Scotland's first home match under new head coach Sébastien Pocognoli ended in a 3-0 defeat to Switzerland at Hampden Park on Tuesday night, with Jack Hendry sent off after just 10 minutes for a blatant tug on Dan Ndoye's shoulder.
The red card, awarded after a VAR review, came after a penalty was initially given for a foul that was actually committed outside the box. The Swiss had to settle for a free-kick and scored from it anyway, setting the tone for a difficult evening for the hosts.
Pocognoli's optimism short-lived
Pocognoli, who had been cautiously welcomed by fans after Steve Clarke's resignation following meek surrenders to Morocco and Brazil, had reasons for cheer going into the match. His first game against Slovenia featured an extremely promising second-half display, albeit with no goals and a couple of missed sitters.
“We were ready to deliver the game we wanted from the first minute,” Pocognoli said after the match. “We had an unlucky red card, punished with the free-kick, that's the worst scenario.” His 10 men shipped two more goals as the Swiss completed a comfortable victory.
Next challenge in Skopje
Scotland now travel to Skopje to face North Macedonia on Saturday, where they will hope to keep a full complement of players on the pitch and at least trouble the scoreboard operator.
Fourteen years ago this month, then Scotland manager Craig Levein faced abuse from fans when his similarly goal-shy side failed to beat Macedonia in a World Cup qualifier. “This is going to be really tight indeed,” Levein insisted, of a group in which Scotland would eventually finish 15 points off the pace set by Belgium.
While Pocognoli's reign is in its infancy and he will be afforded far more patience than his unpopular, ultra-defensive predecessor, any kind of win on Saturday will be greeted with far more Scottish delight than anything the Red Sox and Rangers could magic up between them.
