A memorable night for the defender in La Liga
Scotland’s Scott McKenna enjoyed a memorable night on both ends of the pitch as he assisted Las Palmas in their valuable La Liga victory of 3-1 over Rayo Vallecano on Friday.
Under new Las Palmas head coach Diego Martinez, who took Luis Carrion’s place last month, the 27-year-old Kirriemuir native has solidified his status as a first-choice pick. When Martinez took over, the Gran Canaria-based team had only three points from their first nine games in the Spanish top flight. However, three victories in the four games that followed, led by McKenna at left centre-back, have propelled them to 15th place in the standings, two points above the relegation zone.
The turnaround began on October 21 with a pivotal 3-2 victory at Valencia, McKenna’s first game back after missing the previous Scotland camp due to an injury layoff that lasted a month. The sole setback under Martinez was a 2-0 loss to Atletico Madrid away from home after a 1-0 success over Girona, although Las Palmas swiftly recovered with a 3-1 triumph at Estadio de Vallecas. Fabio Silva, a former Rangers striker currently on loan from Wolves, opened the scoring with a header from a corner in the fourth minute. Aridane Hernández Umpiérrez’s own goal and Manu Fuster’s curling effort gave the visitors a three-goal lead in the second half.
Rayo Vallecano had 34 shots on goal compared to Las Palmas’ 11 and eventually got a consolation goal in the 92nd minute when McKenna stabbed the ball past custodian teammate Jasper Cillessen after stretching to block a cutback. Further into extra time, McKenna, who joined Las Palmas from Nottingham Forest in the summer, nearly made up for his own goal with a vicious run that brought him from defence to attack. At the 1986 World Cup, the former Aberdeen defender showed off his inner Diego Maradona by intercepting the ball in his own half and then charging past multiple opponents to run through on the Vallecano goal.
McKenna missed out on what would have been a sure La Liga goal of the season after his shot went just wide of the far post with the custodian as his only opponent and the angle against him. Oli McBurnie, a fellow Scot, was not used as a substitute after joining Las Palmas from Sheffield United in the summer.
After being selected in Steve Clarke’s squad for the Nations League A matches against Croatia and Poland next week, McKenna will now join his fellow Scotland players. Scotland must win one of their next two games to escape relegation back to Nations League B. They will welcome Luka Modric and company at Hampden on Friday, November 15, before heading to Warsaw on Monday, November 18.
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