"DEAD LOCH" Daily Mirror

England Team

Scotland Team

    Match Report by Mike Payne

One of my pet sayings when watching England play, whether it is our football or cricket teams, is that when all eleven players play well together, then we are capable of beating anyone. Sadly, too many of the England team against Scotland were woefully out of sorts, and it showed. Let’s be honest, Scotland did exactly what was expected, raising their game to a different level because it was England they were up against. But alas, England never responded in kind and they were a little lucky to escape with a point.

Gareth Southgate changed both full-backs with Reece James and Luke Shaw coming in, to try and stem the runs of Andy Robertson down the left, especially.  The match started with a series of niggly fouls but it was the Scots who had the first attack as Stephen O’Donnell centred to Che Adams, only for the England defence to block the shot.  It was a frantic opening with both sides getting stuck in to their challenges.

On 11 minutes Phil Foden and Mason Mount combined down the right and eventually won a corner. From this England could, and definitely should have taken the lead. The cross came in and John Stones was there all on his own with a free header. He headed well enough but the ball, instead of ending up in the back of the net, crashed against a post to be cleared by the relieved Scottish defenders. Stones will rue that miss for many years. Whether a goal then would have changed the course of the match, we will never know, but it certainly would have lifted the England players and fans.

Immediately after that incident England went close again. Scott McTominey was badly caught in possession as Raheem Sterling robbed him of the ball. Sterling went to the bye-line, but his pull-back was put wide by the inrushing Mount. Meanwhile John McGinn was doing his best to niggle the England players, but he then became the first to receive a yellow card as his ‘passion’ overstepped the mark. In the 17th minute James’s long pass found Foden, who shot just wide. It wouldn’t have counted though as the Manchester City youngster was flagged offside anyway.

A good burst by Shaw saw him find Mount who won a fruitless corner. For the next few minutes there was a lot of to-ing and froing but not much in the final third at either end. Just before the half-hour James put over another cross, but Kane couldn’t quite direct the header, which flew wide. A minute later though, and England were indebted to a wonderful save from Jordan Pickford. A deep cross came in from the left and O’Donnell met it with a sweet volley. Somehow, Pickford managed to turn the ball away with a strong hand for a superb save.

As the half came to an end it was pretty obvious that the Scots were up for the game, much more it would seem than England were. I’m sure that’s not true, but that is what it looked like. Scotland were playing much better than some of their more recent dire performances, but England just could not seem to get out of first gear. Declan Rice was having a battling game, in every sense, but he lacked support in midfield with Kalvin Phillips having a much quieter match and Mount only flitting in and out. For Scotland, who were winning the midfield battle, Chelsea starlet Billy Gilmour looked a particularly fine talent, and having Kieran Tierney back also made a big difference for the Scots. The last action of the half saw Adams win a corner, but that came to nothing and the players trooped off with the scores equal, nothing each!

After the break it was England who started brightly. Shaw won a corner and the home side had two chances in a minute. First Sterling, found Foden, but his shot was blocked, and then Mount advanced to hit a shot on target. Goalkeeper David Marshall, was down smartly though, to turn the ball round a post. On 55 minutes Kane found James and the full-back fired in a shot that flew narrowly over the top. James should have hit the target with that one, and to be honest, Marshall had had an easy time so far.

Scotland still kept battling and after Kane had a shot blocked they broke quickly and as a centre came in Tyrone Mings headed over his own goal to clear the danger. From the corner Dykes heads for goal, but James is back to clear from the line, although replays suggested it was drifting wide anyway, but James wasn’t to know that.

It must be said that England’s delivery from corners and set-pieces had been awful throughout the night, rarely clearing the first defender, and being easily dealt with by the Scottish defence. Southgate decided a change was needed, but surprisingly, although he, at last, thought that Jack Grealish was worth a go, he then took off Foden, when any other number of candidates would have been more suited to be the one substituted. Grealish was soon in the action, and soon on the floor after a foul let him know what was to come. He did combine well with Mount and Shaw though, but Shaw’s final effort flew well wide. At the other end Adams sliced a shot wide before England attacked again. This time Robertson could consider himself, as they say in Scotland, a wee bit lucky. Sterling had his ankle tapped and went down in the penalty area. They are sometimes given, but not this time, and to be fair, it would have been a tad harsh.

The last ten minutes saw both sides start to realise that a point was useful to each team although chances were still created as McGinn’s shot was deflected for a corner, whilst a nasty foul by O’Donnell on Grealish earned a deserved yellow card. The clock ticked down to the 90th minute and there was an almighty scramble in the Scottish goalmouth. Rice was at the heart of it as his shot was blocked as he fell, he then tried to force the ball home from a prone position but, much to Scotland’s relief, the ball was hacked clear, and the final whistle blew to end the agony, for England fans at least. To see Scotland’s players celebrating on the pitch as though they had won the Euro 2020 Cup, was very annoying to this England fan, but I suppose you couldn’t help but admire how well they had played. I just wonder if we will see the same passion from the Scots when they play Croatia in their final group match.

England meanwhile, have a lot to sort out before they play the Czech Republic in their final group game. They can learn from the passion of the Scots as we saw very little passion from them in this match, and I can honestly say that I have rarely seen England play so poorly in such a big game. Pickford did well in goal, the back four held firm, Declan Rice worked his socks off, but as for the rest, they need to have a re-think as to what this tournament means to them.
   

Source Notes