FROM VLAD TO WORSE
Another night to forget as Scotland suffer humiliation in Moscow.
STEVE Clarke last night blamed “fragile confidence” on Scotland’s catastrophic second-half collapse in the 4-0 defeat by Russia and vowed to look to new players before the Euro 2020 play-offs next March. The Scots performed well in the first-half of their Group I match against the World Cup quarter-finalists in the Luzhniki Stadium and deserved to be level at half-time. However, Andy Robertson and his team-mates allowed Artem Dzyuba to net twice and Magomed Ozdoev and Aleksandr Golovin to score once each in the second-half. Clarke – whose side were beaten 4-0 by Belgium at Hampden last month – admitted Scotland’s results in their last four matches had been “dreadful”. However, the 56-year-old said he wouldn’t shy away from the challenge he has taken on and vowed the loss would be the low point of his reign. Asked why his team had performed so badly in the second-half, he said: “We conceded a soft goal from a corner. Man on man, we have to do better. From there we quickly allowed the game to run away from us. I have to put it down to fragile confidence. The players seemed to lose confidence very quickly.” Asked how he intended to halt the run of bad results, Clarke said: “Hard work. Maybe one or two different selections in terms of squad instead of starting XI. We can’t keep conceding goals. We have to make sure this is the very lowest, the bottom. We have to make sure that we build towards March and give ourselves our best chance of getting through the play-offs. “On the back of back-to-back 4-0 defeats it is hard to be positive. Listen, the results are dreadful. We have to make sure this is the lowest of the low. I was brought up the hard way. I am in for the fight and I think the players are in for the fight as well. In all the games that we’ve played there have been moments when we have shown what we are trying to do.” Asked why he hadn’t started either Ryan Christie or James Forrest, Clarke said: “The thinking behind it tonight was I wanted three solid midfield players in the middle and I thought that for 57 minutes that was working well. We went out of the game because we switched off at a corner and then allowed fragile confidence took over.” Stanislav Cherchesov, the Russia manager, revealed that telling his players to go more direct at half-time had been responsible for their improved second-half performance. “I talked to the players during the break,” he said. “I was telling them that in midfield we shouldn’t pass too much, just send the ball to the area where there is danger. Scotland weren’t solid at the back and that’s why we went a little deeper. After we scored with a set-piece we clearly had an advantage.” “What we need to do now is assess our performance tonight and help the players recover because they worked hard tonight. We play for our national flag so we have to be ready.”
IT would have taken Typhoon Hagibis blowing 5000 miles off course to have spared Scotland from this humiliating battering. Getting a result against World Cup quarter-finalists Russia in Moscow might have been a tall order for the national team with a full complement of players. Doing so with a raft of important personnel missing always looked like being an impossible task. So it proved in the end. The home team as good as secured qualification for the Euro 2020 finals in front of more than 60,000 in the Luzhniki Stadium with an emphatic triumph. A draw or a win over Cyprus away on Sunday will see them wrap up their place in next summer’s finals officially. Such an achievement seems further away than ever for their bedraggled opponents. The first-half Scotland performance was hugely positive. This was the first time since Steve Clarke was appointed manager in May that supporters really saw his influence on the side. His side were compact, disciplined and used the high press to good effect. They deserved to be level at half time. They may have offered little going forward during the first 45 minutes. Russia goalkeeper Guilherme Marinato just had one save of note – from a Ryan Christie shot at 3-0 – to make all night. Still, it was a significant improvement on the defeats to Russia and Belgium last month. The 1,000 or so travelling fans were in good voice until disaster struck in the second half. Scotland’s old defensive failings resurfaced and they allowed Artem Dzyuba to net twice and Magomed Ozdoev and Aleksandr Golovin to score once each. There is a great deal of work still to be done. Their hopes of finishing third in Group I, never mind runners-up, and going into the play-offs in March with some much-needed momentum behind them were damaged by another harrowing reverse. They have now lost four games in a row and conceded 13 goals in the process. Clarke opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation with John Fleck, who was making his first appearance for his country, paired alongside Callum McGregor in the centre of midfield, John McGinn operating further forward just off lone striker Oliver Burke, and Ryan Fraser and Robert Snodgrass on either flank. Clarke selected Mikey Devlin at centre-half ahead of Stuart Findlay and Declan Gallagher in the absence of David Bates, Liam Cooper, Craig Halkett, Grant Hanley, Scott McKenna and John Souttar, due to his greater involvement in the national set-up previously. Being tasked with shackling the man mountain Dzyuba, the Zenit St Petersburg striker who stands 6ft 5in in his stocking feet, was quite an assignment for the debutant. It was to prove a difficult evening for him. The surroundings were certainly impressive. Russia returned to Luzhniki for the first time since their World Cup last-16 triumph over Spain and their supporters turned out in numbers to welcome them back. It was an intimidating arena to play in. Scotland, though, showed no signs of stage fright. Try as they might, Russia struggled to break down rivals who were well organised, worked hard and stood up to them physically. Scotland retained possession well at times, moved the ball quickly and broke upfield frequently. Burke put in a powerful shift in attack. He was constantly dropping deep to pick up the ball and then driving forward at the opposition defence. Only his final ball let him down. Fleck was booked by Danish referee Jakob Kehlet in the first half for tripping Golovin as he passed him. But his display was also encouraging. He would seem to have much to offer going forward. There were a couple of nervous moments for the visitors as the hosts came into the game more. Liam Palmer, preferred to Stephen O’Donnell at right-back, cleared after Mario Fernandes squared into his-six yard box. Andy Robertson then blocked a shot by Aleksei Ionov moments later. But Scotland nullified their attack effectively. When David Marshall palmed a Golovin shot away five minutes before half time it was the first meaningful save the Scotland goalkeeper had needed to make. Burke, who had required medical treatment following a collision with Fedor Kuryashov in the first half, failed to reappear at the start of the second half. His place was taken by the Dundee United striker Lawrence Shankland. Playing Russia in the Luzhniki in Euro 2020 qualifying was a bit different from facing Alloa at the Indodrill in the Ladbrokes Championship, as he had done last Friday, but Shankland embraced the challenge and did the best he could with what little service he received. Stanislav Cherchesov’s side were vastly improved in the second half, no doubt after a few choice words from their manager. They edged in front in the 57th minute when Dzyuba outmuscled Charlie Mulgrew, got on the end of a Golovin corner and hooked a left foot shot into the net. Worse was to follow on the hour when Golovin laid the ball off to Ozdoev on the edge of the Scotland box. The Zenit midfielder unleashed an unstoppable shot which left Marshall with no chance. Dzyuba grabbed a second from close range in the 70th minute after barging Mulgrew out of his path to take his tally in this qualifying campaign to eight. Clarke put on Ryan Christie for Fraser and Stuart Armstrong for Fleck, but Golovin scored from an acute angle with six minutes remaining to cap another miserable evening