15 June 2022

John McGinn relieved to get back among the goals for Scotland against Armenia

15 June 2022

John McGinn admitted he was relieved to get back among the goals for Scotland in Armenia.

The stand-in skipper turned and fired home from six yards to round off a disappointing June schedule with a 4-1 win in the UEFA Nations League.

McGinn has looked jaded at times and missed big chances earlier in the month.

John McGinn was relieved to score against Armenia (Andrew Milligan/PA) (PA Wire)

The biggest came when he nodded wide from six yards during Scotland’s World Cup play-off defeat by Ukraine and he also failed to put away two good chances to open the scoring during Saturday’s 3-0 defeat by the Republic of Ireland.

The Aston Villa man also came close during last week’s Hampden win over Armenia so he was delighted that both he and Che Adams were back on the score sheet in Yerevan following Stuart Armstrong’s first-half double.

McGinn admitted the lack of goals had been “bothering” him.

“I’ve been passing up good chances and that’s something I’ve been extremely frustrated about,” he said.

“That frustration was clear in all of the recent games so I was delighted to get one.

“If you speak to any of the front three who played in the game tonight, you had Stu who came in and was man of the match by a mile.

“But myself and Che probably haven’t been firing on all cylinders so that hasn’t helped the squad or the team.

“It’s important that we managed to get ourselves back on the scoresheet. I don’t know who was more relieved, me or Che.”

The best videos delivered daily

Watch the stories that matter, right from your inbox