Sebastien Pocognoli secured his first Scotland win at the third time of asking as captain Andy Robertson became just the second player to reach 100 caps.
The head coach insisted there was no extra pressure after drawing a blank in their opening two Nations League games, but he and the players silenced some critics with a strong performance in Skopje despite a second red card inside a week as they beat North Macedonia 2-0.
Robertson missed two brilliant chances before Kieron Bowie – hooked after Jack Hendry’s early sending off against Switzerland in midweek – smashed the ball into the bottom corner to earn his first international goal and Scotland’s first in over 420 minutes.
Play was stopped by a dog running onto the pitch before Scotland continued to dominate with Bowie, Robertson and Ben Gannon-Doak going close before the break.
Scotland were awarded a penalty when Gannon-Doak went down in the box after half-time, only for the referee to overturn his decision after being called to the monitor.
VAR did then award the visitors a penalty soon after. Rangers striker Bojan Miovski was judged to have stopped Bowie’s rebound with his arm after Scott McKenna hit the post.
Questions had been asked about John McGinn’s Scotland future but the Aston Villa skipper sent the ‘keeper the wrong way to double their lead. It was his 27th goal for his country.
But with the visitors looking comfortable, it was a repeat of Hendry’s red on Tuesday as McKenna was sent packing late on for his last-man challenge on Agon Elezi.
Scotland host Solvenia at Hampden Park on Tuesday night in the final Nations League match of this extended international break.
Scotland’s Scott McKenna (R) was sent off late on
The key moments from the Philip II Arena
5: SAVE! A clean strike from Andy Robertson, a brilliant save from Stole Dimitrievski.
7: GOAL SCOTLAND! Kieron Bowie hammers the ball into the bottom corner from outside the box.
10: CLOSE! Robertson again. The Scotland captain fires wide of the far post with Oli McBurnie screaming for the pass.
10: PITCH INVASION! Well, there’s a dog on the pitch. They catch the pooch quickly and the game gets back underway.
A dog ran onto the pitch during the first half in Skopje
13: OVER! Robertson is a man on a mission, with this effort going just over the bar.
28: OVER! Bowie waits for the opening and cuts the ball back to Ben Gannon-Doak, but he gives it too much and it’s over.
30: HUGE CHANCE! Bowie chases down the ball and just has to take it around the ‘keeper, but it’s eventually blocked.
34: SAVE! Dimitrievski does well to hold onto Gannon-Doak’s effort from the edge of the box.
50: CHANCE! McGinn does well to set up Gannon-Doak, but he hits it straight at the ‘keeper.
51: PENALTY FOR SCOTLAND! Gannon-Doak is brought down as he bursts into the box, and the referee points to the spot.
54: NO PENALTY! The referee is called to the monitor, and after a review it is overturned.
Referee Francois Letexier overturns Scotland’s penalty decision
56: SAVE! Brilliant again from Gannon-Doak as he takes a touch before firing towards goal.
57: CLOSE! John McGinn is so close to Scotland’s second, but the Aston Villa captain’s effort is just wide.
64: PENALTY FOR SCOTLAND! Scott McKenna hits the post and Bowie’s rebound looks to be stopped by Bojan Miovski.
69: GOAL SCOTLAND! John McGinn sends the ‘keeper the wrong way and Scotland are two up.
83: RED CARD! It was all going so well, but Scott McKenna is sent packing for a last-man challenge on Agon Elezi.
Robertson: ‘It means everything’
Andy Robertson applauds the Scotland fans at full time
Scotland captain Andy Robertson speaking to BBC Scotland about his 100th cap:
“It means everything to me, it means everything to my family.
“I’ve been away now 100 times, I’ve got to feel sorry for my wife! It’s been an unbelievable journey, I remember my first game and it’s been a process since then.
“It’s emotional for me. I love this country, there’s only one person before me in the men’s game to do that, it’s a pretty special achievement.
“I thought Kenny Dalglish was going to be worried about his goalscoring record in the first five minutes! I had about six shots.
“They did a nice presentation for me, I told them I wanted the win. The lads did so well to get the win, it’ll be a special one for me and my family.”
On Scott McKenna’s sending off, which came from a tackle after Robertson’s short pass, the captain adds: “I apologise for the pass to Scott McKenna, I’ll have to go in and apologise to him for that.
“We played really well on a really difficult pitch. We made it a wee bit interesting with the sending off but we defended so well for the last 10 minutes. All of the lads were magnificent and it was a big win. You want to get it as early as possible for the new manager and thankfully we did that tonight.”
Pocognoli refuses to get carried away
Sebastien Pocognoli celebrated his first win with Scotland
Scotland head coach Sebastien Pocognoli speaking to BBC Scotland.
“I’m very pleased with this first win. But, we stay stable because we have a game in three days, and we want just to have another good game before the end of the first break.
“We played a very good game, we created a lot of chances, we keep two times a zero in three games, which for me means a lot also.
“We played with the right attitude, and for me it was a nice game, not everything was perfect, because we should have scored more goals, but we are in the continuity of the second half from Slovenia, and I hope we can have another good game at home.”
On Kieron Bowie’s first Scotland goal, he added: “He scored the most difficult one from the game. I was really pleased for him, because I know that the topic about not scoring will be on the table after 25 minutes.
“I was really pleased with his performance, and from many of the lads.”
Scotland’s upcoming Nations League Group B1 fixtures
- Tuesday October 6 – Slovenia (H), kick-off 7.45pm
- Friday November 13 – North Macedonia (H), kick-off 7.45pm
- Monday November 16 – Switzerland (A), kick-off 7.45pm
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com
