- Published
For 45 turgid minutes in Slovenia, some in the Tartan Army might have reimagined the Steve Clarke years as a time of plenty, the halcyon era of ambitious football when Scotland were an all-electric thrill-fest.
uncertain
Scotland → publish → football
The opening half of the Sebastien Pocognoli regime was, as expected, disjointed.
asserted
half → expect → regime
It was also, rather unexpectedly, devoid of anything remotely related to what Pocognoli laid out as his non-negotiables - front-foot pressing, high intensity, speed of thought and mind, goal threat.
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Pocognoli → relate → thought
They had no shot on target and lost so many aerial duels that you stopped counting beyond the half-hour mark.
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you → have → mark
They took 38 minutes to touch the ball in Slovenia's penalty area.
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They → take → area
Everybody who preached patience in the new era gulped hard.
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who → preach → era
We didn't expect champagne, but this was stale beer.
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this → expect → champagne
And then it changed, not so completely that Scotland roared and won the game, but they certainly cleared their throats as an attacking force.
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they → change → force
McBurnie and co show promise without poise
From being impotent, they became thrusting.
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they → show → poise
That second half was as big a 0-0 rout as you're likely to see.
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you → see → ?
Frustrating, but encouraging at the same time.
It will be agonising for Oli McBurnie that he's still without an international goal - he said he wouldn't sleep after failing to convert a one-on-one with Jan Oblak - but his second-half performance was full of good things; efforts on goal, link-up play, presence and danger.
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performance → say → goal
Robbie Ure hit a post, Kieron Bowie had a terrific chance, but missed.
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Bowie → hit → chance
The three strikers drew a blank, but as far as 0-0s go, it offered hope that more productive days may lay ahead with these guys.
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days → draw → guys
All 10 starting outfield players had a shot on goal, the first time that's happened since June 2022, against Armenia.
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that → start → Armenia
Scotland had 17 shots, their most attempts in a competitive game in more than 14 years.
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Scotland → have → years
The flipside is that they have now failed to score in three tournament games in a row for the first time in almost 22 years.
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they → fail → years
After the break, Pocognoli dropped McBurnie a little deeper, in a pocket just behind Robbie Ure and then Bowie when he came on.
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he → drop → Ure
He got Billy Gilmour to sit lower in midfield, where he had time to dictate, which he absolutely did.
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he → get → which
Gilmour tied it all together in the second half.
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Gilmour → tie → half
Pocognoli called it "two games in one game" and he was right.
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he → call → game
The subtle shift in McBurnie's and Gilmour's positioning brought Scotland alive.
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shift → bring → Scotland
McBurnie, not so much the prodigal son but now the forgiven one, had that big chance six minutes into the new half - the one he would have dreamed about.
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he → forgive → half
He created it for himself, winning possession and getting into a wonderful position right in front of an isolated Oblak.
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He → create → Oblak
He could have dinked it as the goalkeeper committed himself, he could have slid it home to Oblak's left or through his legs.
uncertain
he → dinke → legs
Instead, he went for the flourish, trying to take it round the Slovenian and marking his return to the side after 2,005 days in the wilderness with a first goal on his 17th appearance.
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he → go → appearance
Oblak won the duel.
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Oblak → win → duel
McBurnie played a slick one-two with the increasingly dominant Gilmour, who had his shot saved.
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shot → play → Gilmour
McBurnie had a header fly over, Aaron Hickey had a header just wide, Bowie came on and had an immediate impact.
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Bowie → have → impact
He had three chances in eight minutes - a tame shot, a clipped attempt and then the big one - played in by Gilmour but pulled wide.
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He → have → Gilmour
In that moment, he joined McBurnie and Ure (after hitting a post late in the first half) in the torture chamber.
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he → join → chamber
In the midst of all of that, McBurnie powered a header on goal, but Oblak was equal to it.
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Oblak → power → it
So much encouraging stuff and yet just one point to show for it when it really should have been three.
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it → show → it
Pocognoli demonstrates tactical acumen
Pocognoli said he was heartened by that second half.
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he → demonstrate → half
Scotland fans should be buoyed by the new head coach recognising the problems in his team and then fixing them.
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coach → buoy → them
With such a small track record to feed off, the subject of his tactical acumen was always going to be an interesting one - the ownership of the second 45 minutes showed that he's no slouch in identifying and changing the things that need to be changed.
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that → feed → things
Going with McBurnie and Ure up front was something of a surprise, but it sent a signal out that Scotland are here to go on the offensive rather than just defend their way to decent outcomes.
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Scotland → go → outcomes
That didn't materialise in the first half, but it clicked in the second.
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it → materialise → second
It's a touch surreal that, at the end of another game when Scotland failed to score, there is a lot to be hopeful about in the men who are there to supply the goals.
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who → fail → goals
When others are fit, there's Che Adams, Lawrence Shankland, Tommy Conway and Ross Stewart.
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others → be → ?
Young James Wilson will have his moment at some point.
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Wilson → have → point
…and 3 more, not listed.
The Aporia
