Scotland do 'dirty side' but Greece tie 'not dead'
Scotland showed "a different side" to their game as they beat Greece in the first leg of their Nations League A play-off, according to head coach Steve Clarke.Scott McTominay's first-half penalty was the only goal in Piraeus, but Clarke's side had to withstand substantial pressure in the second half. Anthony Ralston did superbly to put Christos Tzolis off and divert the Greece forward's effort onto the post, while centre-back partners Grant Hanley and John Souttar were colossal as the hosts penned Scotland in.Greece - who also had a penalty award overturned and a goal disallowed - had 24 shots on goal in total, but only forced goalkeeper Craig Gordon into one save."We knew they would come at us second half," Clarke said. "We didn't quite manage to regain our rhythm so we had to show a different side to our game."Two of the defenders don't play regularly at their clubs - Anthony Ralston and Grant Hanley. They go in there and do a great job."You defend as a team. We were under a lot of pressure. But it wasn't like Craig was making save after save after save."
Lewis Ferguson - in his first Scotland game for almost a year following his return from knee surgery - was keen to shine a light on the "dirty side" of the performance."We knew we were going to have to weather the storm," the Bologna captain said. "We could have been calmer on the ball, but you need to show that side of the game if you're going to get results away from home - the dirty side, the running, tackling, blocking, heading."Scotland could have been further in front at the break in a fine first-half display.Billy Gilmour shanked wide, Che Adams shot straight at Konstantinos Tzolakis with the goal at his mercy, and the Torino striker then fired another effort across the face of goal as Scotland repeatedly hurt Greece in transitional moments.Clarke praised how his players troubled their hosts, but is taking nothing for granted before Sunday's return leg at Hampden - live on the BBC - as Scotland try to preserve their top-tier status in Nations League."First half we were really good, we could've been two in front," he added. "If I'm being greedy I could say three. This game is not dead yet. No way."
'Souttar & Hanley were giants' - the pundits' view
This was a win built on Scotland's rearguard, a victory for grit and bloody-mindedness. Greece's 24 shots was their highest total in a single match in the 2024-25 Nations League. Not since 2007 in victory against France have Scotland faced more shots (27) and kept a clean sheet.Hanley, Souttar and Ralston made 32 clearances between them as the Scots repelled cross after cross. Ralston also won all eight of his duels on the night despite struggling for game time at club side Celtic. "It was incredible how dominant Greece were in the second half and how well Scotland defended," former Scotland defender Willie Miller said."Souttar and Hanley at the heart of defence were immense - they were giants out there. Anything crossed in was a magnet for Hanley's head."We rode our luck a little bit, but there are many ways to win a game."Former Scotland winger Pat Nevin says the result is a reflection of how far the national team have come under Clarke's management."The Greeks really turned it up in the second half, but Steve Clarke has taught Scotland different ways to win," he said on Sportsound."Hanley and Souttar gave nothing away at the back and the Scotland fans are enjoying themselves."
Have your say
What did you make of Scotland's performance? And who stood out for you?Let us know here
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Glasgow Times
an hour ago
- Glasgow Times
Scotland fans owe Steve Clarke their support in World Cup qualifying
Furious members of the Tartan Army savaged Clarke and his players after they lost 3-0 to Greece in the second leg of the Nations League relegation/promotion play-off at Hampden back in March. And the national team manager was once again targeted for vicious abuse from the crowd when his charges were defeated 3-1 by Iceland in their first June friendly match in Glasgow on Friday night. Boyd, who played under the former Newcastle United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Aston Villa assistant at Kilmarnock, felt for his fellow Ayrshireman as he knows from personal experience how difficult the end-of-season fixtures are to negotiate. Read more: The Sky Sports pundit was pleased to see Scotland beat minnows Liechtenstein 4-0 in Vaduz on Monday evening and is optimistic there will be no lingering ill-feeling when the opening Group C matches against Denmark and Belarus away take place in September. 'In football today, the highs are high, but the lows are becoming lower now than they've ever been,' he said after taking part in a McDonald's Fun Football session with Scottish youngsters at Hampden. 'There's so many people with opinions and the fans have got access to so many social media platforms. So the scrutiny on managers has intensified from my day. There's no getting away from it. 'We have come so far under Steve. Look at where Scotland were when he took over. Yes, we missed out on the last World Cup, but he has taken us to back-to-back Euros. Now we are looking qualifying for the upcoming World Cup, you would expect a little bit of more positivity. (Image: SNS/SFA) 'Steve will know himself the friendly results have not been good enough. But when was the last time we won a friendly at Hampden? I think it was 2016, a long time ago. It puts you under pressure before a ball is kicked. There is less margin for error. 'I've played in the June friendlies. I know they are part of the international fixture list now and I know you have to deal with them. But I think they present problems because of the time they come at. 'Look at the highs that so many players have had this season, look at [Scott] McTominay and [Billy] Gilmour with Napoli and [Lewis] Ferguson with Bologna in Italy, look at [Tony] Ralston at Celtic and [Andy] Robertson at Liverpool A lot of boys in there have lifted trophies. They have to come in off the back of that and perform at a half-empty Hampden. 'Because of where Scotland have been the last few years, people just expect Scotland to rock up and win these games of football. But they're not easy. Could the performance against Iceland have been better? Of course it could. But it's end of a long, hard season.' Read more: Boyd continued, 'Luciano Spalletti was sacked by Italy after a 3-0 defeat to Norway. I think these June fixtures are going to cause managers in international football a lot of problems going forward. 'No disrespect to Iceland and Liechtenstein, but these are two teams we should be beating. If they were in our World Cup qualifying group we would be delighted. But because we performed poorly against Greece and Iceland and lost both games a lot of people were saying, 'We've got the World Cup coming up, we've got to be better than that'. (Image: SNS/SFA) 'But Scotland will be better. The players have achieved a lot of their goals. They've gone to back-to-back Euros. They drew with Portugal and beat Croatia and Poland to get into the Nations League play-offs. They have done really well. But the fans expect now. There have been generations of teams who haven't achieved what they have. But the next step is the World Cup. 'Come the qualifiers, everybody will be ready to go. I'm sure Steve will just be delighted to get through these friendlies. I think Steve and this group deserve everybody to be together when they have a crack at the World Cup qualifiers because they have produced for the country before. They have brought the feelgood factor back. 'Will it end sour? Of course it will. That's part and parcel of football. It always happens. But let's see where these qualifiers take us. I do believe we have got an opportunity of getting to the World Cup.' That campaign will come a little too quickly for the boys and girls who took part in the McDonald's Fun Football sessions at Hampden on Monday – but Boyd is hopeful the long-standing initiative will produce a few more players like Che Adams, George Hirst and Lawrence Shankland for Scotland in the years to come. 'Programmes like McDonald's Fun Football are important for communities across Scotland,' he said. 'They give children a safe, positive place to just play the game and have fun. 'McDonald's are offering more free sessions this summer across Scotland and it's brilliant to see. I wish I had this when I was a youngster, I would've loved it. I'd encourage every parent to not miss out and to get their child signed up to their nearest free session.' Kris Boyd was celebrating the latest free wave of McDonald's Fun Football sessions this Summer, available to all children aged 5-11 across the UK. You can sign up now for your nearest free session at
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Scotland fans owe Steve Clarke their support in World Cup qualifying
Furious members of the Tartan Army savaged Clarke and his players after they lost 3-0 to Greece in the second leg of the Nations League relegation/promotion play-off at Hampden back in March. And the national team manager was once again targeted for vicious abuse from the crowd when his charges were defeated 3-1 by Iceland in their first June friendly match in Glasgow on Friday night. Boyd, who played under the former Newcastle United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Aston Villa assistant at Kilmarnock, felt for his fellow Ayrshireman as he knows from personal experience how difficult the end-of-season fixtures are to negotiate. Read more: The Sky Sports pundit was pleased to see Scotland beat minnows Liechtenstein 4-0 in Vaduz on Monday evening and is optimistic there will be no lingering ill-feeling when the opening Group C matches against Denmark and Belarus away take place in September. 'In football today, the highs are high, but the lows are becoming lower now than they've ever been,' he said after taking part in a McDonald's Fun Football session with Scottish youngsters at Hampden. 'There's so many people with opinions and the fans have got access to so many social media platforms. So the scrutiny on managers has intensified from my day. There's no getting away from it. 'We have come so far under Steve. Look at where Scotland were when he took over. Yes, we missed out on the last World Cup, but he has taken us to back-to-back Euros. Now we are looking qualifying for the upcoming World Cup, you would expect a little bit of more positivity. (Image: SNS/SFA) 'Steve will know himself the friendly results have not been good enough. But when was the last time we won a friendly at Hampden? I think it was 2016, a long time ago. It puts you under pressure before a ball is kicked. There is less margin for error. 'I've played in the June friendlies. I know they are part of the international fixture list now and I know you have to deal with them. But I think they present problems because of the time they come at. 'Look at the highs that so many players have had this season, look at [Scott] McTominay and [Billy] Gilmour with Napoli and [Lewis] Ferguson with Bologna in Italy, look at [Tony] Ralston at Celtic and [Andy] Robertson at Liverpool A lot of boys in there have lifted trophies. They have to come in off the back of that and perform at a half-empty Hampden. 'Because of where Scotland have been the last few years, people just expect Scotland to rock up and win these games of football. But they're not easy. Could the performance against Iceland have been better? Of course it could. But it's end of a long, hard season.' Read more: Boyd continued, 'Luciano Spalletti was sacked by Italy after a 3-0 defeat to Norway. I think these June fixtures are going to cause managers in international football a lot of problems going forward. 'No disrespect to Iceland and Liechtenstein, but these are two teams we should be beating. If they were in our World Cup qualifying group we would be delighted. But because we performed poorly against Greece and Iceland and lost both games a lot of people were saying, 'We've got the World Cup coming up, we've got to be better than that'. (Image: SNS/SFA) 'But Scotland will be better. The players have achieved a lot of their goals. They've gone to back-to-back Euros. They drew with Portugal and beat Croatia and Poland to get into the Nations League play-offs. They have done really well. But the fans expect now. There have been generations of teams who haven't achieved what they have. But the next step is the World Cup. 'Come the qualifiers, everybody will be ready to go. I'm sure Steve will just be delighted to get through these friendlies. I think Steve and this group deserve everybody to be together when they have a crack at the World Cup qualifiers because they have produced for the country before. They have brought the feelgood factor back. 'Will it end sour? Of course it will. That's part and parcel of football. It always happens. But let's see where these qualifiers take us. I do believe we have got an opportunity of getting to the World Cup.' That campaign will come a little too quickly for the boys and girls who took part in the McDonald's Fun Football sessions at Hampden on Monday – but Boyd is hopeful the long-standing initiative will produce a few more players like Che Adams, George Hirst and Lawrence Shankland for Scotland in the years to come. 'Programmes like McDonald's Fun Football are important for communities across Scotland,' he said. 'They give children a safe, positive place to just play the game and have fun. 'McDonald's are offering more free sessions this summer across Scotland and it's brilliant to see. I wish I had this when I was a youngster, I would've loved it. I'd encourage every parent to not miss out and to get their child signed up to their nearest free session.' Kris Boyd was celebrating the latest free wave of McDonald's Fun Football sessions this Summer, available to all children aged 5-11 across the UK. You can sign up now for your nearest free session at
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
Why Tartan army pine for Postecoglou over cautious Clarke
The mock-ups of the big Aussie clad in tartan were sparked by the dismal display from the Scottish national team in their defeat to Iceland. An end of season friendly, which thanks to tickets being priced at up to £45 a skull was played out in front of 20,000-odd empty seats at Hampden, hardly needed a dose of Steve Clarke pragmatism to make it any less of an enticing prospect. That's what the Tartan Army got though, with the Scotland manager stringing five across the back and a lone striker up top against a side who had recently been turned over by Kosovo. Which is fine, if you win, but a demoralising 3-1 defeat that left Clarke's record standing at just four wins from his last 21 games had the sgian dubhs out for the national team's head coach. Not only was there a clamour for the Scottish FA to relieve Clarke of his duties, but also a mini clamour to replace him with the recently sacked Postecoglou. Or, if you like, the anti-Clarke. (Image: SNS Group) The obstacles in appointing the former Celtic manager as Clarke's replacement, coming as he is out of a job at Tottenham Hotspur where he trousered around £5m a year, are obvious. Clarke is the highest paid Scotland manager in history, at around a tenth of that figure. The hefty payoff from Spurs may have convinced Postecoglou that he can move into semi-retirement by going back to international football, and he has been linked with a short-term sojourn in Italy to help the Azzurri navigate the departure of Luciano Spalletti, in fairness. But I'd say the prospect of him returning to Glasgow any time soon - at least to Hampden - are remote at best. Read more: Not forgetting the inconvenient fact that both SFA president Mike Mulraney and CEO Ian Maxwell have not the slightest desire to remove Clarke from his position, believing steadfastly that he 'deserves the chance' to take his country to a World Cup. No matter if his presence reduces the chances that the rest of us will get to enjoy one. What the Scotland fans calling for Postecoglou were really saying though was that they want a manager who will go on the front foot. Who will look to make the most of the talented players Scotland now undoubtedly have at their disposal, rather than filling them with the fear of God by setting them up so defensively. The Tartan Army have watched Scott McTominay, Billy Gilmour and Lewis Ferguson not only impress in Serie A, but stand out, and win things. That these guys are Scottish is a source of huge excitement, but the feeling among the rank and file is that Clarke doesn't know how to set them up in order to replicate their dazzling club form into the international arena. Instead of swaggering onto the field, they are stymied. Compare and contrast the approach of Wales against Belgium on Monday night under Craig Bellamy. In his pre-match press conference, the former Celtic striker laid out in no uncertain terms that his team wouldn't be going to Brussels to camp in or take a backwards step. Now, granted, they were soon pinned back in any case and went 3-0 down in a nightmare opening 25-minute spell. But even then, Bellamy resisted the temptation to tighten things up and simply look to stem the bleeding. Instead, a goal back from the penalty spot just before half time reinvigorated his team, and he sent them out in the second half to go for the jugular. Thrillingly, they deservedly clawed the score back level, before Kevin De Bruyne broke their hearts late on by hitting a winner. Ultimately, they lost the game. But you ask any Wales fan their view of Bellamy and his approach, and they will tell you resoundingly that their manager got it spot on. Clarke is sometimes unfairly maligned. Overall, he was the right man at the right time for Scotland, and his work in getting the nation back to the European Championships not once, but twice, should mean that he has earned the gratitude of the nation for his service. But once, where his caution was an asset, it has now become the noose around his neck. After a bafflingly conservative approach to the must-win game against Hungary at the Euros, where history was there to be made, he had to show a response. And in the Nations League, he did latterly look to play some more expansive football, shifting to a back four and earning some good results. But when it came to the crunch in the second leg of the Nations League relegation playoff against Greece, his old cautious instincts cost him again. The only change he made from the energy-sapping first leg win in Athens was to take Ferguson out of the midfield for 33-year-old Kenny McLean. The Greeks, by contrast, made six changes, and ran over the top of his side. (Image: Alan Harvey - SNS Group) In a home friendly against Iceland, to revert to his old back five to shoehorn Kieran Tierney into the team seemed like a frustrating, retrograde step. And was a worrying portent for how he may look to approach the World Cup qualifiers. The 4-0 win over Liechtenstein on Monday evening with a good old fashioned 4-4-2 has to be caveated against the level of the opposition, but at least there were some promising signs within it. Lennon Miller got his first start, and impressed in the midfield. There were five debuts in all, though only emergency keeper Ross Doohan was on from the start. Josh Doig caught the eye, getting half an hour or so along with Andy Irving, but Connor Barron and Kieron Bowie might have expected more than 13 minutes to impress against such lowly opponents and with Scotland in cruise control. Even in this, there was this nagging whiff of conservatism from Clarke at which many among the Tartan Army are now turning up their nose. He could do with blowing away that stench by going out on the front foot in the World Cup qualifiers, and if this is to be his last campaign, as he has intimated it is likely to be, at least go out on his sword. Failure to get to the World Cup is one thing, and quite possible given that Greece and Denmark are in Scotland's section. Failure to have a go, and at least give this group of players a chance, will be more difficult to forgive. Clarke has nothing left to lose but his legacy. Fairly or not, he will likely be remembered for how he approaches this World Cup. If he makes it, he will be a legend, and his critics will bow to him. As will the Tartan Army. If he fails, and does so by playing cautious football, he will enrage the fans, and it will be a sad end to his reign. He may as well go out swinging.
