THE 2009 GAME - NEW!
 
SCOTLAND STUN ENGLAND
IN SUDDEN DEATH PENALTY SHOOT OUT

Scotland are the 2009 Expatriate Challenge winners after defeating England 5-4 in a dramatic penalty shoot out. A thrilling match ended 2-2 to serve up a nerve racking penalty shoot-out which ended 4-4 after the first five penalties for each team to send the shoot-out into sudden death.

SCOTLAND SvE 2009 WINNERS!

 
 
GAME PREVIEW

England, Scotland expats all set to renew rivalry.
 
Publish Date: Wednesday,8 April, 2009, at 12:10 PM Doha Time
 
By Peter Townson, Doha

Forget the Old Firm, forget the Manchester, Merseyside and Milan derbies and forget El Classico – the biggest match of the international football calendar is back, and on April 24 England and Scotland will once again face each other in the annual expatriate match to be played at Al Ahli stadium.

One of the longest standing expatriate traditions in Qatar, the amount of sentiment and passion surrounding the event is always a cause for excitement, and this year is no exception.

Although the match now only features amateur players, there is no other day on which they will feel more professional, as they don their respective countries’ colours and fight it out for the trophy in front of a passionate crowd.

Mark Fotheringham, the chairman of the organising committee for the event and member of the Scotland Squad, claimed that this year, the level of playing ability and fitness has increased once again due to players have more frequent matches. “The establishment of the Qatar International Football League, which has been running for three years now, has meant the quality has definitely improved,” he said, adding “and the teams are fitter than ever before.” Fotheringham explained that there would be entertainment throughout the day at the event, with gates opening at the ground at 11am and then thanked the gold sponsors for the event, IBQ and Madina Group.

Graeme Pattison, the entertainment manager for the event and also one of Scotland’s star players has now played in two of the annual games, and was Scotland’s man of the match last year after scoring a brilliant opening goal. “It is an absolutely fantastic experience,” he said, “for one day you feel like a real professional and to play in the stadium with the crowd it absolutely great.” Pattison predicted another close match following Scotland’s 3-2 defeat last season, and said that fitness – which was definitely a deciding factor then – will be a lot more equal this year.

England’s squad captain Shaun Swann said that although the game is sure to be another fiery event, he is confident that the technical ability of his England players will show through in the end. “Typically these games are fiercely competitive and Scotland are always really up for it,” he said, adding “but if we can weather the storm at the beginning of the match then I think the quality of our players will lead us to victory.” He claimed that the biggest strength for the England team is the fact that they all get on socially, which creates a relaxed atmosphere around the squad which is then reflected by their play on the field, and predicted an English win by 3 goals to 1.

Scotland manager Kennie Gammie predicted a 3-1 win for his team as well, and expressed his confidence that Scotland will upset the English team and reclaim the trophy.  He argued that the teamwork, passion and commitment of his team will mean that they can use their “underdog status” to spur them on and claim victory over England. “We have a good mixture of young and old players, and 13 out of our squad of 22 are new to Qatar and the match,” he said, praising the communication between his players and their total commitment to defeating England in the upcoming fixture. And, never one to shirk a good contest, Gammie put forward a statement to the England manager Richard Marsh in the vein of Scotland’s declaration of independence in 1320: “For so long as eleven of us are left on the pitch we will yield in no least way to English domination.  We fight not for glory, nor for wealth nor honour, but only and alone for victory, which no man surrenders but with his life.”

Could there be a clearer indication of the emotions involved in the match than that?