Celtic starlet Ross Doohan was visibly deflated after his Scotland under-21 side failed to reach March’s Euro 2021 tournament.
Scotland had it all in their own hands heading into the current international break. A home clash against Croatia was followed by a trip to Greece, with one win likely bagging them a place with the elite of the under-21 age group next year.
However, a damaging 2-2 home draw against Croatia was followed by a dismal 1-0 loss in Greece last night. Doohan started both games, but was left exposed for all three goals in what’s been a calamitous international break.
David Turnbull and Stephen Welsh were also part of the Scotland under-21 squad over the last week, with Welsh the only one not to play a single minute of action. But regardless, Doohan stated that the whole dressing room was left gutted after the Greek disaster.
Speaking to the Scotland National Team’s official YouTube account, Doohan said: “Obviously it’s just a big disappointment that we’ve came within one game from qualifying for the Euro finals. All of the boys are down after the results. We didn’t play as good as we can play or as we showed in the other nine games of the campaign.
“So everyone’s a bit deflated right now. I don’t really know what you could put it down to. The boys were maybe a bit nervous going into the situation, but we just needed to start better because we had a slow start on Thursday night as well (vs Croatia).
“Going into the campaign we were the fourth-seeded team, so to go in and be one game off qualifying, it shows how good this group of boys is.”
Doohan shows mature head in post-match duties
Doohan, on loan at Ross County for the season, deserves massive credit for coming out and completing his post-match duties efficiently and with a mature head on his shoulders. That can’t have been easy.
And especially for a goalkeeper who has performed so well for Scotland during the course of his international break. Despite the fact he’s conceded three goals, he’s made a host of decent stops to ensure Scotland didn’t fall further behind in both games.
But he also makes a good point given Scotland were the fourth-seeded team in the group. Indeed, Croatia, Czech Republic, and Greece were all higher-seeded outfits, yet Scotland have finished above the Greeks and only a couple of points behind the Croats and Czechs.
Doohan, however, must immediately turn his attentions to his club form – something that’s been a tad disappointing this season. Despite being sent on loan to Dingwall back in the summer, the Parkhead youngster has only played in four of County’s 14 league matches this season (Transfermarkt).
Given that he’s played in County’s last four matches, however, is a promising sign as County boss Stuart Kettlewell looks like putting his faith in him for the foreseeable future.
Hopefully, Celtic get a more rounded goalkeeper when he returns next summer. For now, however, all that will be on his mind is the disappointment of last night’s game in Athens.
In other news, 67HH writer John Reid discusses why Celtic must give this forgotten man his chance in an upcoming fixture.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
