Healy penalty miss lets Scots off the hook

GEORGE BURLEY was left still seeking his first win as Scotland manager heading into next month’s World Cup qualifiers after being held to a goalless stalemate by Northern Ireland at Hampden.

Previous encounters against Croatia and the Czech Republic had yielded a draw and a defeat respectively ahead of last night’s clash, with a crucial double-header against Macedonia and Iceland looming.

The Scots’ cause was aided when Ryan McGivern was dismissed early in the second half, but it was the Irish who could have claimed the win had David Healy successfully converted from the penalty spot.