Scotland under 21's side played host to Bulgaria tonight at St Mirren Park in Paisley for their opening match in the European Championships qualifying group.
It was chilly in Paisley tonight but that didn't stop a large 2700 strong support turning up to see the next generation of Scotland players take to the field in what is a new season for them.
Unlike the senior squads, the under-21 teams tend to change from one season to another thanks mainly to the age limit imposed on the squad. this can make it difficult to let players gel for any length of time over the course of a tournament but gives valuable experience to the players involved as they chase the eternal dream of playing for their national team at senior level.
It's a sad state of affairs that when these two sides met tonight, there would be very few people in the crowd that could name any of the players taking the field for their home nation. Then I asked myself if I knew of any club teams from Bulgaria and despite priding myself on football knowledge, I am ashamed to say that not one team springs to mind.
Billy Stark's men took to the field to rapturous applause and the fans paid respect to firstly the Bulgarian national anthem, then Flower of Scotland before the ref blew his whistle for the visitors to kick off.
Throughout the match, both teams created plenty of chances to grab the first goal and it appeared that both sides were intent on gifting their opponents the opportunity to manage this at times, but come the final whistle neither side had capitalised on the chances presented them during the game time.
The first half seemed to pass quickly but with very little incident to spark the imagination of the supporters. Some fans turned their attentions to the substitutes who were warming up on the touchlines in front of us.
Gregg Wylde took centre stage as the most recognisable player and the young kids who seemed to take great pleasure in surrounding me as I tried to commentate the match, gave me respite, albeit temporarily, as they turned their attention to getting the Rangers players autograph on their match programmes, their arms and even their capri sun box.
The match itself swung from end to end with Bulgaria preferring the long distance shot effect and were very effective on the left wing where they seemed to start most of their attacks as the winger and midfielder were influential in kick starting most moves towards the Scotland defensive area.
The Scots, for their part, were happy on the ball and liked to move it about on the ground whenever possible but the fact was, too many times we hoofed the ball rather than play it on the ground. I am a great advocate for the style of play that I witness at youth football around the country but some of that seemed to be lacking in tonight's match. It may just have been the opponents that caused the Scots to play like that, as this style of play suited the visitors with both sides seemingly cancelling each other out.
Both teams could rightly feel aggrieved at not taking the full three points from the game so I suppose they will reckon a point a piece will be deserved, but Billy Stark will be in no doubt that his side must win all their home games at least to progress in this tournament and tonight's result didn't get them off to the start he would have hoped.
In light of the decisions that the referee made in the Scotland seniors match on Saturday against the Czech Republic, the officials were going to be under more scrutiny throughout this match and although the referee went about his business without any relative mishaps, I have to voice my opinion on the nearside assistant who would not make a decision about anything unless indicated by the referee.
It annoys me to watch the assistant wait for the referee to indicate a throw in one way or another when it happens right in front of the lino, it annoys me when a tackle is made in front of him but won't wave his flag to indicate an illegal challenge but instead waits for the man in the middle who is sometimes 20 or 30 yards away and unsighted to the incident, to make a decision. What annoys me even more is that the linesman then waves his flag in agreeance with the main man as if that was the correct decision to make.
Come on UEFA, get these guys trained properly, they know the rules but seem afraid to make a decision and help the man in black in the middle. Isn't that what they are employed to do?
Scotland's next match is the away fixture to Luxembourg on the 6th October with a home tie just four days later against Austria.
Marc Roseblade is a Contributor for Bleacher Report as well as Not Just Scottish Football and youth development reporter for Ayr United Football Academy. All quotes are obtained first-hand unless otherwise stated.
Scotland Under 21s Battle With Bulgaria End's Goalless
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