SCOTLAND’S international players constantly remind me of the cross-channel swimmer who does all the exacting preparatory work for the exertions ahead and then straps a grand piano to his back before taking the plunge.
Why make life easy for yourself?
And you just know the aquatic adventure won’t end well.
Likewise our wee country when it comes to major football tournaments. We rarely pass up the opportunity to shoot ourselves in the foot.
Whether you or I want to admit it, we’re only there to make up the numbers. So it proved again in the early hours of this morning in Miami.
BRIEF ENCOUNTER…Steve Clarke prepares to walk away after only 22 seconds of his BBC interview following Scotland’s dismal display against Brazil.
Brazil set the traps and, with an alarming display of naivety, our blinkered players stumbled towards oblivion. Crafty old Carlo Ancelotti was only too aware the Scots’ defence was vulnerable and instructed his players accordingly.
They stood off and allowed the Scots possession in their own half – and waited for the inevitable boo-boo.
It took a mere seven minutes before Scott McKenna trod on the first banana skin. For reasons known only to himself, the ponderous centre-back refused to do the simple thing and roll the ball to skipper Andy Robertson on his left.
As the Scot dithered momentarily, he was robbed of possession, the ball arrived welcomingly at the feet of a grateful Vinicius Junior and Steve Clarke’s men were a goal adrift.
Who could blame the international gaffer, hardly the most combustible character, for his terse initial interview with the BBC’s Eilidh Barbour shortly after the final whistle?
I don’t think for a moment that Clarke is a rude chap and the discussion – if you could call it that – ended abruptly after a mere 22 seconds as the distraught boss, unable to disguise his obvious inner seething, walked off camera.
Months of planning and preparation were obliterated by a ruinous performance from his gullible players who were too easily picked off by their superior opponents.
DOWN AND OUT…Scott McKenna reflects on a poor performance against Brzail.
It was three, but it could have been six or seven. The second goal just before the break typified a shambolic back-four. Once again, a misplaced clearance – this time from Rovertson – was pounced upon by a Brazilian and there was an immediate delivery to the back post.
Angus Gunn’s positional awareness could undoubtedly be questioned and the keeper flapped hopelessly at the cross. Nathan Patterson played Vinicius Junior onside and then lost his man, got under the ball and the rest was a piece of cake for the prolific forward.
Was anyone unduly taken aback by the indecisiveness of the the Scottish pair?
Gunn made one Premier League substitute appearance for Nottingham Forest all season while the right-back had a total of seven outings for Everton. Hardly ideal preparation for the rigours and expectation levels of a performer participating in the global extravaganza.
Scotland failed to get a solitary effort on target during a feeble first-half. They managed four after the turnaround with Alison Becker producing a couple of decent saves from Scott McTominay, the nation’s talisman who rarely featured in the opening 45 minutes.
Mind you, that criticism could be levelled at just about every other individual in a dark blue shirt as the dominant force on the field dictated events.
The third goal duly arrived after McKenna, a strapping physical specimen, was too easily brushed off the ball and Matheus Cunha was left with a clear run at Gunn and we all knew in an instant he wasn’t going to miss.
One goal – against Haiti – scored in three games in which two encounters were lost tells its own sad story. Morocco, of course, were the other benefactors with the gift of a 70-second winner after some more disturbingly lackadaisical defending.
Clarke now believes Scotland’s stay in the USA is over.
Who could argue?
ALEX GORDON
MAULING IN MIAMI: ‘I THINK WE’RE GOING HOME,’ ADMITS CLARKE
