FORGET the Black Stuff.
Scotland just ended up right in the brown stuff in Dublin.
The Tartan Army came here expecting to celebrate a Nations League victory with pints of Guinness.
Instead they downed nothing but disappointment which left a bitter taste in the mouth.
Under-pressure Stephen Kenny?
He held his arms aloft more like King Kenny after this victory in the Aviva Stadium which even the most patriotic Irishman couldn’t have seen coming.
For Steve Clarke this was a pitiful performance from his team which was shocking as the one against Ukraine.
It was little wonder the travelling fans were so incensed at time up.
They stood stunned after the final whistle at what they’d just witnessed.
The performance was abysmal with the goals Scotland conceded nothing short of shambolic.
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Embarrassingly bad at this level.
Craig Gordon may be one of the best goalkeepers the country has ever produced.
And it’s not like he hasn’t bailed this team out before with his heroics.
Yet he covered himself in no glory at Ireland’s first.
The Hearts No1 is usually so decisive yet he seemed to be caught in two minds when James McLean swung in a corner.
Gordon first moved to go for it, then decided to stay where he was on his line.
Then when the ball was headed back across goal by Shane Duffy he didn’t shift his feet quickly enough.
All Alan Browne had to do was hit the target from a yard out.
Gordon wasn’t the only one caught on his heels.
Grant Hanley hardly got up off the ground in his attempt to jump and cut out Duffy’s header.
Would John Souttar have done better? Who knows.
But it was certainly the type of defending which backed up the supporters who were bemused by Hanley’s selection ahead of the new Rangers centre-back.
Souttar had a good game against Armenia at Hampden Park last Wednesday night. Why did Clarke see the need to drop him?
Hanley has been a big player for Clarke but it was a decision which reeked of blind loyalty.
Playing Scott McTomimay in midfield was another big call and there was a fair degree of rational thinking there.
Yet the Manchester United man virtually had no influence in the middle of the park in the first 45 minutes before shifting back into defence after the break.
He replaced Jack Hendry who was culpable at Ireland’s second goal which wasn’t any easier on the eye.
Hendry challenged Parrott in the air when a long ball was punted forward. But the Brugge stopper was guilty of being far too weak.
He then got sucked infield when the ball broke for little Obafemi and had no clue where Parrott was when he ran in behind him to score.
Anthony Ralston couldn’t tuck in quickly enough either.
The Celtic right-back was actually one of Scotland’s best players.
Nobody could say he wasn’t up for it with his will to will and desire typically there for all to see.
There just wasn’t enough of that out there in light blue Scotland shirts.
Ireland just weren’t made to work for their two first-half goals which was the most galling thing.
There was also a real lack of cutting edge from Scotland’s attack in the moments when they did get into good positions.
John McGinn had two big chances to score when Ireland were mugged when they tried to play the ball out from the back.
But on each occasion the Aston Villa man lacked the composure to score.
His first effort fell tamely into the arms of keeper Caoimhin Kelleher while his next attempt missed the target altogether.
Clarke could have made any number of chances at the half-time break.
The one he opted for was to take off Hendry and put on Billy Gilmour in an attempt to get some control in midfield where there had been none.
But before the Chelsea man could even begin to pick up the pace of the game Scotland were 3-0 down.
This time there was absolutely nothing anyone could do about it.
Obafemi’s strike from 30 yards was nothing short of sensational with Gordon blameless between the sticks this time.
There was just no way back after that.
Ireland’s third goal hit the net just five minutes into the second half but it was game over.
Clarke tried to mix things up again by taking off Che Adams, Ryan Christie and John McGinn and replacing them by Jacob Brown, Ross Stewart and Stuart Armstrong.
But it was too late.
If anything the home side were hugely unfortunate not to score a fourth goal and really humiliate Scotland.
In 61 minutes substitute Scott Hogan looked to have scored with a header. But Hanley managed to hook the ball off the lines with millimetres to spare.
Just about everyone inside the stadium as expecting the linesman to flag that it had crossed the line.
There was even a VAR check to make sure the official’s equipment wasn’t faulty. But it turned out that Hanley did make a last ditch clearance.
All it did was keep the score down because there was no way Scotland were getting back into the game at that stage.
Sub Stewart had a late chance to pull a goal back but the Sunderland striker asked for far too much time inside the penalty box and didn’t get his shot away quickly enough.
It pretty much summed up Scotland’s day.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
