Steve Clarke can do without any more occasions akin to this. Relegation to the second tier of the Nations League is no disaster for Scotland. Indeed, it may be their natural habitat. It is just that the calamitous circumstances in which Clarke’s men crashed out of League A were alarming for anybody with an affiliation to Scotland.
Greece outfought, outthought and outplayed their hosts at Hampden Park. The tie was effectively over while the corporate classes were still shuffling back to their seats at the start of the second half. Greece did not add to that third goal; it never looked as if they would need to.
Resentment towards Clarke, unavoidable after Scotland flopped at Euro 2024, had dissipated after a recent upturn in fortunes. Greece sent Clarke and Scotland spiralling several steps backwards. Ivan Jovanovic and his Greek players will be licking their lips at facing Scotland again on World Cup qualifying business.
This was an evening when no part of the Scotland team performed even adequately. The hosts were overly generous in defence, wasteful in midfield and no threat whatsoever in attack.
Clarke makes great play of the fact his squad contains great international experience. The flipside, as evidenced here, is that perhaps this is a team which has reached the end of their cycle. Clarke can reasonably argue there is no emerging batch of talent to draft in. The friendly matches against Iceland and Liechtenstein in June, three months before Scotland begin their World Cup quest, suddenly look rather important.
“We didn’t play how we can play,” Clarke said. “We didn’t have enough energy in the team. On Thursday night in Greece we defended as a team, from back to front. We didn’t do that tonight and were punished. This is a bump in the road. There are bumps in the road, it’s about how you react to them.”
Clarke suggested the exertions of the first leg played a part in Scotland’s lethargy in game two. “I’ll go away and look at myself to see what I could have done better,” the Scotland manager said. “Maybe I didn’t make enough rotations. Maybe I could have made more to freshen the team up. We have to analyse it, park this tournament because we go down to League B and try to do better.”
John McGinn was even more candid. The Scotland midfielder labelled this an “embarrassing” affair.
The game had opened in rousing fashion. Tribute was paid to the late Denis Law, with members of the Scotland icon’s family joining Sir Alex Ferguson pitchside. What Law would have made of what happened next is anybody’s guess. It was grisly, gruesome stuff for the Scots.
“Wonderkid” is an overused term. In respect of Konstantinos Karetsas, it is perfectly apposite. The 17‑year‑old is such an elegant, creative force that Genk should enjoy him while he lasts; bigger clubs are casting admiring glances. In his first action of this clash he fed Georgios Vagiannidis on the right flank. The use of marauding full‑backs was a key Greek tactic that Scotland could not combat. Vagiannidis crossed for Giannis Konstantelias in blissful isolation inside the Scotland penalty area: Konstantelias slammed home to level the tie.
Greece forged ahead on aggregate three minutes before the break. Karetsas endorsed his star quality with a curling finish after Konstantelias flicked the ball into his path. Andy Robertson, one of umpteen Scotland players who endured an awful evening, had been drawn towards the ball in leaving Karetsas totally unmarked.
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Clarke will draw criticism for not making half-time changes. Just 15 seconds of the second period had been played when Konstantelias pounced on a loose Ryan Christie pass. Konstantelias picked out Christos Tzolis, who sprung the offside trap before delivering a cool finish. Scotland had been bamboozled through simplicity once again.
John Souttar’s goalline clearance prevented a Greek fourth. Billy Gilmour was visibly irked at being substituted, sentiment shared a Scotland support which made its collective feelings plain. It took until the dying seconds of stoppage time for Konstantinos Tzolakis, the Greece goalkeeper, to make a save of note. By then, this stadium was largely empty. Any Scot who remained did so only to voice their displeasure at full time.
“I had no doubt we could rise to the occasion,” Jovanovic said. Such an emphatic victory was, surely, beyond the coach’s wildest dreams. Clarke has been left with so much to ponder; repeat performances will lead to his tenure ending in inauspicious style.
Source: theguardian.com
