Where Scotland Went Wrong vs England

By Dougie Wright. (@dougie_wright)

The colour pink isn’t exactly one you’d usually associate with terror.

Up until last year, most Scots would associate the colour with strawberry ice cream or an iced doughnut. However, with four defeats in four games (eleven conceded, zero scored), Scotland’s pink jersey might just have ruined the colour permanently for the nation’s football fans.

In all seriousness, Friday’s result was the continuation of a trend that’s been going on for over a decade. At first glance, 8 wins from 26 away games isn’t terrible. However, when you remember that victories over Liechtenstein, Gibraltar, Malta, Macedonia and the Faroe Islands are included within that 8, you get a more accurate look at where Scotland are at just now.

The fact is that Scotland are fairly easy to score against, especially if you’ve done your homework. A great example of this concerns crossing.

Modern coaches are now actively discouraging crossing: the stats show that just one in every fifty crosses will result in a goal. This is because most coaches have learned how to structure a defence that either wins the ball outright, or significantly dilutes the quality of header that results from the cross.

However, of the last ten goals Scotland have conceded, eight have come from a cross, including England’s three headers on Friday. Most damning for Gordon Strachan is that for Gary Cahill’s third goal, every single member of the Scotland team was inside the box. This is something the national team needs to work on urgently going forward.

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Speaking of going forward, Scotland didn’t have much luck there either. Twelve shots taken, and just two were on target. If this was just a one off, you could argue that Scotland were just unlucky. However, when you add in the previous two offerings against Slovakia and Lithuania, a horrible statistic rears its head.

In their last three games, Scotland have taken forty one shots and scored only once. That’s shots being converted into goals at a rate of less than 2.5%.

This is extremely worrying when you look at what Scotland are letting in. Over the same period, Scotland have conceded seven goals from twenty six shots; a conversion rate of 26%.

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To put this in very plain terms: Scotland need forty shots to score a goal, while their opponents only need four.

So how does the national team get better? Well, it’s not all doom and gloom going forward.

First of all, Leigh Griffiths certainly did not disgrace himself at Wembley. Aside from electing to shoot from 30 yards instead of slipping in Robert Snodgrass for a 1 on 1, the Celtic hitman performed reasonably well. Three shots on goal is not bad at all for a lone striker, while his pressing high up the park won the ball back twice for Scotland to create a chance to score. All in all, the 26 year old was involved in five of Scotland’s twelve chances on the night.

Meanwhile, on the left hand side, Lee Wallace gave Scotland a threat going forward with his overlapping runs. The Rangers captain was involved in creating a third of Scotland’s chances, and with Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney both injured, it’s reassuring that Scotland has strength in depth in at least one position.

Finally, spare a thought for poor Grant Hanley. Lost his man for two of the three goals, succeeded in just one of his seven long range passes, and missed an open header from five yards out. However, with just 150 minutes of Championship football under his belt all season, you have to wonder what Strachan is thinking in throwing him into the heart of the Scottish defence with such little match practice. John Souttar has been wonderful for Hearts this season, and at 20 years old, he only has room to get better. Promoting the youngster would be one seed of many needing planted in order for Scotland to see the green shoots of recovery in the near future.

Analysis by Dougie Wright. Follow him on more Twitter for more analysis like this @dougie_wright