Doom and gloom for Mcleish as Scots are booed off in Israel
● Souttar sent off during dire second half in Haifa ● All three sides level in Nations League group
Scotland manager Alex Mcleish has admitted his side have to pick up the pieces after a dire second-half display in Israel last night put their playoff qualifying hopes in serious jeopardy.
Scotland were booed off by some visiting fans after falling to their first competitive defeat in nearly two years. John Souttar was sent off with half an hour to go after a second bookable offence. The Hearts defender’s flailing arm struck Israel danger man Munas Dabbur in the face.
“I thought it was soft,” said Mcleish. “The ref was about 60 yards away, not up with play. Maybe he had something [advice] in his ear. We were ready to take John off. It was ill-timed.”
A penalty from Charlie Mulgrew put Scotland ahead in the first half but they were rarely comfortable in the heat of Haifa.
An own goal from Kieran Tierney with 15 minutes left condemned Scotland to defeat after Dor Peretz had equalised shortly after half-time. Israel also struck the woodwork twice while goalkeeper Allan Mcgregor made several superb stops .
“We had a great performance against Albania, a good win,” said Mcleish. “We have to pick it up, simple as that. That’s what it’s like in football, you go on to the next one. We are obviously going to get a bit of stick for this and it’s up to us to bounce back, that’s what I expect from Scottish people. I will look to win both games [left in the group] but whatever it takes [to qualify]. No player is happy about losing.
“They are all gutted in there. Young John [Souttar] is devastated. Young players are allowed to make mistakes. In international football you ALEX MCLEISH get punished for mistakes. It’s doom and gloom. We now face the consequences of losing. We suffer a bit. I have been in the game long enough to know that.”
Mcleish was asked about the
supporters, many of whom barracked the players – and manager – at the end. “The fans want us to win,” he said. “We are right behind the fans. They give the players energy. I urge the fans to support the players.”
Scotland can still overcome this setback, but losing to a team ranked 94th in the world and who had won only once in their last 10 outings is hardly likely to raise confidence.
All three teams in C1 sit on three points after two games played. Israel play Albania at home on Sunday in a qualifier while Scotland take on Portugal in a tough-looking friendly at Hampden Park.
“They are all gutted in there. Young John [Souttar] is devastated. In international football you get punished for mistakes”
Uefa have done their best this week to try and reinforce just how valuable an addition the Nations League is to the international calendar.
From Scotland’s perspective, the prospect of guaranteeing a play-off spot for the Euro 2020 finals was already incentive enough to try and win Group C1, a task made far more problematic by last night’s dispiriting defeat in Haifa.
But the news that Uefa have decided on a 50 per cent increase in prize money for their new tournament, meaning the Scottish FA will pick up a handy £2 million if Alex Mcleish’s squad manage to finish above Israel and Albania in their three-team section, was an added reminder of how much significance it carries.
The most precious currency in football, of course, is goals. How Scotland will get theirs during this inaugural Nations League campaign, and the Euro 2020 qualifiers to follow next year, has dominated much of the debate around them this week.
The furore created by Leigh Griffiths’ decision to withdraw from last night’s assignment, preferring to stay at home and work on his fitness at Celtic, was in all probability out of proportion to the effect it had on Mcleish’s planning for the match. The Scotland manager was always likely to keep faith with the team who had kicked off the group with last month’s 2-0 win over Albania at Hampden. So it proved, with Steven Naismith retaining the main striker’s role in which he had dislodged Griffiths during the previous international break.
The Hearts forward, who made his Scotland debut back in 2007 during Mcleish’s first spell in charge of the national team, was as industrious as ever on his 48th appearance for his country and didn’t take long to vindicate his selection.
The 25th minute penalty kick which put Scotland in the driving seat at the Sammy Ofer Stadium might have been of the soft variety, but full credit to Naismith for his movement as he ran onto Andrew Rob- ertson’s pass and his awareness that Israeli defender Dor Peretz had found himself poorly positioned. His barge on Naismith was sufficient for Polish referee Daniel Stefanski to point to the spot from where Charlie Mulgrew made a consummate job of slamming home the third goal of his Scotland career.
Israel goalkeeper Ariel Harush had precious little else to concern him in a first half largely dominated by the hosts and which gave both Naismith and Johnny Russell, his chief supporting act up front, minimal opportunity to make an impact.
Allan Mcgregor was far busier at the other end of the pitch, the Rangers goalkeeper required to maintain the excellent form he has shown since the start of the season for club and country. On the occasion of his 40th cap, Mcgregor made fine saves to deny Peretz and the dangerous Munas Dabbur, scorer of a double for Red Bull Salzburg against Celtic last week. With Ben Sahar also striking the foot of Mcgregor’s left-hand
“It remains to be seen whether a fully fit leigh Gr if fiths, or anyone else for that matter, can provide the spark so badly needed for the trip to face albania on 17 November and the potential group de cider against israel three days later at hampden”
post, the Scots were extremely fortunate to carry the 1-0 lead into the interval.
Their luck duly ran out when Peretz slotted home Israel’s richly deserved equaliser seven minutes into a second half in which the visitors struggled to deal with significant disruption to their defensive set-up.
With Scott Mckenna replacing the injured Mulgrew at the break, the dismissal of John Souttar for his second bookable offence just after the hour provided fresh encouragement for an Israeli side who had the scent of a rare victory in their nostrils. Scotland were under the cosh and should have fallen behind in the 65th minute when Taleb Tawatha contrived to hit the crossbar from inside the six-yard box.
Russell, still awaiting his first international goal, saw his eighth appearance for Scotland come to an end when replaced by James Forrest as Mcleish sought to give his team a fresh outlet to relieve the pressure. But it remained fairly constant until the dam finally burst with 16 minutes left when Kieran Tierney sliced Beram Kayal’s cross into his own net.
Mcleish’s final throw of the dice saw Oli Mcburnie make his first competitive appearance for Scotland, the Swansea striker taking over from the tiring Naismith.
Callum Mcgregor missed the best chance of an equaliser in the closing stages as Israel, despite facing ten men, were content to protect their lead and wait for opportunities to catch Scotland on the counterattack.
It was a painful evening for Mcleish who has now lost five of his seven matches since returning for a second stint as manager. Israel have an opportunity to take charge of the group if they can beat Albania in Beersheba on Sunday, increasing the pressure on Mcleish ahead of Scotland’s final two fixtures next month.
It remains to be seen whether a fully fit Leigh Griffiths, or anyone else for that matter, can provide the spark so badly needed for the trip to face Albania on 17 November and the potential group decider against Israel at Hampden three days later. No-one at the Scottish FA will be counting on that £2 million bounty from Uefa with any confidence just yet.