Faroes hero John Petersen says team can shock Scotland again

Faroe Islands goal hero John Petersen believes the current team are better than his 2002 side and can serve up a repeat of the draw between the sides two decades ago.

Petersen was the central figure in one of his national side’s best results when he scored twice the Faroes’ 2-2 draw with Scotland in 2002.

His quickfire double piled pressure on Berti Vogts’ struggling team and goals from Paul Lambert and Barry Ferguson salvaged a draw for Scotland on a night the Tartan Army would rather forget.

For Petersen, the night was a career highlight and the return of the Scotland team for Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier brings happy memories back.

“I played for the national team for nine years, played 57 matches, scored six goals and three of them were against Scotland,” he told STV. “So it’s a bit special for me when we play Scotland.

“It’s probably the match I best remember from my career. We played for 11 or 12 minutes and we were leading 2-0 and shocking everybody, both the Faroes supporters and Scotland.

“Unfortunately we couldn’t hold it until the end but it was a very special night for us.”

Though the result has gone down as one of the most memorable in the country’s history, Petersen revealed there was no wild partying after full-time, and he still has regrets.

“I scored the goals and people remember that but I would have liked to win that match,” he said. “We had the chances to go to 3-0 as well. We were disappointed after the match but before the game we would have jumped at 2-2.”

As the 2021 side prepare to face Steve Clarke’s Scotland, Petersen believes they are a better side and can make headlines once again.

“The team’s better technically, better physically but the Scottish team is probably also better,” he said.

“It’ll be a tough match today.

“They can get a draw. They played Denmark here and the Danes only scored in the last minute.

“So it’s possible but always when the Faroe Islands play, we have to defend well and not go forward too much. We’ll see.”