England 3 Scotland 0: Five things we learnt about Gordon Strachan’s battlers as poor finishing proves so costly against ruthless Three Lions
Tartan Army slip further behind in World Cup qualifying after failing to match the quality of the hosts' classy headed goals
SCOTLAND lost for the second game in a row to slip further behind in Group F as England overpowered Gordon Strachan’s men at Wembley.
Their bid to make a major tournament for the first time in 20 years stalled again thanks to headers from Daniel Sturridge, Adam Lallana and Gary Cahill, with the visitors trying hard but ultimately lacking the quality to pose England a threat.
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Here, SunSport looks at five things we learnt from the match and tries to make sense of their limitations against better opposition…
Gordon Strachan can only do so much
Strachan’s men are willing runners, take pride in the shirt and clearly want to play for him - but are a limited footballing outfit who were not clinical enough when it mattered.
Despite Scotland swarming all over England in the early stages, all England needed to do was sit back, soak up the pressure and hit them on the break with their higher quality.
They are not blessed with a world class talent, and when clear-cut chances did present themselves, they were missed when their England counterparts simply would have scored.
With an ageing squad, Scotland are crying out for something fresh - the desire is there, but a changing of the guard is needed.
Is Scott Brown the answer?
Much of the reason for Scotland’s bright start and constant engery was the much-needed steely presence of Scott Brown in midfield.
The likes of Charlie Adam may have been outspoken in his disapproval for Celtic star to walk back into Gordon Strachan’s side after his comeback from retirement, but he showed why he was needed with tireless running and intelligent passing – for about 15 minutes.
Granted, he was recently injured, but for most of the rest of the game, all he did was point and shout.
He can do nothing about the more creative players around him missing chances, but he seems symptomatic of Scotland’s over-reliance on a few key men who themselves are not game-changers.
England’s defence were let off the hook
Scotland fans were to a man praying for Leigh Griffiths to start the match over Chris Martin, and they got their wish - but as a lone striker it did not work, despite the hesitancy of England’s back line.
John Stones in particular looked shaky all game, often when he tried to overplay out from the back – but with a lone striker, they could not capitalise, leading to an increasingly frustrated and angry Griffiths as the game wore on.
What will frustrate the Tartan Army most is that a number of goal-scoring opportunities came and went, most notably from the likes of Grant Hanley, Robert Snodgrass and James Forest.
Scotland’s woes were characterised at the start of the second half when two golden chances squandered, before a momentary defensive lapse moments later saw Adam Lallana score England’s second goal up the other end.
Defensive woes continue
Three crosses, three headers, three goals.
Not much could be done for Sturridge’s opener, as Grant Hanley went to block Raheem Sterling’s shot and could not get back in time.
But for Lallana’s second and Gary Cahill’s third, they were left so open in the penalty area to nod free headers past the helpless Craig Gordon – which is not good enough against quality finishers.
Hanley has hardly played for new club Newcastle and has been poor for Scotland in recent games, while his defensive partner Christophe Berra is 31 and no better than a Championship defender.
Their lack of pace was a worry before the match, but it was criminal that their aerial prowess was shown up by shorter players.
Going forward, Scotland’s defence is the ultimate priority as it is second rate at present.
Scotland fans are amongst the best in the world
The 14,000 travelling Tartan Army observed the minute silence impeccably and sung their national anthem Flower of Scotland with ferocious volume, and about five different times during the match.
And even when their team went 1-0 down to a Daniel Sturridge header, they carried on supporting their team and crucially, did not get on the backs of under-pressure boss Gordon Strachan.
Getting to Russia in 2018 looks an increasingly doubtful prospect, but even when the team are mathematically out, you know the Tartan Army will be home and away in numbers and volume regardless.
And given the amount of kilts seen on Wembley Way, a lot of them would have done all of the above while mighty chilly….