Rangers winger Eros Grezda is furious at last night’s referee after his Albania side were mauled by Scotland.
Alex McLeish’s Scots hammered the Albanians 4-0 on their own patch. The result sets our country up for a huge D-day meeting with Israel at Hampden Park on Tuesday night.
Albania still had a chance of winning the group had they beat Scotland last night, but now are looking to avoid relegation from League C. They’ve now lost twice to Scotland in their two meetings with them.
Grezda showed some early flashes, but struggled for long spells to make his mark in the game given Scotland’s dominance. And he’s decided to vent his fury at referee Vladislav Bezborodov for last night’s hammering after Scotland were given a penalty and Albania a controversial red card.
“We all saw what happened and it spoiled the game very early on. So we got hit with the red card and then we conceded a penalty and it’s best I don’t even comment on that.
“You normally don’t even get a penalty like that when you are at home, never mind away from home. That was the end of the game and it made it very difficult for us in the second half.
“We suffered physically for it and we were physically very tired because of Scotland having the extra man.”
Needs to keep the head up
Last night was a tough match to judge Grezda on. Initially, he looked fairly lively, but he barely troubled the Scotland defence. Most of that, however, was down to the central midfield of Albania who failed to get anywhere near their opponents.
The Rangers winger went into the game in high spirits. A brace against Motherwell is giving off the impression that his Gers career is about to seriously kick-start. After last night, however, the club will be hoping his confidence hasn’t dropped.
As for the decisions themselves, one looked harsh whilst the other was a stick-on. Mergim Mavraj clearly headbutted Scotland’s Ryan Christie, and fully deserved a second yellow. The penalty kick was down to a handball from Stuart Armstrong’s free-kick, and that looked a tad more harsh.
Grezda, however, needs to pick himself up. Things are looking bright for him at Rangers once more, and he has a big role to play when he comes back. With Daniel Candeias in fine form, Grezda doesn’t want to let his confidence or performance levels slip.
Last night was disappointing for all of Albania, whilst it was sheer delight for Scotland. Grezda, however, can do himself a world of good with a positive performance against Wales on Tuesday night.
