Euro 2024

Don’t understand Scotland’s tactics. They knew they had to win and Hungary weren’t a particularly good side, yet it wasn’t until injury time that Scotland decided to go for it. Poor.

1 Like

The game didn’t really get going until the last 30 minutes, after which, as has so often been the case in the past, The Jocks’ desperation ends in despair.

Oh well. :man_shrugging: :scotland:

2 Likes

Watched the Swiss but that’s tough to take for the Scots.

Scotland should have had a penalty which would probably have settled it in their favour.

Probably not. More likely it would be on the stadium roof judging by the rest of their ‘quality’ on the ball.

1 Like

Gunn & Handley were probably their two best players tonight & part of Scotland’s problem was that Handley was their best forward in the last two matches.

1 Like

Three expert pundits have just given their verdict on TV.

Even though the incident was shown at least a dozen times, from different angles, in slow motion.

None of them noticed the forearm across the throat and the obvious shirt pulling. :rofl:

2 Likes

He’s come from behind and gone through Armstrong, penalty.

1 Like

The Hungarians got a forearm in the throat, having his shirt pulled, AND is being obstructed. :blush:

2 Likes

Interestingly, on the Canadian feed the two pundits are Steven Caldwell and Kevin Kilbane and they both thought the call on the pitch was correct. Their point was that Armstrong deliberately stepped out of the path of the ball in front of the defender.

And let’s be fair, Scotland were woeful in 2 of their 3 games, only “scored” with two own goals and had a pitiful number of shots on goal. It was a very disappointing tournament for them.

3 Likes

Absolutely right. Had he tried to score instead conjuring a penalty , Scotland might have won.

1 Like

It’s a strange development in the game at the moment. Players get in the box and appear to look for a penalty first instead of just trying to score. It’s almost like they think if they are touched in the box it must be a foul. It’s not a non-contact sport.
In the Euros we have finally seen some refs let the good old shoulder barge go and some of them have not fallen for the weak dives looking for cheap free kicks.

4 Likes

I noticed that too. Very good.

No idea why anyone would think that a penalty. Wasn’t from any angle. The only ref from outside of Europe had a magnificent game.

Have to say I fully understood the Scottish tactics. Pretty much the same as the Hungarians. It’s a game you know you have to win but both defences have lost their best player and both are prone to being porous and ponderous. Pushing forward runs the risk of being caught on the break and indeed after 20 minutes of dominating that’s exactly what happened to Scotland with the Hungarians first attack so, lesson learnt, and back to plan A.

Unsurprisingly both teams then ramp the pressure up for the last 15 and into injury time. Scotland ultimately undone by the exact issue described above. You push up looking for the 1 goal and get caught on the break. Unlucky that it was with 20 seconds to go but proof that had they played more like that for the 1st 75 minutes they could have been thrashed.

Germany result and performance reinforces my earlier point. A team that wins 5-1 in their 1st game hasn’t produced anything like the same since and the reasons for that are straightforward.

Agreed. But then I’m biased! I’m only sorry that as of Monday, Stuey will no longer be a Saint.

Thus Armstrong was even less in control of the ball than he might have been. Which was not a lot. No penalty in my opinion.

1 Like

1 Like

A message from Gareth Southgate

6 Likes

By ek, it’s grim watching Croatia-Italy.

In an age where robust tackles are invariably met with a free kick, or worse still, the dreaded yellow card, I’d have thought that today’s players would have found life even easier to take the man on, and attempt to proceed goalwards, but it seems not.

Instead, we have to watch the never ending “t’you / t’me / and back t’you again”
bollox.

Do our modern day players simply never learn the basic skills at youth level, or is it coached out of them in favour of safe football?

Eddie Gray, ghosting past defenders, seems to have been consigned to history.

Grumpy old footy fan. :soccer: :roll_eyes:

5 Likes