Hampden Horror Show: Ten-Man Scotland Crumble in Pocognoli's Opener

Jack Hendry got his marching orders inside ten minutes. That set the tone, alright. A miserable evening unfolded. Hendry dragged down Dan Ndoye. A definite goal-scoring chance, snuffed out. VAR, for once, actually got it right, overturning Serbian referee Nenad Minakovic’s initial penalty call. No spot-kick, just a straight red. Worse.

Ricardo Rodriguez didn't waste the free-kick. Curled it, top corner. Game over, practically. Scotland's 'uphill struggle' was already a sheer cliff face. One man down, they huffed and puffed. For long stretches, they chased shadows, trying to look busy. But 'trouble the Swiss'? Not a chance. The quality just wasn't there.

Nico Elvedi killed any lingering hope early in the second half. Ndoye again, a low cross, Elvedi at the near post. Two-nil. Burnley's Zeki Amdouni then stuck the knife in deep, converting another Ndoye cutback in the 82nd minute. Three-nil. A proper shellacking.

Pocognoli tried to spin it. He called the early red 'probably the worst situation that we can have.' Said his players put in a shift, bless 'em. Robertson, ever the captain, was more direct. 'Your first home game under the new manager, you want to get off to a good start.' No arguments there, Robbo. Not exactly the grand opening anyone envisioned.

So, Scotland remain winless in Nations League B1. Shocker. They get to pick themselves up against North Macedonia on Saturday. Then it's Slovenia back at Hampden. Good luck with that.