Gibraltar 0-2 Scotland: Scots labour to victory as opening Euro 2024 clash with Germany looms large

The last time Scotland played Gibraltar in the Algarve, Gordon Strachan ended a romp with six goals to mark one of the most memorable nights of his career. If Steve Clarke remembers this game at all, it won’t be with any lingering fondness.

In the penultimate warm-up match before facing Germany in Munich in the opening match of Euro 2024, the good news was that Scotland’s winless run finally came to an end after the eighth time of asking.

The bad came when Leeds defender Liam Cooper limped off with 12 minutes to play, just days after key striker Lyndon Dykes succumbed to an ankle injury.

The Scots, wearing their pastel blue away kit, played for long periods like a team that might have struggled to hit a barn door with a beach ball. They managed only five of 24 attempts on goal, a difficult, disappointing victory against the team ranked 203rd in the world. The German boss is unlikely to give Julian Nagelsmann too many sleepless nights.

Captain Andrew Robertson was handed his 70th international cap and had chance after chance, with Ryan Christie finally grabbing one with an emphatic finish after 58 minutes.

A spectacular volley from substitute Che Adams five minutes from time gave the score a more acceptable gloss and strengthened the striker’s claims for a start against Germany ahead of Lawrence Shankland. With Dykes ruled out, options are scarce.

Ross McCrorie and Billy Gilmour greet Ryan Christie (right) after he broke the deadlock

Che Adams (right) receives compliments from Ryan Jack after doubling Scotland’s lead

Eight years ago the Scots traveled to this venue for a dead rubber after failing to reach Euro 2016. On cue, Strachan gathered his players and staff on the pitch to pose for selfies in front of 11,000 supporters, and a celebration of the failure epitomized how far the national team had fallen.

Last night Clarke’s team returned to the Estadio Algarve with a place at the 2024 European Championship already on the horizon. Yet this time there was little to celebrate in the performance. If anything, it proved the old theory that Scotland doesn’t play friendlies.

There was a first senior cap for Ross McCrorie, the only man who could view the loss of regular right-backs Aaron Hickey and Nathan Patterson as a stroke of luck.

In the absence of the hapless Dykes, who was withdrawn from training last week, Hearts captain Shankland was given the opportunity to stake his claim in attack, with James Forrest, Christie and John McGinn providing support. With, it must be said, mediocre results.

There should be no overreaction to disappointing performance. As far removed from the Allianz Arena as you can imagine, the whole exercise had the feel of a preseason friendly from the start. It is sometimes difficult to simulate competitive conditions and a lack of urgency and pace in Scotland’s play contributes to a lackluster performance.

Germany will be a different proposition and for that reason alone Gibraltar struck many as a curious way to prepare for a meeting with Toni Kroos and Jamal Musiala.

The British outpost has been a member of UEFA since 2013 and last won a match in November 2022 against Andorra.

Scotland assistant boss John Carver speaks to defender Liam Cooper after he was sent off in the second half, although it is not thought to be serious

Gibraltar is a combination of gnarled old pros and young thrusters. Lincoln Red Imps midfielder Liam Walker was their top scorer – with a total of five goals. At the other end of the scale was James Scanlon, a 17-year-old striker at Manchester United.

After 12 straight defeats – including a 14-0 defeat to France – Europe’s second-worst team was not expected to give Scotland much of a match.

By missing chance after chance, Clarke’s team made the whole thing so much more difficult than it should have been.

Unusually, the Scotland manager was absent from the touchline, taking a seat in the stands to watch players get some minutes in. After just ten appearances for his club all season, Norwich defender Grant Hanley was a prime example. This was the centre-back’s first appearance for the national team since the epic victory over Spain in Glasgow that sparked the march to Germany, and he should have marked it with a first-half hat-trick.

Robertson, one of the few players in last night’s starting XI who was certain to start against Germany, had chance after chance and until Christie finally broke the deadlock, his teammates managed to miss them all. Hanley set the tone when he missed a sitter after ten minutes, heading the ball into the ground from a corner and over the crossbar.

Before half-time, the centre-half had a header superbly saved by Gibraltar’s debutant keeper Jaylan Hankins before slotting an easy chance wide of the post from three yards.

He was certainly not the only one to blame. Forrest sliced ​​a weak effort wide, while Kenny McLean headed Robertson’s cross wide of target.

Ross McCrorie made his Scotland debut as a right back and at least kept a clean sheet

The suspicion that the second half could hardly be much worse turned out to be optimistic. Even the winning goal was sloppy: Bournemouth striker Christie smashed high into the net, through a cluster of bodies, after Robertson had hung another cross at the back post.

The day before the match, Cooper was brought to the attention of the media and spoke about the worrying number of injuries, dampening expectations that this would become the first Scottish team to reach the second stage of a major tournament for the first time .

Hanley’s half-time replacement, who insisted no one could hold back or hold back, must have wished he had stayed on the bench when he fell to the deck in the 78th minute. The Leeds defender limped heavily and cut a dejected figure. It looked bad.

The second goal was much more similar. Adams laced through McGinn’s cross towards the back post to make the score slightly more respectable.

Around the time Adams scored the second, Tommy Conway converted a header for the under-21 side against Turkey. On a night where the lack of shot and power in attack was impossible to miss, Clarke could still be tempted to give Bristol City a chance at glory.