Analysis Corner: Scotland finally getting somewhere?
By Dougie Wright (@dougie_wright)
After a morale sapping 4-0 defeat to Belgium in front of a half empty Hampden on Friday night, the general mood ahead of Monday night’s Nations League clash with Albania was one of trepidation mixed with apathy. A series of friendly defeats had coloured the start to McLeish’s reign with pessimism, while punters seemed reluctant to part with £30 to watch Albania on a torrential Monday night in Glasgow.
When it was announced that Ryan Fraser and Leigh Griffiths had been dropped, the Twitter sharks smelled blood.
Yet Scotland got exactly what they needed last night.
Sometimes stats without context can mislead, yet two in particular paint a picture of the game: the hosts took 24 shots at goal, while the guests committed 20 fouls. Scotland were quietly rampant, creating chances at ease. Albania, no mugs on the international stage, could only tame the tartan tide with petty fouls.
It has been a criticism of recent Scotland teams that they simply contain too many players from the English lower leagues. There is a belief that Scotland managers have turned their nose up at domestic talent in favour of those plying their trade down south. Last night, six of the starting eleven came from the Scottish top flight. When Leigh Griffiths came on for Johnny Russell, that made seven.
While the aforementioned friendly defeats were watched on with growing dismay by the general public, in hindsight you wonder if they were laying the groundwork for a fluent team performance when it actually mattered.
Few would have guessed that the duo of Johnny Russell and Steven Naismith would be leading the line. In the last calendar year, Scotland’s front two have scored just thirteen competitive goals between them. Yet, through trial and error, McLeish looks to have found a partnership that is somewhat effective for the national team.
The latter was particularly impressive.
Having missed a back-post header from a yard out in the first half, Naismith made no such mistake just a minute into the second. Tierney, Armstrong and Robertson combined well with a series of short passes on the left side before the latter swung in a lovely cross to the Hearts forward.
In general, Naismith had a very solid game. It was his first competitive start for the national team in over three years, yet McLeish’s gamble paid off. The 31 year old has never been the best at taking players on. He’s far better off the ball than he is on it. Both goals involved finding enough space in tight penalty boxes, while his link up play and his pressing off the ball ensured that no Albania players could be caught sleeping.
From a tactical aspect, it seems fairly certain how Scotland are going to play for the foreseeable future.
Scotland were fairly lopsided in their build-up. As far as left sided centre backs go, Kieran Tierney was particularly ambitious going forward, linking up well with Robertson (effectively a left winger). The duo did well to keep Elseid Hysaj quiet with the Napoli fullback restricted to his own half for the duration of the game.
Robertson and Tierney are two standouts at Liverpool and Celtic respectively, and if this 3-5-2 formation sees them both prosper at international level, then it looks like the best choice.
On the other side, Stephen O’Donnell certainly did himself proud. As the game wore on, the Kilmarnock fullback became much more aggressive down the right side as Albania cottoned on to Scotland’s preference for the left. Before the game, many had questioned why O’Donnell should have started ahead of James Forrest. Yet this was another good call by Alex McLeish: O’Donnell’s mix of attacking verve and defensive competence provide a solid counterbalance to the more gung-ho left side.
All in all, it was a fine night at the office.
Looking at the facts, Scotland are now just three wins away from a major tournament. Our captain is a regular at one of the best sides in world football, while the likes of Tierney, McTominay and Souttar are already showing that they can be assets to the national team for the foreseeable future.
It's been nearly two years and seven competitive games since Scotland last tasted defeat.
Don’t hold your breath, but we may finally be going somewhere.
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