ham's Christian Dailly were all over the place and Celtic's Stephen Crainey struggled so badly and was left so exposed against the pacy Jakup Borg on Scotland's left that he must have wished he was somewhere - anywhere - else.
Dickov was a mistake, Ferguson and Paul Lambert struggled through the first half, Allan Johnston was anonymous and all that left struggling strikers Kevin Kyle and Scott Dobie with nothing to work on.
Celtic skipper Lambert read the riot act to his team-mates during the interval. He has never been as frustrated and angry about a performance. Ferguson, I understand, was equally vociferous during the break. Captain and vice-captain, though, were doing what Vogts should have done.
The first half started badly and faded. Petersen headed goal number one from a cross by Borg after just six minutes and six minutes later the pair repeated the exercise, with the teacher volleying the second.
In the second half Lambert's half-hit shot was going wide after 62 minutes until it did a pinball routine off Weir and Faroes defender Jon Jacobsen and ricocheted in. Ferguson equalised after 83 minutes.
FAROE ISLANDS: Knudsen, Johannesen, Jens Kristian Hansen, Thorsteinsson, Jon Roi Jacobsen, Elttor (Lakjuni 89), Benjaminsen, Julian Johnsson, Borg, John Petersen (Flotum 80), Christian Hogni Jacobsen (Rogvi Jacobsen 75). Subs Not Used: Hans Frodi Hansen, Johannus Joensen, Mikkelsen. Booked: Borg, Knudsen. Goals: John Petersen 6, 12.
SCOTLAND: Douglas, Ross (Alexander 75), Crainey, Dailly, Weir, Dickov (Crawford 46), Ferguson, Lambert, Johnston, Kyle, Dobie (Thompson 84). Subs Not Used: Gallacher, McNaughton, Wilkie, Williams. Booked: Ross, Weir, Thompson. Goals: Lambert 61, Ferguson 83.
Referee: J Granat (Poland).
