Ewan Murray was at Hampden, and his report is in. Here it is! Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night.
It’s now one win in 16 for Scotland, and ten matches without victory in competitive fixtures, but at least they’ve snapped a four-game losing run. Tonight’s point also gives them a fighting chance of avoiding automatic relegation to League B. Perhaps most importantly, they didn’t suffer any last-minute heartbreak: a fifth match in a row, after late winners for Hungary, Poland and Portugal, followed by a late disallowed goal in Croatia, would have been too much to bear. A good evening for Steve Clarke and Scotland, then, even if it’s all to be taken in context. Baby steps, small acorns, all that.
The other match in Group A1 has finished Poland 3-3 Croatia. The visitors ended the match with ten men, keeper Dominik Livaković sent off for catching Robert Lewandowski with his studs. All of which means the table looks like this tonight.
Portugal P3 W3 D1 L0 F7 A3 Pts 10
Croatia P3 W2 D1 L1 F7 A6 Pts 7
Poland P3 W1 D1 L2 F7 A9 Pts 4
Scotland P3 W0 D1 L3 F4 A7 Pts 1
Scotland host Croatia in the first game of the November international break, then travel to Poland for a match which may or may not give them a chance of escaping automatic relegation to League B. Should be a lot of fun, which is something we’ll all need to remind ourselves when we start moaning about the Premier League taking yet another week off.
Some weapons-grade petulance by Ronaldo as the whistle goes. He wanted the chance to take the corner, but the clock had ticked over the four-minute mark, so the referee was within his rights to blow for full-time. Ronaldo melts down, ranting at the referee, waving his arms about, giving the Scotland fans a double thumbs-down, before storming off down the tunnel in the highest dudgeon. But never mind that display of eejitry: Scotland thoroughly deserved their point after a resolute defensive display that also produced a couple of very decent chances for Scott McTominay. It’s worth noting that, for all Portugal’s domination of territory and ball, Craig Gordon didn’t have too much to do.
FULL TIME: Scotland 0-0 Portugal
Bernardo Silva wins a corner down the right, but there’s no time to take it. The whistle goes, and Scotland have their first point of this Nations League campaign!
90 min +4: Robertson crosses for Dykes. Scotland couldn’t, could they? Nope. But it doesn’t matter because …
90 min +3: The corner leads to McTominay being bowled over, and the whistle goes for a clock-eating free kick. Ronaldo back-heels the ball away petulantly, and is fortunate not to go into the book, though it’s an act that doesn’t exactly do his team any favours with time running out.
90 min +2: A ball comes bouncing into the Scotland box from the right. It falls to Leão, who has time to size up a shot from eight yards. He skelps the ball … only for Devlin to spread himself and block bravely! Out for a corner.
90 min +1: The first of those four minutes goes by without incident. Everyone’s thinking about it, aren’t they?
90 min: Devlin’s first act is to usher a long ball out of play for a goal kick, with the aforementioned Leão on his shoulder. There will be four additional minutes.
89 min: Nicky Devlin comes on for his debut, replacing Ralston, who was beginning to be given the runaround by Leão at right-back.
88 min: Portugal throw on another couple of players. João Félix and Nélson Semedo for João Cancelo and Vitinha.
87 min: Leão dribbles delicately down the left, leaving Ralston for dust. He cuts back for Fernandes, who slaps a first-time shot towards the bottom left. Gordon drops on the ball and grabs at the second attempt with Ronaldo lurking.
86 min: Bernardo Silva wins a corner down the right. Nothing comes of it, but Scotland can’t get out. They’re holding their shape at the minute, though, which is something.
84 min: Dykes might not be the most sophisticated player out there, but he’s a presence all right. And here he nearly sends McTominay clear with a pass made via the medium of diving header. Intercepted, but let’s dream, and what an assist that could have been!
83 min: Dykes replaces Adams.
82 min: A cross into the Scotland box from the right. Ronaldo brings the ball down, 12 yards out, shifts it from right to left, and lashes a wild shot right of goal. He claims a corner, but isn’t getting one. Dias goes into the book for pressing the point too passionately.
81 min: Portugal continue to hog the ball. The tension at Hampden is now palpable, with Scotland’s first point of their Nations League campaign within touching distance.
79 min: Cancelo curls a deep cross into the Scottish mixer from the right. Gordon rises highest to pluck the ball from the sky. Every defensive effort met with a huge Hampden roar.
77 min: The match suddenly goes basketball, as Scotland counter the counter, Morgan playing a cute reverse pass down the right touchline to release Ralston into acres. He’s got McTominay clear in the middle, but overhits the low cross and McTominay is forced wide left, where the move peters out. Oh my. One way or another, it’s just not happening for McTominay tonight at all.
76 min: … so for all Portugal’s domination, McTominay has arguably had the best two chances of the evening. What a strange game football can be. Then up the other end, Bernardo Silva jinks his way into space down the right and cuts back from the byline, but somehow misses out Ronaldo, allowing Gilmour to calmly mop up.
74 min: Another huge chance for McTominay! Space for Morgan down the right. He crosses long. Adams heads back across goal instead of going for goal. Not the worst decision, with McTominay shaping to shoot on the penalty spot, but somehow the ball rears up and Scotland’s top scorer takes a fresh-air swipe.
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73 min: Robertson commits to a sliding tackle and misses both ball and player entirely. Mendes is able to steal away with the ball and cross, but fortunately for Scotland and their embarrassed captain, the ball sails out of play for a goal kick. “This now reminds me of a typical SPL game, with Portugal as Celtic and Scotland as, say, Ross County or St Johnstone,” writes Simon McMahon. “The only debate is whether Portugal/Celtic’s winning goal will be scored just before or just after the 90-minute mark.”
71 min: Gilmour’s poor backpass nearly lets in Ronaldo. Gordon rushes to the edge of his box to blooter clear and save his team-mates blushes.
69 min: It’s now 3-3 in Warsaw, Poland levelling things up against Croatia through Sebastian Szymański. Not the best news for Scotland as they dream of avoiding automatic relegation from League A, but not a hope-killer either.
67 min: Scotland make two changes. Doak – the first 18-year-old to start consecutive games for the Scots since Paul McStay in 1983 – and Christie make way for Morgan and Gauld.
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66 min: McTominay works hard down the right and wins Scotland’s first corner of the game. Robertson swings it into the six-yard box. Hanley gets too close to Costa and the whistle goes for a free kick.
65 min: McLean dribbles out of his own box and looks to break. He’s clipped by João Cancelo, cynically from behind, but the Portugal player doesn’t go into the book. The ref feeling generous.
64 min: Portugal are beginning to assert themselves again. The second half unfolding much like the first one did.
63 min: McLean over-elborates in the centre circle and gifts possession to Fernandes, who dribbles hard down the inside-right channel before cutting inside. He’s got options in the box, but gets caught between shooting and crossing, and eventually does neither. McLean breathes a little easier.
61 min: Portugal make a triple change, hooking João Palhinha, Jota and the lively Conceição and sending on Bernardo Silva, Rafael Leão and Rúben Neves.
60 min: Adams is clipped to the floor and falls on the ball. A wee tussle with Dias ensues. The referee trots over to remind both that they’re grown men. In the meantime, here are some existential musings courtesy of Justin Kavanagh: “Poor Scott McTominay, he escapes a relegation battle at club level to join a top, top Italian team, only to find himself mired in another relegation dogfight at international level. He is the modern-day personification of the footballing Scots’ ability to snatch despondency from the jaws of happiness. I make this observation having spent a wonderful morning at the Scottish Football Museum this week, coming away asking if they offer any therapy for the poor people (thanks Peter!) who work there looking at all those ‘so-close’ moments on video loop. All day. Every day!”
58 min: Conceição wins a corner down the right. Fernandes takes a strange one that hits the near post and pings out for a goal kick. Not sure whether Gordon knew what was happening there, or if the ball had curled out of play before clattering the frame of the goal. Either way, that put a few hearts in mouths.
57 min: Souttar sends McTominay into space. McTominay tees up Christie on the edge of the D, but Christie can neither shoot nor shuttle the ball wide left for Robertson.
55 min: Portugal have enjoyed 67 percent of possession so far. And now they’ve got the ball in the net for the first time, but only after Mendes had dribbled the ball clearly out of play down the left and cut back for Ronaldo to tap home. No celebration. Ronaldo knew the score.
53 min: Doak and Robertson combine cutely down the left, the latter swinging a cross in for Adams, who is inches away from getting his head to the ball, six yards out. Maybe it skimmed his eyebrows, it was that close. But the ball flashes out for a goal kick.
51 min: Robertson’s deep outswinging free kick is dangerous, forcing Costa to punch clear in a panic. But then the whistle goes for too much Scottish shoving. Portugal go straight up the other end and nearly score, Conceição exchanging passes with Ronaldo down the middle before blazing over from the edge of the box. He should have worked Gordon at least. Somewhere in the multiverse, Portugal have gone 2-0 up in double-quick time.
50 min: Doak drops a shoulder to make his way down the inside-left channel at speed, and is hacked down by the hanging leg of João Palhinha, who goes into the book. A free kick. Everyone lines up on the edge of the Portugal box.
48 min: Robertson misplaces a pass in the midfield and allows his Liverpool team-mate Jota to tear off down the left. Jota clips back for Ronaldo, in acres on the penalty spot. Ronaldo heads over the bar. Nowhere near. What a chance that was. Ronaldo looks pained, as well he might. The net should have bulged rather than his incredulous eyes.
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47 min: All a bit scrappy. Neither team back up to speed yet.
Portugal get the second half underway. No changes.
HALF TIME: Poland 2-3 Croatia. No goals at Hampden, but it’s been a different story in Warsaw. Piotr Zieliński gave the hosts a fifth-minute lead, only for Croatia to hit back with three goals in seven minutes midway through the half, courtesy of Borna Sosa, Petar Sučić and Martin Baturina. All good news for Scotland, who really need the Croats to win tonight if they’re to have any realistic chance of avoiding automatic relegation from League A … but Poland reduced their arrears just before the break through Nicola Zalewski, so everything’s back in the balance. As things stand, Group A1 looks like this.
Portugal P3 W3 D1 L0 F7 A3 Pts 10
Croatia P3 W3 D0 L1 F7 A5 Pts 9
Poland P3 W1 D0 L3 F6 A9 Pts 3
Scotland P3 W0 D1 L3 F4 A7 Pts 1
HALF TIME: Scotland 0-0 Portugal
No added time. Scotland quickly make their way down the tunnel to receive some beneficial tactical advice.
43 min: Conceição slips Cancelo into space down the right. Cancelo dinks a cross in from the byline. Ronaldo is lurking but Gordon half clears. Vitinha meets the dropping ball on the edge of the D and slashes over. Scotland could do with hearing the half-time whistle.
41 min: … but Portugal come straight back at Scotland, Ronaldo welting a wild attempt miles over the bar from distance. Hampden celebrates by slipping back into panto mode.
40 min: Conceição in acres down the right. He’s got options in the middle, or could shoot himself, but attempts a strange cutback to … well, who? Adams intercepts and clears.
38 min: Scotland get their press going, and Portugal ship possession to McLean, who attempts to find Doak with a right-to-left cross, but seriously overcooks it. A little better from the hosts.
37 min: … and you’d think there’s no real need for Portugal to be claiming things they don’t deserve, because they’re well on top, and surely an opening goal is only a matter of time. They’re coming at Scotland from all angles, with Conceição borderline unplayable.
35 min: Hanley ushers a ball rolling very slowly back towards the Scotland box. It makes it just in time for Gordon to claim on the line. Fernandes screams to suggest Gordon had handled the ball out of the box, but that’s clearly not the case, and he’s really trying it on.
34 min: Conceição is an absolute menace down the right. Yet another cross, this time met by Ronaldo, whose header instigates a quick game of pinball. Scotland clear. Ronaldo claims a penalty for handball, but come on and come off it.
33 min: Scotland started brightly, but they’re having to dig in now. One of the biggest roars for a while as McLean breaks up an attack and blooters clear.
31 min: Yet another Conceição cross from the right. Jota heads back into the mixer. From the penalty spot, Ronaldo attempts a bicycle kick, which bounces wide right. It’s a free kick, too, Gilmour’s nearby head having been put in mortal danger.
29 min: Portugal’s second kit may be spattered in blue, but squint and the white takes over. Shades of Scotland-England. Hopefully that won’t give the Scottish players any unwelcome flashbacks. (Don’t click if you don’t want to be reminded of it, you know full well what it is.)
27 min: McTominay slides in on Fernandes, studs showing. He catches his former Manchester United team-mate and goes into the book. Ronaldo and Mendes then combine to make a royal hash of the free kick, the latter tapping to the former with too much velocity, the ball pinging off Ronaldo’s boot towards the grateful Gilmour, who clears. Ronaldo has the good grace to laugh at the faux pas.
25 min: Mendes whips the free kick in from the right. Gordon palms over the bar. Fernandes hits the resulting corner long from the left, and it’s easily hoofed clear. Portugal cranking up the pressure, though.
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24 min: Mendes hoicks the free kick in dangerously. Somehow on an arc that evades Ronaldo, Jota and Cancelo, all six yards out. But Conceição retrieves the ball on the other flank, and is upended by Ralston. There’s another dangerous free kick coming in.
23 min: Christie barges into Mendes again, this time conceding a free kick just to the left of the Scotland box. Danger here.
21 min: There’s a little bit of an edge developing here. Martinez loses the place again, this time over a garden-variety foul by Christie on an in-flight Mendes. Presumably he wants the Scotland man booked. It’s not happening.
20 min: The resulting free kick, sent into the Portugal box from the right, is only half cleared and drops to Christie, who catches a shot well from the edge of the D. Unfortunately it’s straight at Costa, who gathers without fuss.
19 min: Adams and Christie are both skittled amid a meleé, and it’s another free kick for Scotland. Ronaldo isn’t happy about the decision and has a long chat with the referee. Roberto Martinez isn’t that happy either, getting involved with the fourth official on the touchline. All a bit out of proportion.
18 min: Jota goes into the book for standing on Christie’s foot. It was a foul, sure, but a yellow card seems a bit harsh. Jota was competing for the ball and it didn’t look premeditated.
16 min: Conceição tries for Jota again. Again. Scotland just about deal with it, then Cancelo nearly high-kicks Robertson in the head, and the whistle goes to give Scotland a chance to regroup.
15 min: Conceição is causing all sorts of problems down the right. Again he crosses long, again Jota lurks at the far stick, again Ralston is forced to head behind for a corner. Fortunately for Scotland, again the Portuguese corner is nothing to write home about.
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13 min: Portugal are beginning to find their feet after Scotland’s confident start. Conceição wins a corner off Robertson down the right. Fernandes cuts this one back and what follows is a textbook example of over-thinking and over-playing.
12 min: Fernandes swings the corner into the six-yard mixer, but Gordon punches clear.
11 min: Conceição dribbles into the Scotland box from the right. He dinks towards the far post for Jota, but Ralston holds the Portugal striker at arm’s length and eyebrows out for a corner. That’s good defending; had Ralston not stood firm, it would have been a close-range chance for Jota.
9 min: Christie spins to slip Ralston into space down the right. He crosses low for Adams, but the ball clanks into the first Portugal defender. Unlucky. A fine move that was started by McTominay’s drive down the middle.
8 min: Ronaldo’s second and third touches of the ball elicit more loud booing. This is just begging for retribution, isn’t it. And indeed not long after, he’s taking his first whack at goal, from the left-hand edge of the Scotland D. A trundler that’s easy enough for Gordon.
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6 min: Fernandes swings a ball into the Scottish box from the let. It sails miles over Ronaldo’s head and into the arms of Gordon.
4 min: Scotland should be leading. McLean takes a quick free kick to release Doak down the left. Doak cuts back for Robertson, who crosses. McTominay is free, six yards out, but the Hampden goal machine slaps a weak header straight at Costa. What a chance!
3 min: Nuno Mendes’ poor backpass allows McTominay to break into the Portugal box. He can’t get a decent shot away, and the flag goes up anyway, Ralston having clattered Antonio Silva to ensure McTominay was able to get away.
2 min: Some early nerve-settling possession for Scotland. Then Portugal take over and get a feel of the ball. Ronaldo has his first touch and cops for some pantomime pelters.
A minute of applause in memory of former First Minister Alex Salmond, who passed away on Saturday … then Scotland kick off. A rousing atmosphere at Hampden. The trademark roar.
The teams are out! A pyro party on the touchline as Scotland and Portugal take to the pitch. The home heroes in dark blue, Portugal in their white and sky-blue-flecked change kit. We’ll be off in a minute or two, once folk have been sent home to think again.
Pre-match postbag. “Portknockie has a charming ring to it,” writes the MBM’s resident paronomasiac Peter Oh. “As for the match, I shudder to think how many goals Port. will knockie into the goal.” Aye, here’s hoping Scotland manage to stay Afloat. (A niche reference there for the Banffshire cognoscenti.)
Meanwhile Simon McMahon adds: “I’m extremely hopeful that Scotland can secure a famous victory tonight. If nothing else, the law of averages says that we’re due a result, but then again the same law convinced me that we were winning Euro 24, that we’d elect some politicians who weren’t completely out of their depth or lining their own pockets, and that I’d stay sober for at least one month this year. We’ve still got November and December, right? Undoubtedly the two best months for sobriety. If you include Anthony Ralston’s loan spell, there are three (former) Dundee United players in the Scotland starting XI tonight. Plus Ryan Gauld on the bench. You can do this, Scotland. Just like you did back in 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1992 1996 1998 2021 2024. What was I saying about the law of averages?”
Portugal make six changes to the side sent out to beat Poland 3-1 at the weekend. Diogo Jota, João Cancelo, Francisco Conceição, Vitinha, João Palhinha and António Silva step up. Meanwhile, though Roberto Martinez has spoken of managing 39-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo’s minutes carefully, Portugal’s 133-goal striker starts.
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A reminder of how Scotland have got themselves into their latest scrape: a 2-3 home defeat to Poland, a 2-1 loss in Portugal, and defeat by the same scoreline last weekend in Croatia. All of which means the Group A1 table looks like this …
Portugal P3 W3 D0 L0 F7 A3 Pts 9
Croatia P3 W2 D0 L1 F4 A3 Pts 6
Poland P3 W1 D0 L2 F4 A6 Pts 3
Scotland P3 W0 D0 L3 F4 A7 Pts 0
In tonight’s other game in A1, Poland welcome Croatia to Warsaw.
Scotland make one change to their starting XI in the wake of the 2-1 defeat in Croatia. Ché Adams takes the place of Lyndon Dykes up front. There are quite a few players on the bench hoping to earn their first cap tonight: Rangers midfielder Connor Barron, Aberdeen defenders Nicky Devlin and Jack MacKenzie, Preston centre-half Liam Lindsay, West Ham midfielder Andy Irving, and goalkeepers Jon McCracken and Robby McCrorie, of Dundee and Kilmarnock respectively. John McGinn, Kieran Tierney, Aaron Hickey, Scott McKenna, Lewis Ferguson, Lawrence Shankland and Angus Gunn are all absent through injury.
The teams
Scotland: Gordon, Ralston, Souttar, Hanley, Robertson, Gilmour, McLean, Christie, McTominay, Doak, Adams.
Subs: McCracken, McCrorie, Barron, Dykes, MacKenzie, Irving, Porteous, Lindsay, Morgan, Nisbet, Gauld, Deviln.
Portugal: Costa, Mendes, A Silva, Dias, Cancelo, Vitinha, Palhinha, Fernandes, Jota, Ronaldo, Conceição.
Subs: Velho, R Silva, Semedo, Dalot, Trincão, B Silva, Félix, Veiga, J Neves, Otávio, Leão, R Neves.
Referee: Lawrence Visser (Belgium).
🔢 One change from Saturday's match.
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) October 15, 2024
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O último 𝗫𝗜 𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 da Qualificação para o Europeu Sub-21! 🇦🇩🆚🇵🇹#ANDPOR | #PortugalNextGen | #U21EURO pic.twitter.com/eO6LJJvStV
— Portugal (@selecaoportugal) October 15, 2024
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Preamble
The top-line statistic makes for grim reading: Scotland have won just one of their last 15 matches. That solitary victory doesn’t bring much succour either, coming as it did in an extremely unconvincing 2-0 against Gibraltar, a landmass roughly similar in acreage to that infinitely more picturesque rock, the Bow Fiddle, plus neighbouring fishing villages Portknockie, Findochty and Cullen.
If that (admittedly delicious) statistic isn’t damning enough, here’s some more context. Derbyshire, who came last in cricket’s County Championship this year, won one of 14 games. Rugby league’s London Broncos, bottom of this season’s Super League, won three of 27 at a rate of one in nine. And the worst team in the NFL, the Carolina Panthers, ended last season 2-15. It doesn’t look good, though at least Scotland didn’t trade away Scott McTominay, Billy Gilmour and Ben Doak for Anthony Ralston. Poor Sir Purr.
But the thing is, you can push any old argument with data, and that stat doesn’t tell the whole story. Scotland may have stunk the place out at Euro 2024, but their subsequent Nations League performances have been curate’s-egg level at worst, highly promising if you’re being a little more generous. Steve Clarke’s side have gone toe-to-toe with three nominally better sides in Poland, Portugal and Croatia, playing extremely well for long periods in each match, only to suffer late sickeners every time: a clumsy late penalty here, an equaliser judged millimetres offside there, the all-time relentless nature of the evergreen Cristiano Ronaldo the other.
So yes, Scotland could do with some extra quality, it’s true, and at times they’ve been their own worst enemy. But they could also do with a little bit of luck going their way for once. Portugal, ranked eighth in the world, might not be the best opponents to face when searching for that momentum-shifting break. But Scotland’s barren run has to end sometime, and Hampden is where Portugal’s Iberian cousins Spain lost their last meaningful fixture, so why not tonight? Here’s hoping, anyway. Kick-off is at 7.45pm. It’s on!
