WeKnowSFA

03rd Sep2010

Disappointment for Scotland as Euro 2012 task gets tougher

by WeKnowSFA

Better team but points are shared

WeKnowSFA - Scotland

Pre-match, opinion was split between whether 1 point would be good enough for Scotland in Lithuania. Some had the opinion that avoiding defeat would be a solid start but in a 5 team group, there isn’t the opportunity to make up too many lost points, which meant all 3 points were a must for many fans.

After the game, disappointment is the only thing that can be said after the game because Scotland were the better team over the course of the game. Not so much in working the oppositions defence but in terms of possession and looking to push on, by the end Scotland were the only team looking to grab all three points.

As we said, not too many chances but there were moments when Scotland fans were on their feet thinking they could grab the goal.

Much like in Norway and against Holland in the last campaign, Kenny Miller looked likely to score but spurned the chance. It was a hard shift for the striker who has been in good goal-scoring form for Rangers but when his country needed it, Miller’s goal-scoring touch deserted him.

Scotland never worked the Lithuanian goalkeeper often enough, Naismith may also have been culpable but when you consider the amount of the ball Scotland had and the number of free-kicks in good positions, there can be no excuse for not making more chances.

Barry Robson’s delivery was mainly deplorable from dead-balls and Darren Fletcher was close to being invisible for the 90 minutes. Scott Brown wasn’t invisible but a lot of that was due to him getting involved in the usual niggles and scrapes he sometimes winds up in. Not a vintage night for the midfield.

Craig Levein attempted to deflect criticism away from his offensive players by slating the ref…who didn’t have a terrible game. He clamped down on some fouls but equally, he let away a good few things from both teams. Craig should steel himself because there will be games when the ref is much worse than the one which officiated the match tonight.

The BBC Sportscene team, in the time it took for their analysis to end had unsurprisingly sided with their media friend Craig Levein and had the ref blamed for dropping two points. Which is a shame because there are some positive elements to take from it.

Coming away from home and looking comfortable is not too common for the Scottish team, regardless of what the opposition. Alan Hutton may not have played too much of late but the full-back looked strong the length of the left-flank and all will be hoping that he retains fitness and gets some more matches under his belt.