Steve Clarke adamant Scotland 'deserved something' from Portugal defeat as pressure starts to mount

Head Coach Steve Clarke of Scotland watches on at the Estadio Da LuzHead Coach Steve Clarke of Scotland watches on at the Estadio Da Luz
Head Coach Steve Clarke of Scotland watches on at the Estadio Da Luz | Getty Images
Scotland are now without a win in their last eight competitive games across all competitions - the longest winless run in their history

Steve Clarke is adamant there were positives for Scotland to take from back-to-back Nations League defeats to Portugal and Poland - insisting his players “deserved to take something” from the game in Lisbon.

A late 2-1 defeat to the Group A1 favourites at the Estadio da Luz means the Scots have now won just two of their last 18 away games against opposition ranked higher than them in the Fifa rankings. To make matters worse, Clarke’s side are without a victory in their last eight competitive fixtures across all competitions - the longest such winless run in their history.

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Cristiano Ronaldo’s 88th minute winner completed the comeback for the home side after Scott McTominay’s shock seventh minute opener was cancelled out by Bruno Fernandes’ effort from distance early in the second half. The result means Portugal remain top of the section while Scotland are left propping up the table, the only side yet to gain a point after Croatia beat Poland 1-0 last night.

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Speaking post-match, Clarke admitted: “I'm disappointed to lose a game where it looked, for a large period, we would get something from it. I'm really disappointed for my players because I think they deserved to get something from the game.

“I reiterated to my players that we have to understand what part of the cycle we're in, what we're trying to build. We're trying to re-adjust after the summer. We can lose these matches to try and build and make sure that the end goal, as always, is to qualify for the tournament. It would be nice to get some points, it would be nice to not concede late goals but this is the level we're at. The players understand how difficult it is to get results at this level.

“If you ignore the results, [there are a lot of positives] but we're professional so it's disappointing. We played well in these two games but we don't have anything to show for it. I've told the players not to be too hard on themselves. They have to understand the work that we're doing. We'll go away and analyse these games and hopefully we can give the lads a few pointers for the games next month which don't get any easier.”

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Scotland have now conceded in the 85th minute or later in five of their last six games in all competitions. Clarke added: “When you bring quality players from the bench like Roberto (Martinez) can do you always know there's a risk but I felt we handled it well. With the amount of balls that go into the box, you know one of them can go in the back of the net and that's what happened to us.”

John McGinn insists the the Tartan Army will be proud of their performance, despite succumbing to another late goal. He stated: “It’s a sickener at the end, but much more like us in terms of performance, desire, commitment. I don’t think many people gave us a chance tonight of getting anything from the game and the way we competed for 90-plus minutes was brilliant. We were up against a top-class team and once we conceded the first goal, it could’ve been easy for us to crumble and go under.

“We managed to get our foot on the ball and created a few chances. We’ve learned a lot over these two games. I think individual mistakes in the first game (against Poland), including my own cost us really. And then tonight, it think it was just a case of the pressure being a little bit too much at the end. On another day, we could’ve come away with a point or maybe three.

“For us, this camp was about getting back together and try to build something a bit fresh. I know the starting team probably wasn’t as fresh as what people thought or would have envisioned but these boys are getting experience to come and try to help us. The players who came on were excellent again and the supporters wanted a reaction from the summer.

“I’m sure they’ll be proud of us tonight, even though it’s another defeat. We’re not proud of the run we’re on but performances like tonight will get us there in the end.”

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