Hampden bow ruined as Sebastien Pocognoli left to address an unwanted 55-year Scotland first
Early red card for Jack Hendry renders Switzerland match a useless exercise
On the eve of the match, Sebastien Pocognoli was asked about a rumour he had requested for the Hampden pitch to be widened. “Widened?” he questioned, before replying: “It’s already pretty big!”
This was especially the case here. Ten-man Scotland felt every inch, every square yard of a field that must have seemed like the size of Glasgow Green following Jack Hendry’s red card just 11 minutes into Pocognoli’s Hampden bow.
It altered everything. It ruined everything. There was some brief hope when referee Nenad Minakovic was informed by his VAR friends that the offence – Hendry’s injudicious laying of an arm on Dan Ndoye’s shoulder as the Swiss forward sprinted clear – had occurred just outside the box. Relief at the seeming reduction in the harshness of punishment was fleeting.
The Serbian referee upgraded the yellow card he initially brandished at Hendry to a red. The tall centre-half seemed to know what was coming and was already trotting towards the dressing room, bypassing Pocognoli on the way. The Belgian might well have been making a mental note to review his intention to play high, aggressive football. Scotland were caught way too high, with Hendry left panting in Ndoye’s wake.
“So many people have told me what I can expect from my first home game,” the new manager wrote in his debut match programme column. Well, no one could have prepared him for this. Particularly when Ricardo Rodriguez lashed the opener past Angus Gunn directly from the free-kick, the award of which had initially felt like a let-off for Scotland.
Nico Elvedi tapped in a second ten minutes into the second half after latching onto Ndoye’s cross from the right and No 10 Zeki Amdouni pounced to score a third after Scotland failed to properly clear the lines with nine minutes left.
Three of Scotland’s last four matches have been against teams in the top 15 of the Fifa rankings so failing to score in any of them might not be the signal for another crisis summit. But Pocognoli could obviously do with his side finding their scoring touch in North Macedonia on Saturday after this strength and possibly morale-sapping evening. This is the first time since 1971 that Scotland have failed to score in four successive matches.
The nearest Scotland came to a goal was a good move involving Billy Gilmour and Andy Robertson, who crossed towards the goalmouth for the lurking McBurnie. Elvedi hacked clear for a corner. Scotland had two shots, neither on target, and enjoyed just 23 per cent possession.
What had Pocognoli done to deserve this?
Pocognoli clapped what few fans remained at the end and will have to chalk this up as a bit of a non-starter, one to skirt around if he ever comes to write a book charting his Scotland managerial career. There will be better days ahead, that’s for sure.
“A new chapter, a new era” we were reminded by the Tannoy announcer. But what had Pocognoli done to deserve this? He even finished a painful opening half by being booked for comments made to the fourth official.
How can anyone judge the manager on this? Sad to say, the Hampden outing he was so looking forward to experiencing was rendered an almost useless exercise. The home fans lost interest as Swiss played keepball in the second half.
It’s way too early to start making any sweeping assessment of Pocognoli’s tenure to date. The Belgian had to rip up his game plan for a start following Hendry's departure. Stephen Welsh was sent on for Kieron Bowie, whose first Scotland start was cut heartbreakingly short. Oli McBurnie, playing at Hampden for the first time since a Nations League clash against Israel behind closed doors six years ago, was forced to forage around up front on his own for 55 minutes, when he was replaced by Robbie Ure.
McBurnie was given a warm ovation when he left the field, perhaps principally because of his heroic effort to win a penalty on the half hour mark and perhaps even up the numbers. The referee was unmoved by McBurnie’s theatrics. It seemed a little foolish as he might well have been pushed slightly by Remo Freuler, who stayed very much on the park.
It had all started so promisingly as well. “Let’s hear the Hampden Roar!” urged the Tannoy announcer as Pocognoli entered the arena. He had ditched the SFA endorsed leisure gear worn in his opening match against Slovenia for the dark suit he donned for his unveiling last month. He clapped the fans and then offered a nod of acknowledgement after he was official welcomed across the Tannoy.
Here we go. Around ten minutes later, Scotland were one down and a man down. Debutant Luis Binks, one of three changes to the team that started Saturday’s 0-0 draw, walked a thin line. A lunge on Nico Elvedi four minutes in went unpunished, as did a barge on Freuler late in the half. It left the Swiss player winded on the floor. It was nothing compared to Scotland, who had the stuffing completely knocked out of them. It was something of a miracle that they managed to stay in the game as long as they did.
Pocognoli went into salvage mode. Bowie will have other chances to impress, McBurnie too. Scott McKenna did well at centre back, making a number of crucial interceptions. Angus Gunn made a fine block with his foot from Ndoye after 65 minutes but was slightly suspect when Amdouni lashed home for 3-0 after 81 minutes, following the excellent Ndoye’s cutback.
Gilmour impressed in flashes while Robertson chalked up cap 99. It was another game towards the magical 102, when the skipper draws level with Kenny Dalglish. Otherwise, positives were hard to find. Pocognoli at least knows he will be back at Hampden sooner rather than later.
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