CRAIG GORDON watched his Celtic team-mate Scott Bain make his Scotland debut yesterday – and then described the 3-0 collapse against Kazakhstan as his country’s worst result in memory.
The crocked Hoops keeper was left out of the squad through injury as Scotland prepared for the double-header in Astana yesterday and San Marino on Sunday.
The tie against the Kazakhs saw the Scots two goals adrift in the first 10 minutes against a team rated 117th in the world lists and with only three victories their previous 30 competitive games – against Andorra, Latvia and the Faroe Islands.
It was the most appalling start under-pressure manager Alex McLeish could have endured in a difficult qualifying group for Euro 2020, including Belgium and Russia.
Gordon, who has made 54 appearances for his country, now thinks San Marino, the lowest-ranked side in world football, might FANCY their chances at the weekend.
Reflecting on the loss, the 36-year-old shotstopper, speaking to Sky Sports, said: “I can’t think of a worse one. It’s a devastating blow, especially against a team who hadn’t won at all in their previous qualifying campaign.
“To lose in the manner that we’ve lost, it’s a huge blow.
“I’ve been there in bad defeats, it’s not a nice place to be, that dressing room will be a quiet place to be, but they’ll have to pick themselves up – San Marino might fancy their chances of us coming there now after watching that.
“Beating them won’t eradicate tonight, but they need to start getting points on the board.
“We obviously need our best 11 players playing every game, so whoever that is, we need them fit and available. That’s going to be difficult – there’s a lot of games played through the season and it’s a difficult stage, where people have picked up knocks, and we are going to struggle to get our best 11 out every single time.”
Bain, who has taken over the No.1 position at the champions and has played every game in 2019, was left exposed at all three goals by a defence that lacked cohesion and understanding.
Callum McGregor made his debut as his nation’s skipper, but the Parkhead playmaker could do nothing to turn around the fortunes of the Scots as they were dominated by the home team.
