Scotland’s World Cup dream is over.
Steve Clarke’s men couldn’t recover from a dreadful first half against Ukraine and a late rally proved to be too little too late.
Courier Sport picks out four talking points from a bitterly disappointing night at Hampden Park.
So much for Ukrainian ring-rust
The chief source of intrigue for this contest from a sporting point of view was – would a team with several players having not seen competitive action for six months be capable of producing a performance to better what a match-sharp from one to 11 Scotland would bring?
By all accounts, Ukraine’s three warm-up games were sedate affairs, as you would expect.
Had it been one of the under-cooked men yellow-carded for mistiming a midfield challenge on Billy Gilmour five minutes in, it would have been understandable.
Benfica’s Roman Yaremchuk had no such excuse, though.
That the first big chance fell to Ukraine – a Viktor Tsygankov shot tipped over by Craig Gordon – was an early pointer that they would be nearer to match-ready than many suspected.
The manner in which the men in all-yellow cut through the Scottish defence on 17 minutes – and should really have scored through Yaremchuk – reinforced that impression.
For a while this was playing out in the 50-50 manner predicted when these two nations were drawn together.
But when it became one-sided it was Ukraine who exerted control.
A one-goal lead at half-time was the least they deserved.
𝐔𝐊𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐃! 🇺🇦
A wonderful goal as Yarmolenko lobs Craig Gordon. pic.twitter.com/0yeYkA4N2W
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) June 1, 2022
Going two in front a few minutes after the restart made it fairer.
Fatigue looked like it might become a factor when Callum McGregor pulled one back but Ukraine’s running power never deserted them.
More importantly, neither did their ability to pass and move a football.
November was a long time ago
The nature of modern international football, with its clusters of games, lends itself to peaks and troughs.
I think we can safely say that Scotland are a prime example of the latter.
When beating Denmark at Hampden in November, most of their players were on top form and the team performance reflected that.
Now?
Lyndon Dykes and Che Adams came into this fixture without a goal between them in a combined total of 26 games; Billy Gilmour has been in an out of a dreadful Norwich City team; Scott McTominay’s confidence has plummeted along with most of his Manchester United team-mates; and Kieran Tierney is injured.
The decisive part of this match reflected too many players being well below their best and a key one being absent.
Andy Robertson on the open-top bus wasn’t the worry
The sight of Andy Robertson enjoying himself at the back of Liverpool’s open-top bus on Sunday afternoon while clutching a bottle of beer sparked one of the great social media over-reactions.
As if Scotland’s captain would turn up for a match of this importance worse for wear.
It was a preposterous notion.
And sure enough, it was the Robertson Anfield supporters adore who was charging up and down the Scotland left from the first minute to the last.
He sent over one of his trademark crosses to the back post early on and beat two men on another occasion before his shot was blocked.
Put it this way, the blame for the way the Scots were getting opened-up far too easily in the first half couldn’t be laid at his door.
The problems were through the middle and on the right.
There were a few of Robertson’s team-mates in defence and midfield who might have been better served having a couple of weekend beers.
They couldn’t have been more flat-footed in a first half that Scotland couldn’t recover from if they had.
Things improved in the last half-hour but it was too little, too late.
Over to Wales to be the bad guy
Everyone outwith Scotland got the heart-warming story they were wanting.
The Ukrainian players did their war-ravaged country proud – as we knew they would.
The Tartan Army struck the right note with their appreciation of the opposition’s national anthem – as we knew they would.
🏴 𝙎𝙘𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙫𝙨 𝙐𝙠𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙚 🇺🇦
🏆 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝘾𝙪𝙥 𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙮-𝙊𝙛𝙛 𝙎𝙚𝙢𝙞-𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 🏆
Up next… pic.twitter.com/pS60A4IV8R
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) June 1, 2022
The only booing from the stands was for the Scots who played like a disjointed and subdued side for 50-odd minutes, the like of which we thought we’d seen the back of in dark blue – certainly in the Clarke era.
It now falls to Wales to make a better job of being the bad guy.
For much of this match Scotland could scarcely have been more accommodating.
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