Maloney singled out for praise by Strachan

Scotland manager Gordon Strachan singled out Shaun Maloney for special praise after the 32 year old midfielder once again proved to be a thorn in the side of the Republic of Ireland, playing a key role in helping the Scots earn a point in Saturday's 1-1 draw at the Aviva Stadium.

Scotland went into the half-time interval one goal down thanks to Jon Walters' 38^th minute finish – a tap in from a rebound which shouldn't have counted due to the Ireland and Stoke City striker being in an offside position when Daryl Murphy won the initial header.

But within two minutes of the restart, Maloney – who netted Scotland's winner against the Boys in Green in November – found himself on the edge of the box with time to shoot and his effort, which was going wide of the target, deflected off John O'Shea's back to leave Shay Given beaten and restore parity between the sides.

The game finished level and ensured Scotland would stay two points clear of Ireland in Euro 2016 qualification Group D. Ireland had a lot of the ball without exhibiting much in the way of penetration during the game, and Strachan put his side's difficulty in retaining possession down to a lack of match fitness at the end of a long club season affecting certain players' distribution.

“I think I counted seven, eight passes where you expect the players to pass it to each other, give it away [instead], goes down the pitch and you have a series of crosses,” Strachan said at the Scotland post-match press conference.

“And that just comes from missed passes. Whatever you do in football, passing is still – if you watch James Morrison or people like that – it's the most sacred thing in football, because when you do that you can counter-attack.”

Before this game, Strachan spoke about how “a piece of magic” could decide it, and while he didn't win the match for the visitors – nor was the equalizing goal even his to claim – the Scotland boss singled out Maloney for special mention afterwards in the context of the Scottish gameplan being stifled in the face of Irish pressure.

“As I say, there are consequences of giving the ball away as the other team gets a chance, so when I looked at it at half-time, I moved a couple of people about,” said Strachan. “Although Shaun popped up there [to score], we never had a chance to see if our system worked.

“All I know is he's a very good player, scored a wonderful goal again. So for all the systems and all what you're talking about, a very good player got us a point.

“And a very good player,” continued Strachan, “ten minutes from the end, who's no taller than me, is back in the right-back position heading the ball away from [James] McClean. He's the most conscientious football player I've ever come across. He deserves everything he gets, every praise he gets. So if any young football player wants to watch somebody, it's him.”

Despite Walters being offside in the build-up to Ireland's goal, the 58 year old refused to criticize Italian official Nicola Rizzoli, stating that he thought the official was “terrific” during the game. Strachan also wouldn't be drawn on whether or not he felt Ireland had upped their game from the November meeting between the sides in Glasgow which Scotland won 1-0.

“You never know,” Strachan replied when asked if he was happy with the point in the circumstances. “I don't know what the circumstances are. We're here to play a game in June, high intensity. Most of the time I feel you get what you deserve, so I think we're alright with that."