Scotland keep WC hopes alive as Denmark batter Belarus

Scotland stepped up their bid to qualify for the World Cup as Lewis Ferguson's first international goal paved the way for a vital 3-1 win against Greece in Glasgow on Thursday.

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Steve Clarke's side trailed to Kostas Tsimikas's 62nd-minute goal at Hampden Park.

But Ryan Christie levelled within two minutes and Ferguson marked his 19th cap with his maiden goal 10 minutes from full-time.

Substitute Lyndon Dykes capped the comeback in stoppage-time as second-placed Scotland stayed level on points with Group C leaders Denmark and moved four points ahead of Greece.

Chasing a first World Cup appearance since 1998, Scotland host Belarus in their next game on Sunday.

"When they scored the goal, the shackles came off a bit and from there we finished the game strong," Clarke said.

"Football is a 90-minute game and you have to make sure you come out of it with a positive result. 3-1 maybe flatters us, but we did enough to win the game.

"It gives us three points and takes us one step closer to what we want to do."

Greece won 3-0 at Hampden in March in the Nations League playoffs and they made a confident start on their return to Glasgow.

Vangelis Pavlidis should have put the visitors ahead after a flowing move in the early stages, but his finish was off-target.