Despite a slight manoeuvre from his favoured Dons position, Zander Diamond completed an accomplished 90 minutes as captain of the Scotland U21s last night in their 1-1 draw with
Big Zander was asked by Scotland U21 coach Ranier Bonhof to play on the right-hand side of a back three, which is a departure from his usual position, central in a back four. However, this did not stop Zander from being involved in the first goal. A great pass to St Mirren's Simon Lappin was crossed for Gary O'Conner to score.
Unfortunately, a certain amount of blame could be left at Diamond's doorstep for the Slovenian goal. He misjudged a header, in a way completely unfamiliar to Dons fans this season, and let in the white-shirted Borut Semler to score.
Overall however, it was an encouraging performance from the Scots' defence, in particular Diamond, after conceding seven goals in their last two games. And I'm sure Zander will be delighted to have avoided more facial injury after his face-to-elbow encounter with former Dons' legend Zoltan Varga's namesake a couple of weeks ago.
A quick word about the Slovenians – their plain white shirts, despite being made by Kappa, harked back to classic Eastern European Fruit of the Loom-style cheapo kits. More of that please!