Even taking Scotland’s recurring international woes into account, no one could have foreseen this swift a regression. The Scottish FA now finds itself in the grip of a crisis and in need of firm decisions. Gordon Strachan’s tenure as manager became well-nigh impossible to defend during this complete capitulation in Slovakia.
Eleven years after Celtic endured a 5-0 hammering against Artmedia Bratislava with Strachan in charge, he received another bloody nose some 30 miles up the motorway from the country’s capital. The parallels were uncanny.
The only legitimate argument for Scotland retaining Strachan now lie in who would want to succeed him. Even that point is a lame one. Strachan should actually glance at the bigger picture and step aside.
A heavy defeat in this match, coupled with the dire 1-1 draw with Lithuania four days earlier, means Scotland’s World Cup aspirations are greatly diminished after only three Group F games.
A couple of subplots are far more serious. First, Strachan’s team are getting worse and second, they were comfortably beaten by a Slovakia who could be deemed only moderate opposition. The hosts did not seem to believe their luck in claiming their first points of Group F.
“The people I feel sorry for are the players,” Strachan said after this debacle. “I am thinking about how best to protect them. I am not sitting here thinking about myself.”
As admirable as this approach may be, it deliberately misses the wider and crucial point. Strachan has been in football long enough to know that.
The case for the 59-year-old remaining in charge for the trip to Wembley to play England on 11 November has never been weaker. His approach in Slovakia, with Scotland far too open than could ever be deemed sensible for an away fixture, proved the latest baffling act of Strachan’s reign. And to think, a year ago he was cheered from the rafters in Faro as Scotland bowed out from an ultimately failed Euro 2016 qualifying campaign with victory over Gibraltar.
Scrutiny of Strachan has suddenly become such that his every selection move is questioned. This has been, by and large, legitimate.
Oliver Burke, a £13m player heralded as equivalent to Kenny Dalglish in international importance by Scotland’s assistant manager, Mark McGhee, could not even command a place among the substitutes here despite starting against Lithuania. Strachan pointed to “experience” as key to that decision.
Strachan’s hailing of the “outstanding” Chris Martin after the Lithuania match always carried a public relations danger. The manager duly picked Steven Fletcher rather than the misfiring Martin as the spearhead of a 4-3-2-1 formation.
Scotland opened as the more confident side. In the 12th minute a midfield battle was broken up by an excellent Fletcher chance, which he completely miscued after a fine pass from Robert Snodgrass. Slovakia’s response was a long-range shot from Jan Durica that David Marshall batted away not entirely convincingly.
High controversy followed. Marshall was again culpable when his save from the unmarked Marek Hamsik fell straight to the feet of Robert Mak but the circumstances that triggered this Slovakia attack were dubious. Fletcher was fouled by Durica in a premeditated fashion when looking to seize on a loose pass. Scotland were still complaining as Mak lashed home to give the hosts a lead they barely deserved. Slovakia had their first goal in 423 minutes of international football.
Snodgrass had the opportunity for an instant reply with Matus Kozacik equal to the Hull City player’s near-post attempt. This bluntness despite long spells of territorial dominance rather summed up Scotland’s first half.
Strachan resisted the temptation to make changes for the start of the second period, presumably in the belief this average Slovakia side could be breached by the players he had already deployed. Yet Strachan’s very system, and the lack of protection it afforded his full-backs, proved Scotland’s undoing for a second time.
In something akin to slow motion, or a textbook in how not to defend, Hamsik was left with time and space to pick out Jakub Holubek. The Zilina player pulled the ball back for Mak, who gleefully beat Marshall once again. Callum Paterson, Scotland’s right-back, had been horribly exposed.
The third goal came when a straightforward corner from Mak, by now the tormentor in chief, found the head of Adam Nemec. With Grant Hanley beaten and Marshall helpless, Slovakia were three ahead.
“We are one point from a play-off place,” Strachan said before completing his media duties. One had the impression he was not even convincing himself any longer.
