Scotland player ratings vs Ivory Coast: Glaring deficiencies leave Clarke with much to ponder, 7/10 star man auditions well

The sparkly new £750m Hill Dickinson Stadium - home of Everton - was awash with the blue of Scotland. The Tartan Army had flocked to Merseyside in huge numbers to witness what they hoped would be an upgrade on a conservative performance against Japan.

Ivory Coast provided the opposition - quarter-finalists at this year’s AFCON finals - and just the eighth time the Scots have faced an African nation; the first since facing Nigeria at Craven Cottage back in May 2014. The record didn’t make for great reading - two wins and four defeats from those seven fixtures.

International friendlies can often be a relatively pain-staking watch at times, with Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Japan a case in point. Steve Clarke’s side were blunt in attack and lacking an X-factor three days ago. A “raft of changes” were promised by the head coach for this clash.

There were NINE in total, with only skipper Andy Robertson - earning his 92nd cap to move the Liverpool full-back into second place for most appearances with only Sir Kenny Dalglish now in front of him - and Scott McTominay retaining their spot in the starting XI.

Rangers back-up goalkeeper Liam Kelly donned the gloves for only his second cap along with Wrexham central defender Dom Hyam, while Bristol City’s Ross McCrorie was given a run-out at right wing-back and George Hirst partnered Che Adams in attack as part of a much-changed 3-5-2 formation - “a system that qualified us for two major tournaments,” Clarke said pre-match.

The ‘Elephants’ may not be the force of old when they could call on the likes of Didier Drogba, Yaya Toure and Salomon Kalou, but still provided formidable opposition for Clarke’s side having lost just two of their past 13 games. They won eight of those and kept nine clean sheets in the process. No pushovers.

A return to Merseyside will have brought back happy memories for those of a certain vintage. Anfield was the scene of a 2-0 win over Wales which famously clinched a place at the 1978 World Cup.

While the stakes weren’t as high on this occasion, the objective was clear. “No injures. A good performance and hopefully a good result.”

Would Clarke get his wish? The early signs were positive as Scotland began on the front-foot with Hirst - aiming to build on an encouraging solid appearance at the weekend - seeing an early shot blocked before Ryan Christie forced Ivory Coast keeper Alban Lafont into a diving save from 20 yards.

However, that early optimism evaporated after 12 minutes when Ivory Coast broke the deadlock. Moments after Christie had a weak effort comfortably saved, the Africans broke up field as speed. Elye Wahi’s scuffed shot cannoned back off the post but former Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe was quickest to react by scrambling the ball over the line from just a few yards out.

Momentum had shifted dramatically. Thereafter, Ivory Coast looked the more assured outfit as the Scots struggled to find any sort of rhythm. Kelly was left breathing a sigh of relief after being caught miles off his line as Wahi tried his luck from distance, but his looping strike landed on the roof of the net.

Scotland’s decision-making and execution in the final third was proving their downfall. They were getting into some threatening areas without making it count. McTominay found room to pull the trigger from 20 yards which forced Lafont to look lively to push it away shortly before half-time.

Clarke made two changes at the interval. Scott Bain replaced Kelly between the sticks to win his first cap since 2019, while Lewis Ferguson took over from McTominay in the engine room.

The men in orange threatened a second when Wahi got on the end of a lofted pass and the ball looked destined to end in the bottom corner before John Souttar produced a tremendous last-ditch block inside the six-yard box.

Then came a flurry of substitutions with home boy Nathan Patterson, Kenny McLean and John McGinn all introduced.

Lively Ipswich Town frontman Hirst fired high and wide of the target as Scotland ventured forward in search of an equaliser, but it was the Ivorians who looked more likely to add to the score line.

The Scots survived a huge let-off when the unmarked Christ Inao Oulai powered a free header over the crossbar from a corner after peeling off his marker. But still they couldn’t find that killer second goal.

Scotland were still in the contest. Hirst’s deft flick from McGinn’s corner required a combination of Lafont and two defenders to prevent the ball from sneaking in at the near post.

Looking to lay siege on Lafont’s goal in the closing exchanges, Clarke brought on Lyndon Dykes for his 50th cap and Tommy Conway but neither striker could muster a clear sighting at goal.

Falkirk No.1 Bain - who had enjoyed a relatively quiet second period - then came to Scotland’s rescue late on when he reacted smartly to tip a fierce drive from ex-Rangers loanee Amad Diallo behind for a corner.

The Ivorians finished the game strongly with Simon Adingra clipping the outside of the post with a shot from distance to leave Clarke with plenty to ponder after watching his side draw a blank for the second game running.

While this performance was an improvement on Saturday’s showing against the Japanese, Scotland remain too easy to score against. Two testing friendlies, two narrow defeats. Not ideal with just ten weeks to go until the World Cup campaign begins...