Lawrence Shankland continued his red-hot scoring form as Hearts came from two goals down to draw 2-2 at home to Ross County.

After the controversial decision not to award the Jambos a penalty when Alan Forrest appeared to be tripped by Ross Laidlaw early in the second half, County looked on course for victory following an Alex Cochrane own goal and a stunning free-kick from Yan Dhanda.

But substitute Kenneth Vargas sparked Hearts’ fightback with a cool finish before Shankland, the cinch Premiership’s top scorer, netted his 17th of the season and his 12th in 13 matches to secure a draw that kept his team two points clear of Kilmarnock in third place with a game in hand.

Hearts boss Steven Naismith made three changes to the team that started the midweek win away to Hibernian as Stephen Kingsley, Forrest and Beni Baningime were replaced by Craig Halkett, Alex Lowry and Kyosuke Tagawa.

County were back in action for the first time since being eviscerated by their own manager following a 1-0 home defeat by Dundee a fortnight previously.

Derek Adams – hoping for a positive response to his post-match claim that former team Morecambe were “100 times better” than County – made two changes as Will Nightingale and Conor Randall were replaced by Max Sheaf and Josh Sims.

The Staggies had the ball in the net in the second minute when Ben Purrington headed home but it was ruled out for offside against Jordan White in the build-up.

The home side then enjoyed a spell of pressure as Lowry, Frankie Kent and Tagawa all threatened within the space of five minutes.

County were generally holding their own, however, and they should have gone ahead in the 19th minute when Simon Murray was released on goal but Zander Clark made an excellent save before reacting to deny Josh Sims from the follow-up attempt seconds later.

The Staggies threatened again in the 29th minute when White got himself clear in the box, but Halkett slid in to make a vital block.

Hearts boss Naismith made two changes for the start of the second half in an effort to spark an improvement, with Forrest and Yutaro Oda sent on in place of Tagawa and Aidan Denholm.

Forrest looked to have made a swift impact in the 51st minute when he was released by a pass from Shankland and appeared to be tripped as he tried to go round Laidlaw, only to be yellow-carded for diving. Replays suggested there was contact.

It proved a pivotal moment as County went ahead four minutes later when Cochrane knocked Murray’s cross into his own net as he slid in to challenge Sims on the edge of the six-yard box.

And the visitors doubled their lead in the 61st minute when Dhanda curled in a delightful free-kick from 25 yards out.

Hearts rallied, however, and substitute Vargas got them back in the game in the 71st minute when he latched on to a through ball and slotted calmly beyond Laidlaw.

Eight minutes later Shankland secured a point with a superb left-footed finish after he was teed up just inside the box by Calem Nieuwenhof.

Steven Naismith believes Lawrence Shankland is well on his way to becoming a Hearts legend after his stoppage-time winner against city rivals Hibernian further endeared him to supporters.

The talismanic captain overcame the disappointment of an early penalty miss to score the only goal of a tense Edinburgh derby in the third minute of time added on with what opposing manager Nick Montgomery described as “a moment of quality”.

Shankland produced a lovely touch to take down a long kick-out from goalkeeper Zander Clark before creating space for himself in the box and curling a stunning shot high past David Marshall.

It was the Scotland forward’s 44th goal in a year and a half with Hearts and his 16th strike this term, making him one of the fastest-scoring Jambos hitmen of all time.

“I don’t think he is far off it (becoming a legend),” said the manager. “With his goal record, his goal return, are there many better than him and John Robertson (Hearts’ record goalscorer)? I’m not so sure.

“He is in that bracket for me. And I think there is still more to come. His goal return is unbelievable, but that’s his easiest part because he has done it his whole career.

“His hold-up play now, his standing in the game is miles from where it was when he was at Ayr or Dundee united.

“He understands the game, he is now a leader, he is the captain. He is an all-round centre-forward who I would argue is now the best finisher in Scotland.”

Shankland hit the post with a fifth-minute penalty before Hibs forward Martin Boyle saw a spot-kick pushed on to the woodwork by Clark in the 14th minute.

Naismith was pleased his side were able to keep a 10th clean sheet in 19 league matches as they kept themselves two points clear of Kilmarnock in third place with a game in hand.

“I don’t think the game was particularly great, it lacked quality in general,” said Naismith. “Some of our build-up was decent but then that calmness to find the right pass, we didn’t pick the right pass.

“It was a mental first 15 minutes with two (missed) penalties, but then when you have someone like Shanks it’s never over.

“Us having a good defensive structure and not giving up goals always gives us a chance. And when Shanks is there, you know that if he gets a chance he is more than likely to put it away, which he did.”

Hibs boss Montgomery admitted Shankland was the difference on a night when he felt his team merited at least a point.

“It’s a cruel game at times,” he said. “Both teams would probably have been happy with a draw, but it’s one moment of quality.

“It’s a quality strike and it’s why there’s so much in the media about him moving on. He’s one of the best strikers in the league and, apart from that one moment, we did keep him quiet.

“For large periods of the game we were very good, we just lacked that final pass, that final bit of quality to take the game by the scruff of the neck.

“Anyone watching that would’ve felt it was a draw.”

Hibs had Josh Campbell carried off the pitch on a stretcher in the second half.

“I think it’s a bad twist of his ankle,” said Montgomery. “It adds to the list of players we’ve got out at the moment, but hopefully it’s not as bad as first thought.”

Lethal Lawrence Shankland popped up with a stoppage-time winner as in-form Hearts defeated Hibernian 1-0 in a tense Edinburgh derby at Easter Road to tighten their grip on third place in the cinch Premiership.

The game looked on course to end goalless after both Shankland and Hibs forward Martin Boyle missed early penalties.

But the talismanic Jambos skipper sparked jubilation among the visiting support in the third minute of stoppage time when he notched his 16th goal of the season to secure a third consecutive clean-sheet victory for the Tynecastle side.

Hibs manager Nick Montgomery made three changes to the side that lost 1-0 at St Johnstone as Paul Hanlon, Jimmy Jeggo, Elie Youan dropped out to make way for Rocky Bushiri, Joe Newell and Josh Campbell.

There were also three alterations to the Hearts team that started Saturday’s 2-0 win over St Mirren as Craig Halkett, Yutaro Oda and Barrie McKay were replaced by Stephen Kingsley, Calem Nieuwenhof and Alan Forrest.

The Jambos were handed the chance to open the scoring in the fifth minute when they were awarded a penalty following a VAR review after Bushiri was deemed to have handled the ball, while trying to head clear Cochrane’s long throw into the box. Shankland saw his low penalty strike the outside of David Marshall’s right-hand post.

Hibs then had the opportunity to punish Hearts’ top scorer for his profligacy from the spot when they won a spot-kick in the 14th minute after Dylan Vente’s goalbound shot was blocked by the flailing hand of Kye Rowles on the edge of the six-yard box. However, Zander Clark did superbly to get down to his right and push Boyle’s effort on to the post.

The hosts enjoyed the bulk of the pressure for the remainder of the first half, but Rowles made a couple of crucial blocks to stop a Vente header and then a Campbell shot, before Jair Tavares saw a ferocious effort deflected over by Aidan Denholm.

Hibs suffered a blow seven minutes after the break when Josh Campbell was carried off the pitch on a stretcher after injuring himself while trying to tackle Beni Baningime. Youan came on in his place.

Hearts substitute Kenneth Vargas was presented with a decent chance in the 68th minute following a loose pass by Lewis Miller, but the Costa Rican fired just over from 20 yards out.

At the other end, Clark had to produce another couple of impressive saves to deny Vente and Tavares.

Hibs keeper Marshall then thwarted Shankland after the Jambos captain got himself away from Bushiri, but the Hearts forward was not to be denied and he kept his cool to curl home a clinical, match-winning finish in stoppage time after finding himself space in the box following a long ball from Clark.

Steven Naismith admitted interest in talismanic captain Lawrence Shankland is inevitable after he continued his red-hot scoring form with a double in Hearts’ 2-0 cinch Premiership win over St Mirren.

The Scotland forward notched a poacher’s header in the first half and then a stunning strike early in the second that opposing manager Stephen Robinson described as “an incredible finish”.

Shankland has now scored 43 goals in 18 months since joining Hearts and Naismith anticipates other clubs to test their resolve in the January window.

“I think there is already interest in him,” said the Jambos boss.

“When you have got players playing at the top of their game there is going to be interest.

“Every club in Scotland are in that same category where we are not at the elite, top level where you can just push away anyone being interested in your players – but that doesn’t change anything.

“We are a club that’s in a really good situation. We are progressive and we want to get better as a business, better as a football squad, and having Shanks is part of that.

“So no, everyone is comfortable. The pleasing aspect is that he is doing so well. It’s credit to the team, credit to Shanks and credit to us all as a group. There is going to be interest when you are doing well.

“The first goal, Shanks is instinctively in the right place as a forward. For the second one, as soon as he takes his first touch he knows what he is doing.

“There’s no panic, there’s no rushed feeling. As soon as it leaves his boot he knows it’s a goal, 100 per cent. It’s top, top quality but that’s Shanks. That shows you his value to us.”

Naismith was delighted with a victory that took Hearts two points clear in third place with a game in hand.

“After games you go through each part,” he said.

“The result, good. Two goals, good. Clean sheet, good. So it is really pleasing against a team who have been really good this season.”

St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson rued his team’s lack of attacking quality as they suffered a fourth defeat in six matches.

“We got what we deserved. First half we pressed really well and won the ball back on numerous occasions and had lots of opportunities to play forward and penetrate but we didn’t do that with any quality,” he said.

“That’s frustrating because we’re better than that. We ended up losing a goal from a set-play which has been our Achilles heel. It’s so frustrating.

“Lawrence has scored a lot of goals there and we pointed that out beforehand but we went in 1-0 because of that, not because of them opening us up.

“The second goal was exceptional and it killed any momentum we had. That’s the difference between the levels, the financial disparity is huge and that’s why they’re able to get players like Lawrence Shankland. It was an incredible finish.” 

Brendan Rodgers felt compelled to apologise to the Celtic fans for the first time after a performance as he admitted his side lacked desire in a 2-0 home defeat by Hearts.

A free header from Lawrence Shankland and Stephen Kingsley’s 25-yard free-kick put Hearts two ahead inside 30 minutes and there was little sign of a Celtic comeback as they fell to consecutive league defeats for the first time in a decade.

“Our desire and the mentality right from the off was nowhere near the level of a Celtic team,” Rodgers said. “Very passive, and lacked fluidity.

“The game started a little bit slow, but our ability to keep the ball in the final third and create wasn’t quite there.

“Then, we got outdone very naively from a corner. The second goal was a fantastic free-kick, but, when you look at the build-up and what led to the free-kick, it was so passive it was frightening.

“It is a real, real sore one. For the first time I have been here, over my two periods, I would have to apologise to the supporters – because that level is nowhere near the standard of performances required at Celtic. Nowhere near it.

“That lack of consistency and mentality and desire, it is way, way off what this club demands. You’re sat there in mid-December with 60,000 in and that’s how you perform. It is not acceptable.”

Only two weeks ago Rodgers claimed he had never been angrier as a manager following a similar first-half performance against St Johnstone. They fought back to win in Perth but have now lost to Kilmarnock and Hearts and potentially lost their advantage in the title race – Rangers are five points behind but have two games in hand.

The Celtic manager absolved the “brilliant” Callum McGregor from blame along with Liam Scales and Matt O’Riley and added: “I can’t say I am surprised. I have seen performance level (dip) and (am) having to activate. When you are having to do that all the time then that is a worry.

“You can’t keep having to go into expletives, you need to find the solution and the ambition as a player to come into these games after a midweek game, after a good performance in the Champions League, you need to come into the game and produce the level.

“It always starts for me against the ball and when it’s so passive and you are not aggressive enough, that for me is always your desire and how much you want to win the game.

“Sadly for us that then goes on to the side when you have the ball and it just wasn’t good enough.”

Hearts ended a 14-game losing run at Celtic Park and secured their first win at the stadium since 2009.

Manager Steven Naismith felt his side’s composure was the key factor.

“The biggest aspect is when you win the ball,” he said. “You need to cause them problems, and I think we did that. Our composure on the ball leads to us getting the corner, it leads to us getting the free-kick that get us the goals.

“That’s not just luck for Shanks at the back post, it’s having a calmness in these big moments.

“Or whether it’s our defenders deciding they can see pass and they make the pass.

“I don’t think there’s a better team in Scotland that press than Celtic, they are really aggressive, they are really tough.

“And we played through it at times, we were good enough to do it, and that’s massively important when you are playing against the Old Firm.”

Scotland drew 2-2 with Georgia in Tbilisi in the penultimate match of their successful European Championship qualifying campaign.

Scott McTominay and substitute Lawrence Shankland both hit equalisers after Napoli attacker Khvicha Kvaratskhelia struck twice for the hosts.

Here are five things we learned from the encounter in the Boris Paichadze Stadium ahead of Scotland’s final Group A game against Norway on Sunday.

Substitutes are key again

Kenny McLean scored a late winner off the bench in Oslo in June and the substitute made a more sustained if less spectacular impact on Thursday night. The Norwich midfielder set up McTominay to level and generally helped improve Scotland’s possession after a slack first half with fellow half-time replacement Lewis Ferguson also contributing. Shankland then headed home in stoppage time from fellow sub Stuart Armstrong’s cross with Anthony Ralston also showing up well in a brief cameo. Manager Steve Clarke has not always been quick to make changes but it appears that the bench is becoming more and more important to Scotland in the five-subs era.

Shankland stakes his claim

The Hearts striker dropped out of the squad last month but earned a late call-up on the back of five goals in his last five club games when Che Adams pulled out. The 28-year-old seized his chance when he rose well to head home. “We needed a goal and you know Lawrence has always got a chance of getting a goal,” said Clarke as he explained why he had used him. Scotland will undoubtedly need a goal at some stage in Germany next summer and an in-form Shankland is arguably the most natural goalscorer Scotland have.

Pot two still in reach

Spain’s late goal in Seville last month wiped out Scotland’s head-to-head advantage and any realistic chance of Clarke’s side topping the group. Scotland would need to beat Norway on Sunday while Georgia win in Spain for that to happen. There is a better chance of Scotland finishing as the best runners-up and sealing a place in pot two for next month’s draw. That looks likely to be Austria, assuming Belgium beat Azerbaijan, but a two-goal win or a high-scoring one-goal victory could put the Scots among the second seeds. However, that could theoretically hand Scotland a tougher draw given the likes of Netherlands, Denmark, Italy or Ukraine are headed for pot three.

Zander Clark shows his mettle

The Hearts goalkeeper was beaten at his near post for Kvaratskhelia’s opener but there were bigger factors in the lead-up to the goal which left the former St Johnstone man exposed on his competitive debut. Clark went on to make three assured saves including one in the dying seconds.

Back four experiment has mixed success

With Kieran Tierney, Andy Robertson and Aaron Hickey joining long-term absentee Grant Hanley on the sidelines in recent weeks, Clarke went with a back four featuring Nathan Patterson, Ryan Porteous, Scott McKenna and Greg Taylor. Scotland seemed more open as a result, especially in the first half, although they dominated the final half hour. Tierney’s return to fitness looks key to Scotland’s Euro 2024 prospects given his influence in the back three.

Lawrence Shankland headed a stoppage-time equaliser as Scotland averted more torment in Tbilisi with a 2-2 draw against Georgia.

The Hearts striker was a late call-up for the injured Che Adams and seized his chance when he headed home fellow substitute Stuart Armstrong’s cross two minutes into added time.

Scott McTominay earlier took his Euro 2024 qualifying campaign tally to seven goals when he cancelled out the first of two strikes from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

The Napoli winger proved a threat all night, but Scotland contributed to their own problems with a slack first 45 minutes.

McTominay drilled home from 20 yards four minutes after the restart and, after quickly falling behind again, Scotland finished strongly to prevent a fourth consecutive defeat in Clarke’s 50th game in charge.

Scotland had lost on their two previous visits to the Boris Paichadze stadium, defeats which proved very costly in otherwise promising attempts to qualify for the European Championships of 2008 and 2016.

And, while Clarke’s side had booked their trip to Germany with two games to spare, they were looking to boost their chances of sealing a place among the pot two seeds for next month’s draw.

Georgia, who had only lost four of their previous 20 games, also had plenty to play for given they will be in the play-offs in March courtesy of their Nations League performances, and a crowd of 44,595 plus some needle on the pitch gave the game a competitive edge.

With Angus Gunn injured, Hearts goalkeeper Zander Clark got the nod to start ahead of Motherwell’s Liam Kelly for his competitive international debut.

Scotland started with a back four amid the absence of Kieran Tierney, while the likes of Andy Robertson, Aaron Hickey and Grant Hanley were also missing.

There were early signs that Scotland were not quite at it, from the moment Scott McKenna launched the ball out of play from the kick-off.

Ryan Christie then scuppered a promising break by delaying and then over-hitting a pass outside to Callum McGregor.

Billy Gilmour set up McTominay with a clever low corner, but the Manchester United midfielder fired over first time.

Clark made his first save 13 minutes in when he gathered Giorgi Chakvetadze’s long-range drive but he was beaten two minutes later.

Greg Taylor failed to cut out a cross-field pass and wing-back Otar Kakabadze delivered a low first-time cross which Kvaratskhelia swept inside the near post after sliding in just ahead of Ryan Porteous.

Clark soon rescued Scotland with a good parry from Levan Shengelia after a poor pass from Lyndon Dykes, who atoned by blocking the subsequent shot.

Dykes headed off target from Gilmour’s free-kick as Scotland failed to trouble the home goalkeeper in the first half.

Too many passes were going astray and Scotland struggled to produce a telling delivery from several corners and crosses from the right flank.

Half-time changes seemed inevitable and Lewis Ferguson and Kenny McLean came on for Gilmour and Christie.

McLean was soon involved in the first equaliser. The Norwich midfielder collected Taylor’s pass and set up McTominay, whose strike seemed to wrongfoot the home keeper at his near post.

Clark made another good stop to deny Shengelia, this time from a free-kick.

But Georgia kept up the pressure and Kvaratskhelia restored their lead in the 57th minute when he cut inside Nathan Patterson and drilled into the far corner.

Dykes soon thought he had levelled with a near-post header from Patterson’s corner, but Giorgi Mamardashvili produced a brilliant diving save on the line.

Scotland continued to press, although most of their efforts were coming from long range.

Ferguson saw a header saved before Shankland rose to head into the top corner.

Clark put the seal on a satisfying night when he made a near-post stop in the dying seconds.

Steven Naismith savoured a “big win” for Hearts as two goals from Lawrence Shankland helped see off Motherwell at Fir Park.

The Tynecastle side had been under rising pressure after a mixed start to the season but this victory moved them up into fourth place in the table.

Naismith was pleased with his side’s performance but knew they would need to replicate it after the international break.

He said: “It was a big win because of our previous results.

“It’s important you stop that and get the points you need as quickly as possible. I thought we did that with what was a really good performance overall.

“It should have been a bigger margin because we had a couple more chances and we should have had a penalty or two. But the positive is that when Motherwell scored, we defended really well in the dying moments.

“That had been questioned with us losing some quick goals back to back in games. There’s a demand and an expectation.

“That’s not just one week and then it’s off. It’s there every week. It’s pleasing the way we performed got us that.

“A big question of this squad has been their away form which has been really poor over the years. That’s now four away games this season that we’ve won. It’s something that takes time.

“There are some moments you want to be better but you hope over time they get eradicated and the good stuff shines through. But if we don’t keep winning, the pressure comes.

“In this job you’re always under pressure. Even after this win, you’ll be under pressure from somebody.”

Motherwell, who scored through a late Blair Spittal penalty, have now gone nine games without a win and manager Stuart Kettlewell will try to find solutions on the training ground over the next fortnight.

He said: “What we have to do over the international break is work hard.

“I never shied away from that even when we were winning games. You have to put the hours in and that’s what we’re going to do again.

“That’s the only way we’re going to get out of this poor run and we can’t shirk it or hide from it. That’s the challenge that has been laid down to the players.

“People are asking questions about the run we’ve been on and I get that and accept it. But I believe we have the people and the formula to arrest this form we’re in.”

Lawrence Shankland’s brace helped Hearts to a 2-1 victory away to Motherwell whose winless streak now stands at nine games.

The striker netted in each half to send Steven Naismith’s men up into fourth place in the cinch Premiership, just two points off third.

Blair Spittal converted a 78th-mintue penalty to reduce the deficit but Hearts held on to record a precious away victory.

Motherwell made one change from the midweek draw with St Johnstone, with Theo Bair in for Brodie Spencer.

Hearts, in turn, made three changes after losing the Viaplay Cup semi-final to Rangers. In came Liam Boyce, Alan Forrest and Alex Lowry, with Toby Sibbick, Jorge Grant and Kenneth Vargas making way

It was the visitors who had the first chance with Lowry curling an effort wide, before Bair headed off target from Spittal’s corner at the other end.

Hearts should have moved in front after 16 minutes. Calum Butcher was dispossessed in defence by Shankland, with Lowry then picking out Boyce. The Northern Irishman, though, took too long before eventually sliding his shot wide.

The visitors, however, did take the lead after 27 minutes. Lowry’s corner was headed goalwards by Frankie Kent for Shankland to help over the line from close range.

Hearts appealed for a penalty just minutes later when Boyce’s run into the block was obstructed by Dan Casey. Referee David Munro was asked by VAR to take a look at the screen but felt it did not merit a spot kick, much to Motherwell’s relief.

The visitors began the second half off still on top and Stephen Kingsley saw a near-post effort from a corner blocked before Shankland volleyed the next delivery well off target.

The striker then appealed for a penalty after a collision with Callum Slattery but VAR had a look and decided not to call the referee over for a second opinion, with the game resuming with a Motherwell free-kick.

Hearts did finally manage to get their second goal after 72 minutes and again it was Shankland who scored it.

Beni Baningime threaded a terrific pass through that Lowry dummied, allowing it to run through to Shankland, who took the ball around goalkeeper Liam Kelly before finishing well.

Motherwell were handed a lifeline five minutes later when Alex Cochrane was adjudged to have handled in the box and Spittal stroked home the penalty.

The home side rallied after that but despite late pressure never looked like finding an equaliser.

Lawrence Shankland declared Sunday’s Viaplay Cup semi-final showdown with Rangers a “win at all costs” encounter as he looked forward to his first trip to Hampden with Hearts.

The Jambos skipper began his senior career playing regularly at the national stadium when he spent time on loan at Queen’s Park more than a decade ago, while he has also represented Scotland there.

The 28-year-old’s only experience of a big cup match at Hampden came when he played in Dundee United’s 2-0 defeat to Hibernian in the 2021 Scottish Cup semi-final – a result that still irks him.

Shankland is hoping his previous experiences at the famous old ground in Glasgow’s southside can help him reach the first major final of his career this weekend.

“It will be great to lead the team out at Hampden, I’m really looking forward to that part and hopefully we can get ourselves to a final,” he said.

“Last time I was at Hampden I was at Dundee United and we lost in a semi-final and that still annoys me. It’s my first experience going with Hearts and it’s one I’m looking forward to.

“I’ve been lucky enough to play there quite a lot in my career with Scotland and at club level as well so it’s a stadium I’m used to. Quite a lot of the boys have got the experience before of being at Hampden so hopefully we can use that on the day.”

Asked to sum up what is required from Hearts on Sunday, Shankland said: “Win at all costs. That’s it for us. The task is simple. It’s a big occasion at the national stadium and it’s just all about winning.”

Hearts face Rangers a week after they almost beat them in the cinch Premiership. The Jambos led 1-0 for most of the match and looked on course for a rare Ibrox victory before conceding two late goals to lose 2-1. Shankland believes that experience will stand them in good stead for Sunday.

“We’re coming off the back of a good performance at Ibrox last weekend, albeit the last 10 minutes didn’t go to plan,” he said. “Apart from that it was really good and we can take the positives from that into this game. There was a lot to be happy with.

“Obviously the mistakes we made at the end were probably a reminder of how much you need to concentrate against teams as dangerous as Rangers.

“It takes full concentration for every minute you’re on the pitch so we can use last week as a reminder and make sure it’s in our heads at all points in the match.”

Liam Cooper, Greg Taylor and Jacob Brown have been recalled to the Scotland squad for the Euro 2024 qualifier in Spain.

Hearts striker Lawrence Shankland drops out along with, as expected, Newcastle midfielder Elliot Anderson.

Whitley Bay-born Anderson last week indicated he wanted more time to consider his international future, having left the last Scotland camp after two days following his first call-up to the full squad.

Leeds defender Cooper returns from injury while Celtic left-back Taylor replaces Kieran Tierney, who suffered a hamstring injury while playing for Real Sociedad on Saturday.

Luton striker Brown is yet to score in the Premier League since his move from Stoke, while Shankland has gone seven matches without scoring after hitting five goals in his first six games of the season for Hearts.

Scotland have won their opening five games and are six points ahead of second-placed Spain ahead of their trip to Seville on October 12.

Steve Clarke’s side then face France in a friendly in Lille five days later.

Birthday boy Lawrence Shankland gave Hearts some much-needed Euro encouragement with a crucial second-half goal in a 2-1 defeat by Rosenborg in Trondheim.

Emil Frederiksen put the home side ahead in the 14th minute of the Europa Conference League third qualifying round first leg at the Lerkendal Stadion before 20-year-old Canada international Jayden Nelson made it 2-0 in added time in the first half.

The Jambos had been well off the pace but they responded positively after the break and pulled a goal back in the 78th minute through their skipper on his 28th birthday to perhaps turn the tie in the Gorgie side’s favour ahead of the return game at Tynecastle next Thursday night.

Hearts head coach Frankie McAvoy will certainly be pleased that his side fought back after a ropey first half.

He tweaked his line-up from Saturday’s 2-0 cinch Premiership win over St Johnstone, notably Beni Baningime starting for the first time in 17 months after recovering from a torn knee ligament in March, 2022 – but he had a wretched time and was replaced at half-time.

Rangers loanee and fellow midfielder Alex Lowry came in for his first start, with left-back Alex Cochrane reinstated.

Svein Maalen’s side, eighth in Norway’s Eliteserien after 18 games, had the first attempt on goal inside the opening two minutes when Carlo Holse stabbed a cross wide of the target before 16-year-old Sverre Nypan fired a long-distance effort over the bar.

However, the home side did deservedly forged ahead when Nypan turned Baningime inside the Hearts box and crossed for Frederiksen to knock into the net from a few yards out after getting in front of Cochrane.

It was midway through the first half before Hearts had a shot on goal but Alan Forrest’s low drive was comfortably saved by keeper Andre Hansen.

Moments later, Jambos keeper Zander Clark made a better save from the ever-dangerous Nelson, whose curling shot was heading for inside the far post.

Then, on the half-hour mark, Rosenborg’s Tobias Borkeeiet came close with a long-distance drive which shaved Clark’s left-hand post.

But in the second minute of added time, Nypan raced away from struggling Baningime who pulled up and with the Hearts defence in shreds, he simply slipped the ball to Nelson to beat Clark from close range.

Peter Haring took over from Baningime for the second half and the visitors looked more at ease, and in the 52nd minute Shankland missed the target with a header when he should have hit the target.

There was a penalty shout when Lowry was sent spinning by the Rosenborg keeper inside the box as he tried to reach a Cochrane pass but Romanian referee Andrei Chivulete was unmoved.

Rejuvenated Hearts got the goal they deserved with 12 minutes left when substitute Stephen Kingsley crossed from the left for Scotland striker Shankland to direct a header past Hansen.

The Edinburgh side went in search of a leveller which left Rosenborg looking a bit shaky but they held on for the win, although Hearts will leave Norway confident they can recover the tie in the second leg to set up a meeting with either Hajduk Split or PAOK.

Late goals from Yutaro Oda and Lawrence Shankland gave Hearts a winning start in the cinch Premiership as they defeated St Johnstone 2-0 at McDiarmid Park.

In a closely-fought game, Oda made the breakthrough with 15 minutes to go, drilling an unstoppable low shot past Dimitar Mitov,.

Shankland rubbed salt into the St Johnstone wounds by tapping in with almost the last kick of the game to double the advantage.

Hearts goalkeeper Zander Clark had earlier denied Graham Carey and Liam Gordon with strong saves, while Kyosuke Tagawa should have marked his debut with a goal for the visitors as he failed to capitalise on a one-on-one chance.

Despite competing well for large periods of the match, St Johnstone have now begun the season with four defeats in five matches, following losses to Stenhousemuir, Ayr United and Stirling Albion in the Viaplay Cup.

Saints boss Steven MacLean had unsurprisingly made six changes to the side who suffered the 4-0 loss to Stirling last week, while Oludare Olufunwa and Sam McClelland made their debuts after signing this week.

For Hearts, this game represented their first competitive match of the season, and they also gave debuts to new signings in the shape of Frankie Kent and Calem Nieuwenhof.

The match was initially delayed by 10 minutes due to a power issue with the VAR technology and the game began without VAR for a short period before the problem was resolved.

When the game did get underway it was the hosts who started better and captain Gordon should have given them an early lead as his sliced Carey’s cross wide from close range.

Hearts had started slowly but they grew into the match after the 20 minute mark, with Peter Haring heading a deflected Nieuwenhof cross wide and Nathaniel Atkinson skewing a low shot wide when well placed in the box.

Shankland had his first chance just before the break as he met Stephen Kingsley’s deep free-kick with a volley that was too close to Mitov in the home goal.

St Johnstone had the first chance of the second period as the lively Carey capitalised on a poor clearance by cutting inside and unleashing a powerful effort with his right foot that was parried away by Clark.

Clark was called into action again just before the hour mark, making a superb one-handed stop to deny Gordon a headed goal before the Hearts defence scrambled the ball clear of danger.

Hearts got better as the half went on and they should have scored in the 67th minute as Shankland met Kingsley’s low cross but his first-time shot was well stopped by Mitov.

Mitov then made an even better save moments later, sticking out a strong hand to deny substitute Tagawa when clean through.

Mitov’s heroics proved in vain, however, as Hearts made the breakthrough in the 75th minute.

Atkinson’s deep cross eventually dropped at the back post for Oda, who showed composure to take a touch and rifle a low shot across the St Johnstone goalkeeper and into the bottom left-hand corner.

Hearts could have added to their lead, with Liam Boyce and Kye Rowles seeing attempts saved by Mitov, before they wrapped up the win in style, as substitute Boyce broke clear and laid the ball on a plate for Shankland, who could not miss.

Lawrence Shankland is hoping to end his “really strong season” by helping Scotland take another big stride towards Euro 2024.

The 27-year-old has enjoyed arguably the best campaign of his career as he scored 28 goals and earned the captaincy in his first year at Hearts, whom he joined last summer from Belgian club Beerschot.

Shankland’s form at Tynecastle earned him a first Scotland cap for two and a half years in the victory over Spain in March, and he has retained his place in the squad for this month’s Euro 2024 qualifiers away to Norway and at home to Georgia.

“When you get to the end of a season you get the chance to look back and assess it,” Shankland told the Scottish Football Association.

“For me, it was a really strong season. My performances throughout the season were to a really high standard and I was really happy with them.

“The number of goals I managed to chip in with was great. It was my first season at Hearts as well so it was good to get off to a good start. The captaincy was an opportunity that I probably didn’t expect when I first went to Hearts but when it was offered to me I was keen to take on that role.

“I felt it was something that would improve my all-round game, improve me as a person, and I felt I took it in my stride and handled it really well. It’s been a huge learning opportunity for me and hopefully it stands me in good stead for the future.”

Shankland has won five Scotland caps but he admits such a scenario would have been a pipe dream when he found himself without a club and pondering getting a job away from football when he was released by Aberdeen in 2017. He eventually joined Ayr and set about rebuilding his career.

“There’s been a lot of rejections along the way but it comes down to hard work and determination really,” he said, reflecting on his rise. “You have your end goals and what you want to achieve in your career.

“There have been times when I couldn’t have dreamed of getting a Scotland cap. But you just need to knuckle down and if you keep working hard, things pay off and you get these opportunities.

“I’ve taken most of them first time and did well at most of the clubs I’ve been at. It has been a bit of an up-and-down journey but I’ve worked hard and I feel like I deserve what’s come my way.”

The Scotland squad are currently at a training camp in Spain gearing up for their showdown with Norway in Oslo a week on Saturday.

Steve Clarke’s side sit top of their qualifying section after winning their opening two matches and know that a good share of points from their two outings this month will leave them firmly on course for the finals in Germany next summer.

“It’s been good to meet up and get everybody back together,” said Shankland.

“The wee break in between (the end of the club season) gives us a bit of time to do a training camp and I think that’s important for us before we go into the game week next week.

“The training’s been good and the weather’s been nice. The last two games we had really good results and we’ve given ourselves a really good opportunity going into these two games. If we get positive results we could be in a really good position.”

Hearts striker Lawrence Shankland and his Hibernian counterpart Kevin Nisbet have both been included in the Scotland squad for the next month’s Euro 2024 qualifiers against Norway and Georgia.

The Edinburgh-based pair take the places of Stoke’s Jacob Brown, who missed the end of the Championship season with a hamstring issue, and Southampton forward Che Adams, who recently suffered a recurrence of the ankle injury he sustained in Scotland’s win over Cyprus.

Shankland, who previously made four appearances in 2019 and 2020, was called back into the fold for the Spain game in March and he has kept his place at the end of a season in which he has scored 28 goals for Hearts.

Nisbet, who won all of his 10 caps in 2021, is recalled for the first time since damaging his anterior cruciate ligament in February 2022. The 26-year-old has scored 12 goals for Hibs since returning to action in December.

Rangers defender John Souttar is recalled after missing much of the season through injury. The 26-year-old, who has not played for the national team since last summer’s Nations League defeat in Ireland, takes the place of Norwich City centre-back Grant Hanley, who has been sidelined with an Achilles problem since early April.

Blackburn centre-back Dom Hyam has retained his place after earning a late call-up for the last camp in March, while Steve Clarke has opted for consistency in the goalkeeping department with Angus Gunn, Zander Clark and Liam Kelly again called up in the absence of Craig Gordon, who remains sidelined as he tries to fight back from a double leg-break sustained on Christmas Eve.

Scotland, who are top of Group A with two wins from their two games so far, face Norway in Oslo on Saturday, June 17 before welcoming Georgia to Hampden three days later.