Tuesday’s match at Hampden Park saw Scotland’s new era open with a red card, a goal conceded within minutes, and three more against a team that rarely loses. The final score was a 4-0 defeat against Switzerland, with the heaviest blow falling upon Jack Hendry, whose rash challenge cost his side a man and the match.
Hendry’s Red Card
Things went wrong from the very start of the night. Hendry was shown his marching orders in the opening minutes, a terrible moment that took all the energy out of the evening. Scotland were up against a hard opponent anyway, but the sending off turned the whole match into a near-impossible task.
When the first goal crossed the line, Murat Yakin turned to face his technical area, a half-smile spreading across his face. The job was finished. The match was essentially concluded within the opening 11th minute.
Ndoye’s Early Goal
The crowd stirred briefly when Dan Ndoye found the back of the net early on. Yet those flashes of excitement faded fast. In their wake, Scotland pushed hard, working like dervishes to fight and scrape, though the outcome felt inevitable from that point.
Oli McBurnie fought hard throughout the match, which John McGinn described as a “thankless task.”. The game produced several brief stretches where the crowd stirred with energy, though it was not clear whether the feeling was genuine hope or simple delusion.
Pocognoli’s underdogs tried to stay in the game, but Switzerland dealt handily with Scotland’s enthusiasm and waited to land the knockout blows, which came later on. A second goal didn’t flatter them. Neither did a third.
The Cost of the Error
What’s truly frustrating is that perhaps everything would have worked out the same even if the red never occurred. We were never given the opportunity to test whether that was true.
Kieron Bowie was taken off after the red, an innocent victim of a dreadful error. His evening came to an end far too soon, and Scotland were left without enough players for the rest of the match.
Angus Gunn could have done better with Ricardo Rodriguez’s effort. The ball flew in on the goalkeeper’s side of the wall, and he didn’t lay a glove on it. A nightmare beginning.
What Comes Next
Saturday brings the next chapter to Skopje. North Macedonia are not the same team that drew 3-0 with Switzerland last weekend. They also fall short of Slovenia’s standard, having dropped a 2-0 defeat to them on Tuesday.
Scotland have not won any of their last 10 matches, during which they have managed just two goals while conceding four against Turkey, four against Denmark and seven against Wales. This encounter offers an opportunity for both the goal drought to end and the run of games without a win to come to an abrupt close.
The book described Pocognoli’s first home match as a horror story, and it turned into one.
Line-Up Questions
The lineup and formation choices made by Pocognoli will be the subject of much debate, since the 90 minutes against Switzerland revealed almost nothing about how he actually plans to play.
Stephen Welsh did well after coming on to replace the player sent off, while Luis Binks defended solidly on his first appearance. Both deserve plus marks for their performances on a night when little else stood out.
The robbery of his evening means Bowie will surely receive a proper chance in Skopje. The pairing of McBurnie and Bowie deserves an opportunity to demonstrate its value after being broken up so prematurely at Hampden.
The Long Road Back
The team needs more goals, more pace, and more unpredictability. The manager could view this period as an opportunity to integrate Ben Gannon-Doak, a player with real grit who will take some working out, but a quick operator whose talents would be well worth the trouble of figuring out how to use him.
Failing to score against Slovenia was frustrating; failing to score against Switzerland was more understandable given the situation; but failing to score and still winning in Skopje would be a terrible result.
It feels like an awful long time since the overhead kick from Scott McTominay, the wonder goal from Kieran Tierney, and the shot from the other end of the world by Kenny McLean. Now you just wish for an ugly deflection, a madcap own goal, one that ricochets in off McGinn’s backside or the back of McBurnie’s head. Anything for a goal and a win. Anything.
Key Facts
| Team | Record vs Scotland |
|---|---|
| Switzerland | Won 4-0 |
| North Macedonia | Winless in 10 games |
| Slovenia | Beat Macedonia 2-0 |
The mission in Skopje is plain: Scotland must end their run without scoring and halt their losing run. The volume has already become a nightmare tale once. The following chapter must not repeat the same fate.
The issue at hand is whether those same old failings can finally be abandoned.
Source material: “New coach, new players, but same old failings hamper Scotland,” the BBC.
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