Scottish Roundup

D.C.'s Nelsen earns New Zealand 1-1 draw in friendly

EDINBURGH (Reuters) -- A second-half strike from D.C. United's Ryan Nelsen earned New Zealand a 1-1 draw against Scotland in a friendly international on Tuesday.

Stevie Crawford fired the hosts ahead early on, but Nelsen gave New Zealand, ranked 51st in the FIFA standings 13 places above Scotland, a lift before next month's Confederations Cup with a 47th minute equalizer.

"We could have been two or three goals up in the first half," said Scotland defender Steven Pressley, who was playing on his Scottish club Hearts' home ground.

"We had a lot of play in the second half, but didn't create so many chances. In international football your concentration's got to be 100 percent or you get penalized and we were penalized tonight."

Berti Vogts's Scotland side, in their final warm-up match before next week's Euro 2004 qualifier against Germany, struck a deserved opener on 11 minutes.

James McFadden flighted a delightful corner kick into the heart of the visitors' box and Dunfermline Athletic striker Crawford had an easy task of heading in from close range.

The Scots enjoyed the majority of possession for the rest of the first period with young Motherwell winger McFadden and Birmingham City's Paul Devlin causing plenty of problems in wide areas.

But they couldn't break through again and the 10,016 crowd were left stunned when New Zealand equalized.

This time, the Scots looked disorganized in defenze and Aaran Lines' free-kick found Nelsen, who gave Robert Douglas no chance with a well-placed shot.

The home side were fortunate not to suffer more embarrassment when Lines dispossessed Pressley but this time Douglas made a fine block.

Scotland almost won it at the death when a Crawford effort was blocked.

Also playing for New Zealand were starter Simon Elliott of the Los Angeles Galaxy and second-half substitute Duncan Oughton of the Columbus Crew.

Summary

Scotland 1 New Zealand 1 - result

Friendly international - played at Tynecastle

Scorers:

Scotland - Stevie Crawford 11

New Zealand - Ryan Nelsen 47

Halftime: 1-0; Attendance: 10,016

Teams:

Scotland: 1-Robert Douglas; 2-Maurice Ross (16-Graham Alexander 46), 3-Gary Naysmith, 4-Andy Webster, 5-Steven Pressley, 6-Christian Dailly, 7-Paul Devlin, 8-Jackie McNamara (14-Brian Kerr 83), 9-Kevin Kyle (13-Andy Gray 60), 10-Stevie Crawford, 11-James McFadden

New Zealand: Michael Utting (Jason Batty 46); David Mulligan (Duncan Oughton 46), Chris Zoricich (Scott Smith 69), Ryan Nelsen, Gerard Davis, Noah Hickey, Chris Jackson (Raf de Gregorio 54), Mark Burton, Simon Elliott, Vaughan Coveny, Aaran Lines (Chris Bouckenooghe 81)

Referee: Martin Ingvarsson (Sweden)

Ferguson to miss Scotland-Germany clash

GLASGOW (Reuters) -- Midfielder Barry Ferguson will miss Scotland's Euro 2004 qualifier against Germany on June 7 because he is due to have pelvic surgery five days before the game.

Ferguson has been suffering from a pelvic problem all season and his club Rangers wants him to be fit for the start of its Champions League qualifying campaign in August.

His absence is a big blow to Scotland's German coach Berti Vogts but Rangers manager Alex McLeish said the club had no option.

"We have been advised that Barry needs to have the operation as early as possible so we have the June 2 date," McLeish said on the club's Web site.

"I have discussed the situation with Berti Vogts and he understands that he will have to do without him for the Germany game.

"I'm sorry for Scotland but Rangers is his bread and butter and we need him to be fit and ready for the Champions League qualifiers. The medical people tell us he will make these games if he has the operation on June 2."

Rangers, which won the Scottish title on Sunday, faces a two-legged third qualifying round tie in the Champions League on August 13 and 27.

Ferguson is set to play for Rangers in Saturday's Scottish Cup final against Dundee before undergoing surgery on Monday.

He misses Scotland's friendly against New Zealand on Tuesday, which Vogts is using as a warmup for the Germany game at Hampden Park. Scotland is third in Group Five on seven points, the same tally as leader Germany.

Sutton apologizes for slamming Dunfermline

DUNFERMLINE, Scotland (AP) -- Celtic striker Chris Sutton apologized to Scottish club Dunfermline, a day after accusing the Pars of giving up in Sunday's heavy title-deciding loss to Rangers.

Celtic and arch-rivals Rangers were tied on points and goal difference heading into the Scottish league's final day. Rangers topped Dunfermline 6-1, while Celtic beat Kilmarnock 4-0. That meant Rangers won the title on goal difference, 73 to 72.

"We knew [Dunfermline] would lie down and they have done," Sutton said on Sunday.

The former Blackburn striker issued a statement through his agent after his comments caused an uproar in Scotland.

"Chris regrets any offence that his remarks may have caused after [Sunday's] match," John Viola said. "They were said in the heat of the moment after an extraordinary week."

Sutton still faces a possible charge of bringing the game into disrepute by the Scottish Football Association, but Dunfermline chairman John Yorkston ruled out taking any legal action against him.

Yorkston said he would discuss the matter with his coaches and players before deciding what to do next.

"It's upsetting for the manager, the coaching staff and the players," said Yorkston, who is away with the team on holiday. "I'd like to speak to the manager -- who is with me at the moment -- and the rest before I can say anything further."

Celtic, which lost the UEFA Cup final to FC Porto on Wednesday, had won consecutive league titles under manager Martin O'Neill.

Rangers, meanwhile, also won the League Cup and will earn their seventh domestic treble with a win over Dundee in the Scottish Cup final this Saturday.

 

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