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Honeymoon over as Pocognoli's Scotland suffer domestic disharmony
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- Honeymoon over as Pocognoli's Scotland suffer domestic disharmony
On a dismal night at Hampden when Scotland failed to ask enough questions of Slovenia, there are one or two that could be posed to new boss Sebastien Pocognoli and his players.
We knew Pocognoli was a disciple of three at the back - the issue being whether he was rigid or flexible in his philosophy, whether he was a bit of an ideologue or a coach capable of changing things on the hoof.
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Well, he changed it, that's for sure. Maybe not early as he should have, but at 1-1, and then when Slovenia took a deserved 2-1 lead, Pocognoli switched formation and personnel, not out of design but out of desperation, you felt.
He hurled players on in a bid to take a point: strikers, wingers, kitchen-sink stuff. Indiscriminate and messy. Scotland never really got out of the blocks. They got what they deserved.
So to the questions. Where did this turkey of a performance come from?
As early as the 13th minute there were signs of a rough night when Slovenia got in behind and Adam Cerin's shot had to be blocked by Jack Hendry. Concerning.
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It got a touch nervy as the visitors knocked it about, trying to work it into all the space that Scotland were affording them. Hampden was deathly quiet. Then Ryan Christie scored and it stirred, only to fall into a slumber again.
The trouble at the back was revisited soon after, Andy Robertson having to make a lung-busting effort to throw himself in front of a point-blank shot from Zan Vipotnik after Hendry was caught dozing.
The issues were obvious. Can the back three, so badly exposed by Slovenia, be long for this world when the opposition is decent? Why did all that acreage of space open out wide and through the middle? Slovenia were licking their lips for most of the night. They were clever and creative and should have won by more.
Why did Scotland's lauded midfield look so overrun? Seconds into the second half, Slovenia went straight through the middle again.
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Was anybody taking note of the warning signs? Where was the intent and urgency? Where was the accuracy and the width? Where were the chances? Where were the bodies in the box supporting the frontman and the pressing game?
How could Slovenia go from being thoroughly outplayed by Scotland in the second half in Ljubljana to being so superior in Glasgow?
Aljosa Matko's equaliser started with a Scotland throw-in. Danijel Sturm's chance that should have made it 2-1 three minutes later came on the back of Ben Gannon-Doak staying miles up the pitch oblivious to Sturm's danger. Angus Gunn didn't exactly cover himself in glory, either.
The goal that we thought had made it 2-1 was disallowed - correctly - for offside, but the build-up was more of the same. Before Matko banged it past Gunn, Slovenia won one aerial duel and then another. Weak, weak, weak.
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That second goal did come, as everybody suspected it would. Matko down the right, squared to Sturm. Easy. Luis Binks was caught this time. Soft, soft, soft.
Ramifications could stretch beyond this campaign
[BBC]
What does it all mean for Scotland's bid for second place in their Nations League group, a position that would give them a favourable pot two seeding for December's Euros draw?
That looks in jeopardy now. The ramifications of this defeat could stretch beyond the disappointment of a cold Tuesday night in Glasgow.
It was such a damaging evening for Pocognoli, a bolt from the blue, you sensed. He probably thought he was a little further down the road than he really is.
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The air of dejection from him and his captain at the end was unmissable. It all sounded like some of the darker days under Steve Clarke.
There were giant empty spaces in the stands at Hampden but, at the end, there were enough fans left behind to deliver a lusty verdict on what they saw.
Going into this, there was positivity around Scotland's energy and the chances they'd been creating, about a burgeoning attacking style far removed from Clarke's supposed stodginess. All of that was badly undermined.
It wasn't so much that Scotland lost the game - bad enough in itself - it was how they lost. It was limp and lifeless for far too long.
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Gannon-Doak played well as a wing-back last Saturday, but that was North Macedonia, not Slovenia. The youngster got targeted and exposed in a position he's not familiar with. Offensively, he was kept pretty quiet.
A back three that has looked impressive was hassled to distraction, calm replaced with confusion. Scotland's go-to leaders did not lead.
Robertson said his team was out-fought, which was a telling comment. Fight is the easiest part to get right, the thing that requires no talent.
On Saturday in Skopje, everything was easy for Scotland because North Macedonia were no good. They scored two and could have scored five and six.
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Was there a sense of them believing in their own hype? Hard to imagine given that it was only North Macedonia they'd beaten, but there was a lack of edge about Scotland on Tuesday that begs that question.
Or can it all be laid at the door of the system? Slovenia did their work on that. Ripped it to pieces, in truth.
Pocognoli needs time, of course he does. He needs his most potent attacking midfielder, Scott McTominay, at the heart of things and needs more training sessions to drill his message into his players.
November is his next chance, away to Switzerland and home to North Macedonia. No real margin for error now. They had a big chance to make it a healthy seven points from four games and they blew it.
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The head coach will need to nurse his wounds after this. He will have learned a lot about his players and has much thinking to do.
The honeymoon period is over. The reaction of the Hampden crowd at the end told you that the first marital row has now occurred.
