Brave Bhoys give World Champions a scare

Several brave performances from Scotland and in particular, the Celtic players put the national side on the brink of a historic result against World Champions Germany, before succumbing 3-2 at Hampden Park.

Gordon Strachan knew his side needed a reaction after the 1-0 defeat in Georgia, and he got just that as his side pushed the Germans all the way in thanks in  part to the performances of three Hoops players.

The home side had three players from Celtic starting the match, with captain Scott Brown and left-back Charlie Mulgrew keeping their spots in the side for the crunch clash with the world champions, and James Forrest being given a starting role after impressing in a short cameo in Tbilisi. This time round, nobody disappointed.

Mulgrew will have felt that he had a point to prove after coming in for some scrutiny after his performance against Georgia, and the former Aberdeen man showed superb character to remain solid at the back and refuse to give the Germans an opening to exploit.

Questions will be asked of Mulgrew about his positioning for the second German goal, but overall this was a good display from the Celtic defender, as he showed immense mental strength and concentration to keep the door shut as much as was physically possible for the home side.

There was no way that Celtic and Scotland captain Scott Brown would’ve been able to dominate the midfield when you consider the abundance of quality that the Germans obtain in the middle of the park. However, the 30-year-old former Hibs midfielder showed his true quality as he battled and pestered the away side’s midfield to the extent that cracks started to show in the world champions armour.

Nobody could ever blame the Germans for a lack of organisation and composure whilst on the pitch, but the energy and drive of Brown and his midfield partner James Morrison was enough to force uncharacteristic errors from players such as Manchester United’s Bastian Schweinsteiger and Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos.

There is no doubt that there has to be a level of realism when it comes to what you can expect from the Scotland players when playing a team with the quality of Germany, and, taking that into account, you have to tip your hat off to the Celtic midfielder as all of his key traits showed in this clash, despite defeat.

When it comes to making an impact on the international stage, you must have a degree of sympathy for James Forrest. The Celtic winger was given the nod in an attempt to blitz German left-back Hector, but was more often than not doubled-up on by the Joachim Low’s men whenever he decided to have a go at them.

The youngster, who has struggled for consistency since breaking into the Celtic team back in 2010, has to be applauded for his directness as he consistently tried to have a go at Hector when given a chance. However, due to the unsurprising dominance from last year’s World Cup winners, those opportunities were few and far between.

It was a brave performance from the Scots and the Hoops were as much to thank for that as anyone on the pitch.

One notable absentee from Strachan’s team was that of star striker Leigh Griffiths, who had deserved his opportunity to impress against Germany after his sensational form at Celtic.

However it wasn’t to be for the brave Bhoys, and Strachan may be left to rue the “what ifs” when it comes to bringing on or even starting Griffiths over a polarised Fletcher in the Sunderland squad.