Norgethistle Posted September 11, 2013 Report Share Posted September 11, 2013 Sure Macedonia had a few chances, but so did Scotland - Browns one on one in the 1st half and the 3 in the 2nd that just slipped past the post. Brown also should have given away a penalty, it shows how far we have fallen when we believe a last gasp victory against a poor macedonian team is things to celebrate about, any average to decent team would thump us on that performance last night Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenziejag Posted September 11, 2013 Report Share Posted September 11, 2013 Brown also should have given away a penalty, it shows how far we have fallen when we believe a last gasp victory against a poor macedonian team is things to celebrate about, any average to decent team would thump us on that performance last night At least this victory was achieved within 90 mins as opposed to the late victory vs Lichtenstein a few years ago. Every journey starts with small steps. I am not getting carried away with this, but we were well worthy of the win. Dont forget we also beat Croatia last away game in the group. Are they average ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bunny Posted September 11, 2013 Report Share Posted September 11, 2013 Brown also should have given away a penalty, it shows how far we have fallen when we believe a last gasp victory against a poor macedonian team is things to celebrate about, any average to decent team would thump us on that performance last night No one here is talking about getting submarines to Brazil next year (one for the oldies that) but after some years of constant decline we're finally seeing some improvement. A long way to go yet but you seem to be putting folk down for the sake of it. We're all aware we looked easily second best to Belgium and will have a difficult task qualifying for the next competition but at least there are some promising signs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norgethistle Posted September 11, 2013 Report Share Posted September 11, 2013 No one here is talking about getting submarines to Brazil next year (one for the oldies that) but after some years of constant decline we're finally seeing some improvement. A long way to go yet but you seem to be putting folk down for the sake of it. We're all aware we looked easily second best to Belgium and will have a difficult task qualifying for the next competition but at least there are some promising signs. Hardly, a guy of Browns experience should know better than charging into the back of an opponent in the back away in Europe, that's stating a fact, also stated our goals were good but our defense in the 2nd half was crap...... both true also, our sub keeper Gilks made a couple of very good saves but if the shots or chances had fallen to a player at a higher level he would have had no chance, they walked through our defense at times, going forward we looked handy and Anya impressed as did Mcarthur when he came on, the proof will be if we can perform against teams to our level or above in games that actually matter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck snort Posted September 11, 2013 Report Share Posted September 11, 2013 Brown also should have given away a penalty, it shows how far we have fallen when we believe a last gasp victory against a poor macedonian team is things to celebrate about, any average to decent team would thump us on that performance last night A poor Macedonian team that completely outplayed us at Hampden a year ago when we were lucky to escape with a draw. A team that have beaten Bulgaria, Slovenia, Wales and Denmark in Skopje in the last year. I don't think anyone is getting carried away but the difference from the performance against them at Hampden to that yesterday is night and day. All we are looking for just now is a bit of progress and that's definitely happening under Strachan. Over the last 4 games we've had spells where we've kept possession better than any Scotland team in a long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fearchar Posted September 11, 2013 Report Share Posted September 11, 2013 (edited) All good teams are built on a solid defence - and ours just didn't cut it, even against the Macedonians. The first-half defending was reasonable, but achieved through packing the box. As Norgethistle said, "any average to decent team would thump us on that performance last night". It was a disappointing performance after the creditable showing against England, with very little to inspire confidence that improvement will follow. Edited September 11, 2013 by Fearchar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck snort Posted September 11, 2013 Report Share Posted September 11, 2013 All good teams are built on a solid defence - and ours just didn't cut it, even against the Macedonians. The first-half defending was reasonable, but achieved through packing the box. As Norgethistle said, "any average to decent team would thump us on that performance last night". It was a disappointing performance after the creditable showing against England, with very little to inspire confidence that improvement will follow. Can't agree with that at all. First half the defence wasn't under any pressure because we kept the ball so well. To say we packed the box is ridiculous. We played most of the game in their half! Macedonia's only real chance came from a counter attack after a Scotland corner. 2nd half we did sit deeper when we were under more pressure but only conceded thanks to a sublime through ball from Pandev and a tidy finish. There were other near things but to suggest an average team would have thumped us is nonsense. Belgium are a far better than average team and only scored 2, both thanks to Scotland errors. Russell Martin looks a real find at centre back. He's barely put a foot wrong since he came in to the team. Hanley is prone to a couple of errors a game but that's to be expected for someone so inexperienced. Hopefully he'll develop. Hutton's been ok recently but I'd prefer to see Whittaker switched to right back if we can find a left back. Wallace has the potential. It's just a pity he's playing against part timers every week. At least he's likely to be up a level by the time the Euro qualifiers start. I'd like to see Paul Dixon given a couple of games. He did well when he played against Serbia last year. There's a long way to go but I am encouraged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackpool Jags Posted September 11, 2013 Report Share Posted September 11, 2013 Slight diversion, but listening to Wigan's McCarthy on SS News earlier commenting on Trappatoni's sacking made me feel resentful of him. I know it's his business and nobody else's, but listening to a decent player with a clear Glasgow accent and full Scottish birthright who chose to ignore us and play for the ROI got right up my nose. Baws tae him. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenziejag Posted September 12, 2013 Report Share Posted September 12, 2013 All good teams are built on a solid defence - and ours just didn't cut it, even against the Macedonians. The first-half defending was reasonable, but achieved through packing the box. As Norgethistle said, "any average to decent team would thump us on that performance last night". It was a disappointing performance after the creditable showing against England, with very little to inspire confidence that improvement will follow. Again, how average are Croatia. It was may have been a disappointing 2nd half, but you expect international teams to have a go at you at some point in the game. In the 1st we totally dominated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norgethistle Posted September 12, 2013 Report Share Posted September 12, 2013 Again, how average are Croatia. It was may have been a disappointing 2nd half, but you expect international teams to have a go at you at some point in the game. In the 1st we totally dominated We had 1 shot which we scored from, a very very good defensive performance from the team though, now if our defense had played like that on Tuesday with the way we went forward I would have been more impressed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redandyellowallover Posted September 12, 2013 Report Share Posted September 12, 2013 Brown also should have given away a penalty, it shows how far we have fallen when we believe a last gasp victory against a poor macedonian team is things to celebrate about, any average to decent team would thump us on that performance last night It's worth noting that Macedonia have only lost by more than one goal once in this campaign. Croatia only beat them 2-1 in Skopje and they would have been happy with that considering Serbia were beaten there. I'm not really sure what you're expecting of Scotland here. Are you expecting us to go there and completely dominate them for 90 mins, create loads of chances and beat them 3 or 4 nil? If so then I think you're expectations are seriously unrealistic. They were saying that Belgium were the only team to win there in the last 5 games so it's not as if it has been easy for teams to go there and pick up points. Away wins for Scotland have been pretty few and far between in the past 4 or 5 years. Even under Brown when we were qualifying for tournaments we struggled against teams from Eastern Europe, needing late goals to beat Latvia, drawing with Estonia and narrowly beating Belarus to name but a few. Any Scotland away win should be something to be celebrated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenziejag Posted September 12, 2013 Report Share Posted September 12, 2013 We had 1 shot which we scored from, a very very good defensive performance from the team though, now if our defense had played like that on Tuesday with the way we went forward I would have been more impressed Ok, so more emphasis on defence vs the above average teams and a bit more attack minded vs the below average teams. Both these strategies have risks but this is maybe the way to go for now to build confidence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady-isobel-barnett Posted September 12, 2013 Report Share Posted September 12, 2013 If Scotland appeared slow could it not be down to the heat and/or humidity?. I try not to be too judgmental when watching a game on the telly. I'm quick to correct folk who've watched either of our televised games this season when they make a comment well of the mark. Admittedly TV is great for settling contentious decisions but is greatly lacking when it comes to portraying the big picture (npi).. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
German Jag Posted September 12, 2013 Report Share Posted September 12, 2013 If Scotland appeared slow could it not be down to the heat and/or humidity?. I try not to be too judgmental when watching a game on the telly. I'm quick to correct folk who've watched either of our televised games this season when they make a comment well of the mark. Admittedly TV is great for settling contentious decisions but is greatly lacking when it comes to portraying the big picture (npi).. Just back from Skopje. Was warm, but nothing which should have a professional footballer having to slow things down. Also humidity was very low! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norgethistle Posted September 12, 2013 Report Share Posted September 12, 2013 Ok, so more emphasis on defence vs the above average teams and a bit more attack minded vs the below average teams. Both these strategies have risks but this is maybe the way to go for now to build confidence. All the decent and good Scotland teams of the past were solid at the back, like the good Liverpool era, and our Team last year, build from the back out, installs confidence in the team Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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