Kompany cracker helps Belgium sink Scotland
Reuters - Tuesday 16 October 2012, 22:06
Belgium demonstrated a gulf in class over Scotland with a 2-0 victory on
Tuesday that maintained their lead at the top of World Cup qualifying
Group A.
Christian Benteke
headed the opener from a Kevin De Bruyne cross after 69 minutes and
defender Vincent Kompany secured the points with a wonderful individual
goal two minutes later.
Only
several fine saves from Scotland goalkeeper Allan McGregor, Belgian
imprecision and some luck had kept the visitors in the game for more
than an hour.
Scotland's best
two chances came from free-kicks on the edge of the penalty area. Shaun
Maloney forced Belgium keeper Thibaut Courtois to leap high to his
right in the 24th minute, while Kris Commons stretched Courtois shortly
before halftime.
Belgium made
their dominance pay after the break, first through Benteke's far-post
header and then through Kompany, who turned neatly just inside the area
before whipping a right-foot shot into the top right-hand corner of
McGregor's goal.
Belgium have
10 points from four games and lead Croatia on goal difference, with the
group looking like a battle between the two, particularly after
Serbia's 1-0 defeat in Macedonia.
Belgium
coach Marc Wilmots and his players continue to temper growing
expectations that they will qualify for a major tournament for the first
time in over a decade.
Belgium played before a vocal sell-out home crowd for the third match in succession.
STAY CALM
"We
can be happy, but it's the fourth match... we are not in Brazil yet. We
are still in Brussels," Wilmots said, insisting that Macedonia home and
away inside five days in March would not be easy. Four points, he said,
would be the goal.
Wilmots
added that the experience of the likes of Kompany and holding midfielder
Axel Witsel meant the team did not panic when early chances failed to
yield goals.
"I told everyone
to stay calm. We would create chances and the goal would come... even
if it had ended 0-0 it would not have been a disaster," he said.
Scotland,
who conceded two late goals in a 2-1 away defeat to Wales on Friday,
are bottom of the group with two points from four games.
Manager Craig Levein said Scotland had pinned their hopes on getting a goal on the counter-attack.
"At
a time when I felt we had weathered the worst of the storm we lost
concentration at a set piece," he told reporters. "I cannot sit here and
say we deserved to win the match.. But we have to acknowledge how good a
team Belgium are."
Levein
faced a barrage of questions about his future but said: "All I can tell
you is I want to remain as manager."