From Poland sickening Scotland late in the day at Hampden, to Cristiano Ronaldo doing the same in Lisbon, it was VAR’s turn on Saturday night in Zagreb to bring the haunted look back to the faces of Steve Clarke’s team.
A point at the end? Glory be! But, no. Life is not like that for this Scotland right now. Offside. Goal ruled out. Defeat, again.
From Spain to France, from the Netherlands to Germany, from Portugal and now Croatia, Scotland’s miserable run carries on. Call it The Errors Tour.
The end wasn’t swift in Zagreb; it was a slow burn like many before it. A goal in the 100th minute to lose to the Hungarians, a goal in the 97th minute to lose to the Poles, a goal in the 88th minute to lose to the Portuguese, a goal disallowed in the 94th minute to lose to the Croatians.
“Always make the audience suffer as much as possible” was the mantra of the great film-maker Alfred Hitchcock. Psycho and all of that. Right now, this Scotland team’s life is one giant loop of the shower scene. For Janet Leigh read the Tartan Army, screaming in horror at another late loss bursting through the curtain.
Those words from Hitchcock could become Clarke’s catchphrase. One win in 15 and yet more agony prior to Portugal’s visit to Hampden on Tuesday night.
Stand by for something wild. Scotland winning 2–0 when the floodlights fail or the heavens open or a plague of angry birds descend forcing the players to flee. It’s just where they are right now. Scotland could try and buy a win but their card would be rejected.
This was a more than admirable performance, but another one that left Clarke trying to pick his players up from the floor. Another narrow defeat that had encouraging things in it, but one that extends the worst run of competitive results in Scotland’s history.
A draw would have arrested the grim feeling that has closed in on this group pretty much from the moment they qualified for the Euros, but they were denied the crumb Clarke would have turned into a feast.
There is huge nuance in this, but you get the feeling that for many, any appreciation or understanding of nuance was cast into the bin in Stuttgart when Clarke sent his team out against Hungary in the Euros with a caution first-second-and-third approach in a game they had to win.
The memory of it follows him around. It’s his shadow. It’s the grey cloud above his head. It’s the noise that goes bump in the night. Clarke can point to three close-run things against class opposition in the three games since Hungary, but some have just tuned out. Not interested. Send us a message when there’s a new manager.
That’s what Clarke is fighting. Cynicism and scepticism. Old friends. They were waiting for him when he first set foot in the job, then he chased them away and now they’re back.
Shorn of an entire team with at least three, and possibly as many as five or six, certain starters missing, Scotland showed a whole lot of resilience. They weren’t outclassed. They weren’t overrun.
Luka Modric was a fairly hushed presence for 45 minutes and even though his influence grew, this was not the Modric show we’ve seen before against Scotland.
Scotland took the lead and then lost it. They fell behind and then, for a few glorious seconds, looked like they’d drawn level. A point would have been a springboard for Clarke. A tangible piece of optimism.
Once more he was left talking about positive signs and being on the right road and hoping against hope that his doubters are listening and understanding.
There were positive signs and you could easily argue they are on the right road, but it doesn’t take from the irritation of seeing them lose again. Ben Doak came into the team and showed up well. His pace and fearlessness will be an enormous asset. He is only a child but mixed it with men on Saturday and made an impressive contribution.
Scotland’s defence was missing the first-choice goalkeeper and, arguably, four guys who might have started, but they were resolute. There is a degree of hope that down the line, when the cavalry returns, a new phase can be entered.
Throw in Aaron Hickey and Kieran Tierney, Scott McKenna and Jack Hendry, Nathan Patterson and John McGinn, Lewis Ferguson and the pick of the kids – Lennon Miller, David Watson, Max Johnston and others – and the picture alters.
For some, bionic vision might be required to see that future, though. When you’ve won one game – an ugly thing against Gibraltar – in a year then it can be hard to see beyond the present. Clarke is losing supporters by the game. That’s the reality of it. Honourable defeats ain’t changing that.
So we move on to Hampden on Tuesday and Ronaldo with his nostrils flaring at the thought of getting at a defence that has conceded seven goals in three games in this group so far. One of them to him, of course.
We move on to another patchwork team doing its damndest to defy the odds. The defeats we’ve seen in the Nations League have been altogether different in tone than the Hungary one in the summer, which was just an abomination.
On Saturday, again, Scotland tried to play with as much ambition as they could, but it didn’t bring the reward their manager is desperate for.
Clarke will now try to get it against Ronaldo’s boys. He’ll have mercy, won’t he?
