Callum Paterson: Costa Rica clash was a worthwhile exercise for Scotland
Monday 25th March 2018
CALLUM PATERSON believes Scotland’s friendly with Costa Rica was a worthwhile exercise despite a mixed performance and narrow defeat at Hampden.
A crowd of just over 20,000 saw Alex McLeish’s side go down 1-0 as Marco Urena netted the only goal of a largely low-key encounter.
There was little to get the Tartan Army excited but Paterson was satisfied with Scotland’s efforts.
He said: “You could say that [it is difficult when the stadium is flat] about club football too.
“Friendlies are for getting people fit and getting people getting into action.
“But playing for your country might just be a friendly on paper but you have always got to give your all for your country and I was buzzing to be here.
“We gave our all and we move on from it now.
“We aim to get a win in every game. The main point of this sort of thing is to get to a level and get some positive performances, try different tactical things and then push on from there.
“We changed to a four at the back for the second-half and it is about trying to do things and find out what fits us best. It was positive and we have to look forward to the future.”
The friendly action gave Paterson a chance to make his first appearance for Scotland since the defeat to England two years ago.
There were several new faces in McLeish’s ranks and Paterson said: “It is positive that there are still people waiting in the wings to come in who haven’t played yet.
“It is great to have a good pool of young players.”
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