Steve Clarke declined to turn the finger of blame on Uzbekistan referee Ilgiz Tantashev after Scotland were denied two claims for a penalty in a 1-0 defeat to Morocco.
Shell-shocked by an awful start to the game when the Ismael Saibari’s thundering strike fired Morocco into the lead after 71 seconds, the Scots overcame a ropey start to steady the ship and fight their way back into the game in to the game in a rousing finish.
Fulham defender Issa Diop escaped a red card for denying Che Adams a goalscoring opportunity in the first half.
Erratic officiating then saw John McGinn and Scott McTominay spot kick claims waved away after both were impeded by Neil El Aynaoui in the second half.
“Everyone in the flash area, where I did interviews, were talking about the Scott McTominay one.
“But that’s the only one I didn’t watch back.
“I thought the John McGinn one was a 50/50.
“Some will give it, and I think if the referee gives it, he doesn’t overturn it.
“I was a little bit 50/50 on the Che Adams last man incident too.
“He had a chance to go through one on one with the goalkeeper and gets brought down.
“Again, the referee chooses yellow and VAR backs the referee.
“Listen, there is nothing we can do about it.”
Defeat leaves Scotland needing a point against five-time world champions Brazil in the heat of Miami on Wednesday to secure a place in the last 32. Currently sitting on three points and a zero goal difference history shows that a three goal or less defeat to the South Americans could still secure a place in the second stage.
Asked what impact a narrow one goal defeat has on the mindset heading to Florida Clarke said: “Absolutely nothing because we want to win the game and if we can’t win the game then we don’t want to lose it.
“That’s the focus we will have in the next five days before we get ourselves down to Miami with the heat and the humidity.
“We will take on another top side from the world’s top ten.”
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The pursuit of history got off to the worst possible start when Grant Hanley misjudged an attempt to play Bayern Munich striker Saibari onside. The strike was world class, giving Angus Gunn no chance of saving. A scots side set up to counter Morocco’s threat on the right hand side looked shell-shocked, struggling to do the basics.
“I felt we picked ourselves up after that,” said Clarke. “It maybe took us ten minutes to get into the game because when you get a set-back like that it can be really difficult to respond.
“Weaker teams would have crumbled against that type of quality opposition. But we dug in and got ourselves back in the game.
“We started to move the ball about a little bit better. And I thought the second period of the first-half, after the first hydration break, we were good in the game. We had momentum going into half-time and carried that into the second-half.
“We had a right go and I’m proud of the players but we’re all devastated and disappointed that we didn’t get the result that we wanted so that we can carry on in this tournament as long as we can.
“We now have to let the players suffer a little bit over the next 48 hours because that’s what they’ll do. We don’t like losing against anybody.
“So we’ll rest, recover and get ready to go again. The games don’t get much easier, though, eh?”
Kieran Tierney took up a left midfield role in a quest to curtail PSG superstar Achraf Hakimi. Cramping up the Celtic defender was replaced by Ben Gannon Doak, the introduction of fellow substitute Kenny McLean offering Scotland a threat hitherto missing.
“Ben is a terrific player. It took him a little bit of time to get into the game but once he gets in there you know he is going to be that little bit unpredictability off the bench.
“He gives us a threat which is different. My choice at the start was to just try and because they are a good side.
“I thought Kieran Tierney was terrific, he just cramped up a little bit.
“Ben gives us something a little bit different, we know that.
“Next week (Brazil) is a different game and probably a different approach, so let’s see who I pick.”
Despite the temptation to chase a late equaliser goal difference could be critical to Scotland’s hopes of securing a place as one of the eight best third place finishers. Caught between a rock and a hard place Clarke tried to strike a balance. Ultimately the Scots failed to give Morocco keeper Yassine Bounou a save to make.
“If we chase a goal against a team like Morocco their counter attack is so fast and so quick.
“If you make the game too big…you can see towards the end of the game when we were pushing for an equaliser the game becomes stretched and Morocco have very good and very quick players.
“Early in the game it was important, having conceded the first one after 70 odd seconds, to not concede a second.”
Lewis Ferguson was Scotland’s best midfielder for a second successive game, displaying composure and grit. The maligned figure of Jack Hendry also had another fine game in central defence, producing an outstanding block to deny Saibari a second goal.
“Absolutely terrific, both of them.
“Lewis has been great for me since he got his start in the team, it took a long time for that to open up for him.
“He gives us something, that little bit of solidity in midfield.
“He is a great foil for people like McTominay and Christie, who try to give us the attacking element.
“But Lewis is great.
“Jack has always been a good player for us. He doesn’t always play, he doesn’t always start.
“When he does Jack is always ready.”
