A LATE penalty from Billy Gilmour earned Scotland a 2-1 victory over Wales in the opening UEFA U19 Group 4 qualifier in front of 436 fans Rhyl FC.

Gilmour showed his set-piece prowess in the early exchanges, and the Scottish youngster tested goalkeeper George Ratcliffe with a well-struck free-kick inside the opening few minutes.

Zak Rudden had Scotland's best chance of the match after just nine minutes, but his close-range shot was superbly saved by Ratcliffe. The save gave Bodin's team a visible lift, but an enforced early change saw striker Daniel Griffiths replaced by Christian Norton shortly after Ratcliffe's save.

Wales began to settle into the match, with Joseph Adams testing Scotland on the left, while the creative Dylan Levitt combined well with Brennan Johnson and Norton as Wales began to make an impression on the match. However, goalkeeper Ryan Mullen was rarely tested as the Scottish defence stood firm.

Scotland showed their attacking intentions early in the 2nd half, and it was Gilmour again who found himself causing problems for the Welsh defence when his shot was blocked on the line by Ben Cabango after 55 minutes. However, the visitors took the lead when a mistake from Ratcliffe allowed a back pass from Brandon Cooper to roll into the net on the hour mark.

Wales reacted in the right way and equalised on 68 minutes when Neco Williams made a charging run forward and drilled a fine effort past goalkeeper Mullen, with the help of a deflection. The two goals made for a competitive finish to the game, but it was Scotland that would eventually claim maximum points when Gilmour converted from the penalty spot on 85 minutes.

Despite a late rally from the hosts, it was not enough to see them emerge with a share of the spoils.