striker’s argentina sacrifice
Fletcher is big Hampden doubt
Published:
Hibs striker Steven Fletcher fears he will miss out on the chance to play for Scotland against Diego Maradona’s Argentina at Hampden on Wednesday.
Fletcher is struggling with an ankle injury and is doubtful for the glamour friendly.
He said: “I’ll have to wait and see as I’m struggling. It would be a great opportunity for all the players to take on one of the best teams in the world.
“My ankle was still sore before the game and it is hurting now.
“It would be nice to play against Argentina, but risking serious injury for a friendly is daft so I’ll have to be sensible about it.”
Fletcher thought his injurytime equaliser against Aber-deen at the weekend was never going to go in following the dramatic goal-line scramble – which ended with him scoring with the final kick of the match.
He said: “We left it late and I thought the ball was never going to go in.
“I was chasing all along the goal line trying to get to it and I still nearly missed as it went in off the post.
“We didn’t deserve to be 2-0 down as we played well, but the supporters were still frustrated.
“Hopefully, the late goal will show them we are all working hard for the club.
“We haven’t had the best results recently, but maybe this can be a turning point for us.
“We have gone with three attackers this season, but we changed to a 4-4-2 formation for this game which suited us so it will be interesting to see what the manager does next.”
Hibernian manager Mixu Paatelainen was thrilled with the way his team came from two goals down to snatch a draw against the Dons, but insisted that his side should have had all three points.
Paatelainen, who sat out the last of a four-game touchline ban, said: “I’m gutted for the players because the performance merited three points. But stupid mistakes at the back cost us.”
