{"id":31271,"date":"2024-03-27T04:13:43","date_gmt":"2024-03-27T04:13:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/scotland-0-1-northern-ireland-whats-happened-to-steve-clarkes-once-confident-side\/"},"modified":"2024-03-27T04:13:44","modified_gmt":"2024-03-27T04:13:44","slug":"scotland-0-1-northern-ireland-whats-happened-to-steve-clarkes-once-confident-side","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/scotland-0-1-northern-ireland-whats-happened-to-steve-clarkes-once-confident-side\/","title":{"rendered":"Scotland 0-1 Northern Ireland: ‘What’s happened to Steve Clarke’s once-confident side?’"},"content":{"rendered":"


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John McGinn adorned the cover of the match programme on Tuesday, a super hero soaring above the city landscape, red cape flowing. <\/span><\/p>\n

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As a piece of artwork it was arresting, if a little out of place with what went down at a gloomy and angry Hampden.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In the closing minutes of this joyless grind for Scotland, Lawrence Shankland found himself in a tiny pocket of space in the Northern Ireland box and smashed a shot on goal. <\/span><\/p>\n

Close range. Caught it sweet. On a dozen other days the net shakes. On the night of Scotland’s nightmares, it got blocked.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brodie Spencer was the man who got in the way. Nineteen years old. Plays for Huddersfield. <\/span><\/p>\n

In a team largely made up of callow youth, Spencer and his fellow underdogs were organised and disciplined and too mentally strong to buckle under the pressure Scotland put on them, which wasn’t nearly enough.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is worrying. Oh so worrying. Steve Clarke will remain deadpan and calm, but underneath the steel there must be concern. <\/span><\/p>\n

Booed off at the break. The captain in the casualty room. A goal behind and it should have been two. Then, substitutions and domination. Some chances created, some chances missed. Defeat. More boos. <\/span><\/p>\n

When did the great Scottish party end? Where the hell are Baccara?<\/span><\/p>\n

Clarke wanted a win, but he didn’t get it. If he couldn’t get a win he’d have reluctantly taken a draw, but all he got was huff and puff. <\/span><\/p>\n

All of Scotland’s quality, all of their big names from the big clubs in England didn’t matter a damn against an organised force drawn from Bolton and Millwall, Preston and Stevenage. <\/span><\/p>\n

There were two Liverpool players on show. The one who won the night was Conor Bradley, one of three 20-year-olds who started for the visitors. <\/span><\/p>\n

Nuance to previous defeats was absent here<\/h3>\n

Five defeats in seven now for Scotland. No victory among any of that lot. Clarke wanted a clean sheet and he didn’t get that either. Nineteen goals shipped in seven matches. <\/span><\/p>\n

This was supposed to be the night when Scotland got the wheels back on their bike, a night when momentum returned to the national team’s drive to the Euros.<\/span><\/p>\n

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. After Amsterdam on Friday, the Scotland players lined up one-by-one and said that 4-0 was unacceptable, that their collapse from 2-0 was not who they are, that they needed to get back to the best version of themselves and quickly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Clarke spoke of a lack of streetwise football in the Netherlands. Robertson looked and sounded furious as he tore into this team’s looseness and inability to stay in the fight. This was worse, though. A lot worse. <\/span><\/p>\n