Kieron Bowie scored his first goal for Scotland just seven minutes into the Nations League tie in Skopje, ensuring the current squad avoided an unwanted record and setting up a 1-0 victory over North Macedonia.
The Sassuolo striker, who had scored against Juventus in Serie A twenty days earlier, produced a superb finish from 20 yards that nestled in the bottom corner on a rutted pitch at the Todor Proeski Arena. His first touch from Billy Gilmour's pass set up the shot, and his third was the strike itself.
Before the match, all the talk had been about Scotland's profligacy in front of goal. Not since 1971 had the national team gone four games without scoring. Bowie had missed chances on his debut a week previously in the 0-0 draw with Slovenia. If the Scots hadn't scored within 22 minutes of this game, the current crop would have set a new, unwanted record.
Pressure lifted early
The early goal took the pressure off Scotland and got the monkey off Bowie's back. John McGinn's second-half penalty secured the victory, and afterwards Bowie was delighted to get off the mark at international level.
He said: "The goal I got against Juventus, I thought would be the winner at the time but it wasn't. Thankfully we still won the game. But this Scotland goal was even better. I like to keep most of my jerseys as a memento and no doubt my dad will be asking for this one."
"When you're a young player, you dream of playing for your country. To do it and score just feels unreal. I could have scored against Slovenia. But I got another chance and managed to repay the manager's faith by getting a goal. I probably scored with the hardest chance I've had. That sums up life as a striker."
"There were other ones I could have taken which left me feeling quite angry. But I feel if I get longer on the pitch, I can definitely score a goal. I've haven't had a lot of minutes for Scotland but I've managed to get my first goal, so I'm happy with that."
Dominant display in Skopje
It was vital to a deserved Scotland win against a poor North Macedonia side. Despite being reduced to 10 men late on when Scott McKenna was sent off, the visitors were never in any real danger. Most of the home fans boycotted the game in protest against their coach, Goce Sedloski, who was criticised for including the son of their federation's President in his squad.
Scotland had to win, with no excuses. Pocognoli's men should have run up a bigger tally, having passed up a glut of chances in the Macedonian capital. Bowie, Ben Gannon-Doak and skipper Andy Robertson on his 100th cap all had big chances in front of goal. The visitors had 25 shots on goal.
Right now, Bowie is the man Pocognoli wants as his number nine. He has competition from Oli McBurnie, Robbie Ure, as well as Che Adams and Lawrence Shankland who will return from injury. But the former Hibs front-man welcomes the rivalry and says his time in Italy has prepared him for the international stage.
He said: "Having so many quality players in your position means you need to prove yourself in training. You need to be on your game and I just see it as an added challenge. A lot of Scottish fans maybe just remember me from my time in Scotland for Hibs, even though I wasn't there very long."
"But I feel that since I've moved to Italy I've improved my game a lot. There are a lot of top defenders in that league so I've had to adapt and learn how to play to my strengths. I've had to be a bit more street smart. I think that's been a big thing for me and my improvement in that league."
Positive signs under new boss
This victory puts Scotland on four points from their first three games in the Nations League. If Pocognoli's side can make it seven against Slovenia at Hampden on Tuesday night, it'll be a decent return from his first three weeks in charge.
In Skopje, as promised, they adopted an aggressive, front-footed pressing game and North Macedonia couldn't deal with it. It was a dominant display, rarely seen from a Scotland side away from home against anyone. With the pace, guile and invention of guys like Gannon-Doak, John McGinn and Billy Gilmour, there's plenty to be positive about. They just need someone to score goals, and right now Bowie looks like Scotland's best bet to do it.
