Let’s now believe after phoney war
DON’T panic. Don’t fret. You know what they say about a lacklustre dress rehearsal, right? That we are heading into March’s Euro 2020 play-offs relying on a sort of ‘It’ll be all right on the night’ belief in fate, kismet and the power of positive thinking says plenty about both where Scotland’s national side stand — and the state of absolute desperation that exists among those of us who still, for all their faults, support them evermore.
We have to believe. Because the alternative, the thought of missing out on a tournament being partly hosted by our own national stadium, is too horrific to contemplate.
So, yes, last night’s comeback win over lowly Kazakhstan was not the emphatic morale-booster needed by the nation.
John McGinn channelling his inner Jimmy White to score with an in-off, then reviving the spirit of Joe Jordan by banjoing the keeper while Steven Naismith played the ball, was all very welcome after the loss of a first-half goal to the visitors. And McGinn capping a spectacular individual display with his seventh goal in six appearances, making it 3-1 late on, was pleasing.
But, honestly? As an evening’s entertainment, we might all have been better staying at home to watch the dynamic duo battle it out in the so-called leaders debate.
Be fair, though. And remember that this was merely the final act in a campaign that has long since been relegated to the status of a phoney war.
With automatic qualification gone, the best we could get out of the whole business was a boost to spirits. At worst, well, no great damage would be inflicted upon the nation.
How do Steve Clarke’s men shift from this holding position to a state of readiness for the real fight?
For starters, some impressive big-name reinforcements will be arriving in time for the spring offensive, obviously.
And Hampden will be full to bursting point for the visit of Bulgaria or AN Other, as fans clamour to watch Andy Robertson tearing down that left flank to send in cross after teasing cross.
Seriously, as an occasion and a contest, it will bear absolutely no similarity to this, this… well, this unappetising, uninspiring, uncomfortable scuffle of a nothing contest.
The Tartan Army stayed away in their droves, naturally. And it would be stretching things to describe the atmosphere as anything other than moderately better than miserable for much of the night.
With only James Forrest looking capable of actually injecting some pace into an attack that moved from side to side with predictable monotony, it looked as if a long, dull, deliberate slog was going to be the reward for the few — the unhappy few — who had braved the cold of a November night.
More worrying was the fact that Kazakhstan actually looked more than a little dangerous on the break.
And, as reassuring as the return of some star performers will undoubtedly be, the areas of most glaring concern won’t be addressed by Robertson and Scott McTominay slotting into the starting XI.
The centre of defence, long accepted as the most troubled of problem areas for the national team, continues to cause conniptions among anyone with the most basic understanding of football.
Even before the loss of the opener last night, it was obvious that a lot of Scottish possession would be pressed back towards the pairing of Scott McKenna and Declan Gallagher; this was the Kazakh plan.
Why? Because they knew neither man would be overly keen to do the one thing guaranteed to cause a bit of chaos in the massed ranks of yellow — driving into midfield, drawing players out of position and then picking the right pass to create something positive.
That’s just not a weapon in the armoury of either player, apparently. And that means a congested sort of trouble for a side who also play with two sitting midfielders.
If the centre-half pairing is a problem when Scotland have the ball, though, the issues caused when the opposition run at them represent a real crisis.
Witness McKenna backing off and backing off — then backing off some more — and allowing a gleeful Baktiyar Zainutdinov all the time in the world to pick his spot.
What do you think a team with better players, a side ranked higher than 121st in the world, might do with that kind of space? We won’t have long to wait for an answer on that one.
Fortunately, the ultimate ignominy — a defeat that would have denied Scotland even the consolation of finishing third in their group — was avoided.
McGinn’s sixth goal in as many games came from a free-kick deflected past the rooted keeper, while Naismith owed his team-mate for removing the goalkeeper with an ‘accidental’ stumble for Scotland’s second.
It was fitting that the Aston Villa player should clinch man-of-the-match honours with the third himself, then.
If he can stay fit until the spring, we’ll have a chance. Honest.
Just don’t think about the central defenders. Not if you want to maintain the cheery disposition so famously associated with Scotland fans over the past two decades and more.