ALLAN McGregor’s “unbelievable” performance in Scotland’s 1-0 win over the Czech Republic showed that David Marshall has serious competition for the No 1 jersey, according to Alan Hutton.
Cardiff City player Marshall has established himself as first-choice goalkeeper under Gordon Strachan but McGregor, who has 35 caps, got his chance to impress when the national team manager named separate squads for Thursday’s game and Tuesday’s friendly against Denmark at Hampden.
McGregor and Dundee’s Scott Bain travelled to Prague, while Marshall and Craig Gordon were listed as the goalkeeping options against the Danes. Marshall later pulled out as he has been suffering from pneumonia.
Ikechi Anya scored the only goal against the Czechs early on, with McGregor then pulling off a series of fine saves. Aston Villa defender Hutton, who won his 50th cap, praised his former Rangers team-mate, saying: “He [McGregor] was unbelievable. He showed everybody what he is capable of and he is obviously pushing for No 1 with Marsh at the moment.
“We are very fortunate in that position. We have three, four, top-class goalkeepers who are all going to push each other. It is great for the squad.”
The challenge match was the first stage in Strachan’s preparations for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers which begin later in the year. Hutton says a win against a side who topped their Euro 2016 qualification section ahead of Iceland, Turkey and Holland was “a massive confidence booster”. He added: “The Czech Republic were on a high after winning so many games in their qualifying campaign.
“For us to get the victory, it has done all sorts for us. The key thing it shows is that we can go to places like that and maybe not play amazing football, but work together and get a great result.”
On reaching his 50-cap milestone, Hutton added: “It is a great honour. I never once thought I’d get this many. It’s a dream come true.”
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