- Khvicha Kvaratskhelia gave Georgia the lead twice on Thursday evening
- Scotland hit back through Scott McTominay and sub Lawrence Shankland
- Anthony Gordon has to leave England to play for Scotland It all starts
Scott McTominay hit out at Georgia’s players for ‘crying like babies’ after Scotland battled to secure a dramatic draw in Tbilisi.
The Man United midfielder scored his seventh goal of the season as the Scots twice fought back from behind, with Napoli star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia double for Georgia.
McTominay was involved in an incident when midfielder Giorgi Kochorashvili threw himself to the ground in an embarrassing attempt to convince referee Aleksandar Stavrev that he had been punched in the face.
Kochorashvili was a repeat offender, with some of his teammates also guilty of attempting to defraud Stavrev.
“They have some really good footballers but the way they behaved on the pitch tonight was a disgrace in terms of provoking the referee and obviously us too,” McTominay told Viaplay Sports.
Scottish star Scott McTominay collided with Georgian midfielder Giorgi Kochorashvili
Scotland’s players were angered by Georgia’s antics during the match in Tbilisi
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Asked how difficult it was to keep calm, he added: “We had to keep our heads down, but it is difficult.
“They should do something about people pretending to be hurt when they’re not, and things like that. It’s hard to say, but crying all afternoon as babies roll around isn’t football.
‘We just wanted to continue the game and try to win. While on the other hand they really provoked the referee.’
McTominay was pleased Scotland avoided defeat by trailing by two, but admitted Clarke’s side were well behind their best.
“That’s fair to say. “We’ve had some really good nights and there will be some nights where we might not play so well,” he said.
“If we don’t play well, it’s important that we stick together and don’t lose the game and try to win it.
‘It’s about keeping your wits about you, choosing the right steps and being a little more patient.’
Manager Steve Clarke praised his Scotland players for keeping their composure despite Georgian dirty tricks.
Hearts star Lawrence Shankland claimed his second international goal with a brilliant header in the third minute of extra time to give the Scots a well-deserved draw in a tense European Championship 2024 qualifier.
Shankland’s co-scorer Scott McTominay slammed Georgia’s ‘disgraceful’ antics and accused some of their players of ‘crying like babies’ during the Group A match in Tbilisi.
“That’s one of the challenges when you come here,” Scotland boss Clarke said.
‘You know they will do whatever they have to do to get a positive result and you have to respond to that. You have to show that you can control yourself and not get involved.
McTominay scored his seventh goal of the qualifying campaign with a deflected equalizer
Lawrence Shankland scored an equalizer in stoppage time to rescue a point for Scotland
“You can’t respond to any of the shenanigans. We kept going, knowing that extra time would be added for wasting time. And it was nice to score the goal in injury time…’
Clarke praised Shankland for his sudden impact in a match that would have been much more exciting had the Scots not already qualified.
“You know you’re going to get a lot of stoppage time because Georgia spent a lot of time on the floor in the last 15, 20 minutes,” he said. “So we knew there was still time left. We needed a goal, he got the goal and I was happy for Lawrence. I was also happy for the team.
‘We knew it would be tough. Scotland have been here twice before and lost both games, so we wanted to hopefully win. But we are happy to have broken that streak of defeats and we will build on that in Sunday’s match against Norway. We are going to try to perform well in our own country.’