Strachan: Friendly ‘invaluable’ ahead of World Cup showdown
SCOTLAND 1 CANADA 1Manager finds positives out of lacklustre display as crucial Slovenia qualifier looms
GORDON Strachan last night insisted Scotland’s disappointing 1-1 draw with Canada in a friendly international at Easter Road had been “invaluable” ahead of the crucial Russia 2018 qualifier with Slovenia on Sunday.
The national team fell behind to rivals who are currently placed 117th in the FIFA world rankings when Fraser Aird of Falkirk netted in the 11th minute.
A first-half Steven Naismith goal levelled a match watch by just 9150 spectators – but the home team performed poorly and at no stage looked capable of recording a win.
It was an alarming display so close to a crucial Group F game at Hampden on Sunday which Scotland need to win in order to keep their slim hopes of reaching the next World Cup finals alive.
However, Strachan believes he learned a lot about the form and fitness of the players who were involved and is clearer about the starting line-up he will select this weekend.
“I think it is one of our better decisions to have a game,” he said. “It has cleared up a lot of things. It has helped the players and it has helped the coaching staff with where we’re going on Sunday.
“We learned quite a few things tonight. It wasn’t a great night, it won’t be memorable at the end of anyone’s career, but it was invaluable for me to use the information we collected tonight for Sunday.
“I thought a lot of players found it hard. Using a golfing analogy, it is very hard to take two months off at golf and then go and play in the US Masters. It isn’t the easiest course in the world.
“So it wasn’t the easiest pitch in the world to play on tonight with the conditions. To try and find your form in an international match on a night like this was hard. You could see our rust in the first 10 or 15 minutes.
“That spooked us for a bit. We could have been braver with our passes through people and braver to receive it. But when you haven’t played a lot of games it is very hard to just switch on and do that.”
Strachan added: “It will need to be better on Sunday – unless we’re very lucky. But we’re not going to try and rely on luck at the weekend, we are going to try and be better. It helped me a lot tonight that game.
“I’m sure a lot of players would have liked to have played a bit better, but that was the way it was. We will just have to deal with that and use the information we collected tonight for the game on Sunday.
“It is very hard coming to play at international level when you are not firing on all cylinders in your club game. It is hard to be put in the spotlight. But we needed to find that out.”
Strachan, whose side was booed off at the end of the 90 minutes, did feel that some of his players had performed well in the capital and had a chance of being involved against Slovenia.
“I thought Charlie [Mulgrew] was all right, Kech [Ikechi Anya] did fine, [Tom] Cairney made his debut, [Andy] Robertson came on and did well and Barry [Bannan] had some good touches,” he said.
“But I think some of us found it a bit difficult. The professionalism of [Darren] Fletcher kept us going at times. We learned a lot. I wouldn’t say it makes our decisions any easier, but it makes them clearer.”
SCOTLAND 1 CANADA 1
SEVERAL Scotland players had, according to their manager Gordon Strachan, an opportunity to force their way into contention for a start in the Russia 2018 qualifier against Slovenia on Sunday in this friendly international against Canada last night.
But after failing to overcome limited opponents who are a full 50 places below them in the FIFA world rankings at home, a fair few may well have played their way out of that crucial Group F match at Hampden.
It is, of course, important not to read too much into these sorts of meaningless run-outs. This was only taken on to give Strachan the opportunity to see his charges, many seriously lacking in game time, in action ahead of an important competitive fixture. It was little more than a training exercise.
Still, the poor quality of the performance and the final result were concerning just five days before a game which the national team have to win in order to keep their slim hopes of reaching the World Cup finals alive. At no stage did the home team look like triumphing. There will need to be a dramatic improvement this weekend if another costly draw or even a humiliating defeat is to be avoided.
There were pre-match pyrotechnics on the pitch as the teams came out. But if ever a game was a damp squib which failed to ignite the passions of the football public this was it.
The smallest crowd at a Scotland game in over a century had been widely predicted. In the end, a hardy 9150 souls braved the elements. But many of those who did come out will have regretted that they bothered. It was dire fare.
The return to form and fitness of Charlie Mulgrew at Blackburn Rovers in recent months has been welcomed by many Scotland supporters. The former Celtic man is a more reliable option at centre half than the others vying for a start in what has long been a problem position.
But he, along with Rangers left back Lee Wallace, was at fault for the visitors’ opening goal. The duo failed to deal with a Maxim Tissot cross they should have cleared without difficulty and needlessly gifted Fraser Aird the ball. The Falkirk winger drove a powerful shot beyond the exposed Allan McGregor.
That strike may have come about as the result of a defensive mix-up. But Canada had several chances to score again in the first 45 minutes. Indeed, they posed as much of, if not more of, a threat up front as their toothless hosts.
Aird went close again after a mazy run into the box, Simeon Jackson had a shot deflected over and Marco Bustos also fired narrowly wide. The often unconvincing display at the back did not augur well for the visit of Slovenia on Sunday.
Tom Cairney, who qualifies to play for this country due to his Scottish father, made his debut for his adopted homeland after being named in the starting line-up. Strachan has raved about the Fulham midfielder this season – he rates him as the best player in his position in the Sky Bet Championship on current form – and it was easy to see why.
Operating just in front of the deeplying Darren Fletcher in a 4-1-4-1 formation, Cairney looked undaunted at playing international football. He scrapped for possession and distributed the ball intelligently. The national team isn’t exactly short of players in his position, but he certainly looks like a viable option
It was his through ball to his club-mate Chris Martin, playing up front by himself, in the 24th minute which created the first Scotland scoring chance. The striker did well to get his shot on target, but goalkeeper Simon Thomas came off his line well and palmed it wide for a corner.
Cairney had a hand in the Scotland equaliser nine minutes later. The ball broke to him on the edge of the Canada area after some good work by Wallace on the left and, while he fluffed his firsttime shot from eight yards out, he inadvertently fed Naismith outside him. The forward did enough to help the ball over the line for his seventh Scotland goal.
Ikechi Anya started at right back, where he had played in the 3-0 defeat to England at Wembley in November, once again and won his 25th cap. The Derby County man, who has made most of his international appearances in a more advanced role, looked comfortable in the position and overlapped to great effect.
Anya, who played for the full 90 minutes, should have done enough to retain his place in the side this weekend. He was named man of the match at the end. Not that there were many other contenders.
Andy Robertson and Barry Bannan replaced Wallace and Oliver Burke at the start of the second half. Jordan Rhodes and Leigh Griffiths then took over from Naismith and Martin after an hour. The team switched to a 4-4-2 formation when the two strikers came on. John McGinn, the Hibernian midfielder, took over from Cairney with 15 minutes remaining. But the replacements made little difference to proceedings.
Rhodes had a chance to snatch a late winner when Griffiths teed him up with in injury-time. But he snatched at his shot and squandered the opportunity. It would, though, have been an injustice if Scotland had ended up victorious. The boos from the crowd at the final whistle told their own story.