IT’S RESPITE IN THE RAIN
Six goals against minnows is nothing to be sniffed at in lean years post-Strachan
THE second anniversary of Gordon Strachan’s dismissal as Scotland manager passed quietly on Saturday without fuss or ceremony. There were no mea culpas or apologies. No admissions of wrongdoing on the part of the SFA, or from those of us who had felt his time was up.
A 2-2 draw with Slovenia in October 2017 ended the nation’s hopes of reaching the World Cup finals and, having already watched England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland reach Euro 2016, while Scotland watched on TV, the SFA board decided the time was right for a change.
Statistics can be deceptive. Yet the facts and figures of the last two years bear out an old saying when it comes to changing a manager. Be careful what you wish for.
When Strachan was axed, Scotland were unbeaten in seven games. In came Alex McLeish, and that didn’t work, while Steve Clarke has since replaced him.
In the 19 games played since Strachan’s departure, Scotland’s national team have now won seven. Two of them against the footballing giants of San Marino.
Listen, Clarke will take a win wherever he can find one. His second in six games in charge was highlighted by a first-half hat-trick for John McGinn.
The former Hibs player became the first Scotland international to score a first-half treble since Easter Road icon Lawrie Reilly did the same against the USA in 1952.
The second half was a slightly farcical affair as tumbling rain formed puddles on the Hampden pitch.
The misery was relieved by goals for two starting debutants, Lawrence Shankland tapping in the fourth before Stuart Findlay became the first Kilmarnock player to score for Scotland since Tommy McLean against Wales in a 5-3 win in 1969. Substitute Stuart Armstrong added a late sixth with a stunning free-kick.
There’s no reason to hang out the bunting just yet. Far from moving in the right direction since dispensing with Strachan, Scotland have gone backwards and a thumping one-sided win over the no-hopers of Europe in awful conditions does nothing to change the task at hand.
Before he was also put out with the trash, McLeish secured a Nations League play-off. And, with automatic qualification for the Euro 2020 finals gone, Clarke’s task is to forge a team capable of beating the likes of a Norway side who claimed a stoppage-time point against Spain on Saturday night.
On a dark, sodden night in Glasgow, there was never much doubt Scotland would win. The question was by how many.
When Scotland only won 2-0 in San Marino in the dying days of the McLeish reign, the Tartan Army made their feelings known.
In the wake of a 4-0 defeat by Russia in Moscow, yesterday’s dreadful weather was a poor incentive to pay almost £30 for a dead-rubber game against the continental minnows.
Yet a higher crowd than expected braved the elements to see Scotland do the needful.
If there is no credit to be drawn from beating a team thrashed 9-0 by Belgium, some solace can be taken from the fact there was no shame either. And it’s not often Scotland can say that.
The opening goal came in 12 minutes, the first of three for McGinn despite legitimate grounds for doubt.
Ryan Christie and James Forrest, both omitted from the starting line-up in Russia, played either side of Shankland in a 4-3-3 formation.
In what was his ninth cap, Christie will feel he scored his first Scotland goal when he gathered a diagonal ball on the edge of the area, cut inside and curled a low effort towards the bottom corner.
McGinn’s late run certainly distracted goalkeeper Aldo Simoncini enough to see the ball creep into the net. Whether the Aston Villa man actually touched it en route is a moot point.
A scorer in the 2-1 defeat to Russia at Hampden last month, he was given the benefit of the doubt.
There was no argument over the second goal in 27 minutes.
The torrential rain tumbling from a leaden Glasgow sky made for treacherous handling conditions for Simoncini and it showed when he diverted a harmless Scott McTominay cross straight at the feet of McGinn for a tap-in.
For Scotland, the menace came not from San Marino, but from the weather. After days of fretting over the impact conditions might have on Scotland’s Rugby World Cup hopes, Typhoon Haggis put in an appearance over Hampden, the ball visibly holding up in pools of water on the pitch.
Nevertheless, McGinn claimed a rare and precious Scotland hat-trick before half-time.
Christie’s corner was headed towards goal by Findlay, before the Scotland No 8 spun and
thumped the ball into the net from close range for 3-0.
The second half began in conditions better suited to synchronised swimming. Despite almost no bounce on the ball on the sodden surface, French referee Jerome Brisard clearly took the view that it made more sense to plough on. Almost literally.
The sheer difficulty of passing the ball did nothing for hopes of more Scotland goals, the water on the pitch making passing the ball a lottery.
A deflected Andrew Robertson cross almost caught out Simoncini while, at the other end, Scotland’s debutant keeper Jon McLaughlin finally had a save to make — his first of the game — from Filippo Berardi after an hour. For Scotland’s keeper, the greater threat was pneumonia.
The interest of the crowd was resurrected by the debutants taking centre stage. Shankland claimed his first Scotland goal after 65 minutes, tapping home from close range after McTominay’s 25-yard curling shot careered off the crossbar and dropped at the striker’s feet.
Within two minutes, it was Findlay’s turn, the defender’s delight obvious as he firmly headed Christie’s corner kick into the net for 5-0. More accustomed to losing goals from corners, the sight of Scotland scoring from one was a welcome change.
Johnny Russell and Armstrong replaced Callum McGregor and hat-trick hero McGinn, the Southampton midfielder making his mark with a stunning free-kick into the top corner for 6-0 with four minutes to play.
A point behind a Cyprus side beaten by Russia yesterday, victory in Nicosia next month would elevate the Scots to third in Group I with a home game against Kazakhstan to finish. After two years of going in the wrong direction, it’s something.