Scotland manager Gordon Strachan singled out Shaun Maloney for special praise after the 32 year old midfielder once again proved to be a thorn in the side of the Republic of Ireland, playing a key role in helping the Scots earn a point in Saturday's 1-1 draw at the Aviva Stadium.
Scotland went into the half-time interval one goal down thanks to Jon Walters' 38th minute finish – a tap in from a rebound which shouldn't have counted due to the Ireland and Stoke City striker being in an offside position when Daryl Murphy won the initial header.
But within two minutes of the restart, Maloney – who netted Scotland's winner against the Boys in Green in November – found himself on the edge of the box with time to shoot and his effort, which was going wide of the target, deflected off John O'Shea's back to leave Shay Given beaten and restore parity between the sides.
Before this game, Strachan spoke about how “a piece of magic” could decide it, and while he didn't win the match for the visitors – nor was the equalizing goal even his to claim – the Scotland boss singled out Maloney for special mention afterwards in the context of the Scottish gameplan being stifled in the face of Irish pressure.
“As I say, there are consequences of giving the ball away as the other team gets a chance, so when I looked at it at half-time, I moved a couple of people about,” Strachan told media post-match. “Although Shaun popped up there [to score], we never had a chance to see if our system worked.
“All I know is he's a very good player, scored a wonderful goal again. So for all the systems and all what you're talking about, a very good player got us a point.”
Continue reading Gordan Stratchan's post-match reaction on Extratime.ie.
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