Scotland slipped to a 2-1 Nations League defeat to Slovenia at Hampden on a sobering night for new head coach Sebastien Pocognoli. After Ryan Christie had put the hosts in front, goals from Aljosa Matko and Danijel Sturm turned the match around and drew jeers from the Tartan Army.
Centurion Robertson Honoured Before Kick-Off
Before the action, former bosses Steve Clarke, Gordon Strachan and Alex McLeish returned to present captain Andy Robertson with a framed shirt in celebration of his 100 caps. The occasion was meant to mark Pocognoli's big night at Hampden following a false start in his home debut against Switzerland and a win over North Macedonia at the weekend.
But the home fans witnessed a distorted reality and a match turned upside down by the visitors. Pocognoli was forced into one change after Scott McKenna's late red card against North Macedonia, with Jack Hendry drafted back in after serving a ban. The one big surprise in the manager's selection was the omission of Kieron Bowie up front, with Oli McBurnie preferred despite still not having scored for Scotland.
Set-Piece Opener Masks Cracks
Scotland's opener came from a set-piece when Lewis Ferguson took a short free-kick to Ben Gannon-Doak, whose cross led to Hendry's header hitting the post. McBurnie fluffed a header on the rebound, and Christie improvised superbly to nudge it home from close range. It was Christie's first start under Pocognoli, and he had justified his selection after half an hour.
Slovenia carved out a gilt-edged chance before the break, but Robertson denied Swansea striker Zan Vipotnik with an incredible last-ditch block on his 101st appearance. Pocognoli resisted the temptation to make changes at half-time despite his side looking distinctly jaded.
Second-Half Collapse
Just before the hour, Slovenia equalised when Christie gave the ball away from a throw-in, Luis Binks dropped too deep, and Matko was suddenly in on goal. It was a decent finish but a poor goal to lose, with Angus Gunn beaten too easily. The visitors then smelt blood, and Pocognoli's side were all over the place defensively.
Sturm was clean through on Gunn but fired over, and Matko thought he had given Slovenia the lead before an offside call saved Scotland. But the inevitable second goal came when Sturm buried his chance, prompting a chorus of boos from the Hampden hordes. More changes were afoot with Findlay Curtis introduced and Josh McPake getting his debut, but Scotland huffed and puffed in search of a goal and Slovenia held out.
