Norway v Scotland - match day thread

[ParisInAKilt]

6 minutes ago, mccaughey85 said:

A team that hasnt looked like scoring the whole match suddenly gets a goal through comical defending. To me thats got an element of luck to it.

Nothing wrong with it, we have been on the end of bad luck in the past so i aint complaining.

That’s the game, mistakes small and big have a part in a lot of goals. 

[Orraloon]

12 hours ago, Bobby Russell's Lovechild said:

Steve Clarke getting teary, think we all felt it today 👍👍

https://twitter.com/ScotlandNT/status/1670155633818222592?t=IHtK3bGI-hK5WDK3PtC3hA&s=19

Hay fever season. 

[Caledonian Craig]

Anyway thoughts turn to Tuesday night now.

I worry about injuries and fatigue in the squad now. Tierney was subbed earlyish so worry that may be an injury. Most of our key players put in a full shift in stifling heat so I can see Clarke being forced to shuffle the pack.

I can see Gilmour and Armstrong starting and maybe a tweak in defence with perhaps Cooper replacing Hendry. Christie too may be rested in place of Ferguson.

[mccaughey85]

3 minutes ago, Caledonian Craig said:

Statuesque defending equates to shite play in my book but yet you say Norway fans should be distraught they lost. Sorry but if I were a Scotland my take would be with shite defending like that you do not deserve anything from a game.

You are not grasping the rudimentary facts of the game so let me explain it to you. This was a must win game for Norway and a game that a draw would have been a good result for is. We ended up with the same shots on goal as them and scored the goal of the night. That tells me Norway's play and gameplan was inferior to ours. Their play never created more chances than us who were set up defensively and their gameplan was inferior given the end result.

Kenny Miller summed it up for me on Sportscene last night - overall we have the better team. Norway have a couple of superstars but throughout the team we have the better quality. This is backed up by recent form of both sides.

I really do not understand why you are so vociferously arguing the point we were lucky and/or did not deserve it. We came with a gameplan to stifle Haaland which we did and avoid defeat which we did. We get that you are adamant we didn't deserve it but to hear,a Scotland fan today argue so vocally about it is bizarre.

Norways gameplan was shite and so was their performance. No denying that but that doesnt mean we played well. 

I would say we are the better team but thats based on results and performances over the past couple of years. Last night was a tough watch as both sides looked poor. Thankfully we pulled out a good result through some good fortune and an excellent passing move for our second goal. 

Nobody is more chuffed than me. I just wont lie to myself about how we played for the full match. It was tough watch at times and i was thoroughly disappointed with our performance before our first goal went in.

If you want to tell yourself we played well then fair enough. Thats your choice.

[mccaughey85]

4 minutes ago, Caledonian Craig said:

Anyway thoughts turn to Tuesday night now.

I worry about injuries and fatigue in the squad now. Tierney was subbed earlyish so worry that may be an injury. Most of our key players put in a full shift in stifling heat so I can see Clarke being forced to shuffle the pack.

I can see Gilmour and Armstrong starting and maybe a tweak in defence with perhaps Cooper replacing Hendry. Christie too may be rested in place of Ferguson.

I would maybe give ferguson a chance ahead of christie. Ferguson has scored a few goals this season and i think he deserves a chance to show what he can do.

[Caledonian Craig]

Just now, mccaughey85 said:

Norways gameplan was shite and so was their performance. No denying that but that doesnt mean we played well. 

I would say we are the better team but thats based on results and performances over the past couple of years. Last night was a tough watch as both sides looked poor. Thankfully we pulled out a good result through some good fortune and an excellent passing move for our second goal. 

Nobody is more chuffed than me. I just wont lie to myself about how we played for the full match. It was tough watch at times and i was thoroughly disappointed with our performance before our first goal went in.

If you want to tell yourself we played well then fair enough. Thats your choice.

Who said I thought we played well? I think I have said two or three times said we weren't much of an attacking force. That is what you are not understanding. This was a match which, very understandably, we came into with a defensive mindset as a draw would have been a good result. That mindset factors in why we played how we did. Considering we were faced with the greatest striker in the world and largely shut him out we can say defensively we did very well. We only showed our attacking teeth late on and scored from them. I do not call that lucky or undeserved I call it comingcwith a gameplan and coming away with the desired result just like the Spain match but acquired in a very different way.

[ProudScot]

Dykes with Shankland playing off him on Tuesday night? Be harsh on Christie. Just wondering if Clarke might throw a curveball and really go for it v Georgia

[scotlad]

1 hour ago, mccaughey85 said:

Both teams were shit. Neither created much clear cut chances and both looked devoid of any creativity. Norway played slightly better overall but we got lucky with the first goal and then managed a brilliant move to finish them.

A draw was probably the fair result but if i was norwegian i would be gutted and i would be wondering how the hell they managed to lose the game against a team who never looked like remotely scoring. 

I agree with that. Being dispassionate, a draw was probably the right result and if I'd been a neutral watching that game I most probably wouldn't have been thinking to myself "oh boy, I hope both these sides qualify, they'll light up the tournament!". 😄

However, a fortnight ago I watched my club side get beat, despite being the better team for all but 20 minutes of a tie lasting the best part of 4 hours, so if feels soooooo good to be on the right side of a suckerpunch this weekend!

Football is a cruel game sometimes though and the Norwegians must be feeling like we did when Wales beat us in the final minutes back in 2012. But for Scotland, to go into what I reckon was possibly the second most difficult tie we'll face in this group and snatch a victory, even after not playing all that well, that shows great character. Please don't fuck it up now boys!

[TDYER63]

50 minutes ago, Caledonian Craig said:

Statuesque defending equates to shite play in my book but yet you say Norway fans should be distraught they lost. Sorry but if I were a Scotland my take would be with shite defending like that you do not deserve anything from a game.

You are not grasping the rudimentary facts of the game so let me explain it to you. This was a must win game for Norway and a game that a draw would have been a good result for is. We ended up with the same shots on goal as them and scored the goal of the night. That tells me Norway's play and gameplan was inferior to ours. Their play never created more chances than us who were set up defensively and their gameplan was inferior given the end result.

Kenny Miller summed it up for me on Sportscene last night - overall we have the better team. Norway have a couple of superstars but throughout the team we have the better quality. This is backed up by recent form of both sides.

I really do not understand why you are so vociferously arguing the point we were lucky and/or did not deserve it. We came with a gameplan to stifle Haaland which we did and avoid defeat which we did. We get that you are adamant we didn't deserve it but to hear,a Scotland fan today argue so vocally about it is bizarre.

I agree with this.

Watching the game in real time I felt we were pretty poor by recent standards and Norway seemed to have so much more of the ball. However given the circumstances, ie the game was a real must win for them and they were the home team , it was kinda understandable . Also, its easy to get critical when you are in a pub and get swayed by the mood of other supporters and  alcohol clouds your judgement to a degree.
Got home and watched the highlights. I was really surprised at how much Scotland had of the game given the 2 goals were in the last 10 mins. It just confirmed that Norway may have had a lot of possession at times but they did bugger all with it. I don’t believe that is because they are shit, it’s because we didn’t allow them to attack. I will take ugly wins any day of the week. 

[Caledonian Craig]

And in any case in what areas were we shite? Certainly not defensively as we shut out the best striker in the world and minimized their chances. We were not shite in attack (winning goal showed that) we were merely limited in our attacks due to the defensive way we were set up. I do not buy that we were shite when we win a crucial game away to Norway who had the best striker in the world in their team. We won ugly like all the best sides in the world have been able to do for decades.

[Orraloon]

Robbo was man of the match, IMO. Followed closely by Dykes and MacGregor for their work rate. Folk who think MacGregor had a poor game aren't watching properly.

Our central defence looked shaky, which I think was more down to Haaland's reputation, rather than anything that he did. Hopefully that experience can help them gain confidence for the future. They need to learn not to fear any of the opposition before they have even kicked a ball. Hickey had his poorest game in a Scotland shirt. Don't know what was up with him but he just didn't seem right from the start.

Pass marks for the rest of the team with a special mention for McLean. He is the type of player that any international manager would like to have waiting to come off the bench any time that he is required.

[Bobby Russell's Lovechild]

 

[Caledonian Craig]

4 minutes ago, Bobby Russell's Lovechild said:

 

Brilliant. Got to love Ally McCoist.

Edited June 18, 2023 by Caledonian Craig

[RDFH64]

1 hour ago, ThistleWhistle said:

The only luck for me was their coach taking off Haaland which was batshit bonkers to be honest.

However, we fully exploited it by pushing 20 yards up the pitch and went 4 at the back.

Yesterday proved we are a proper side for me - once we scored there wasn't a hint of camping on the edge of our box to squeak it out but immediately went for the jugular.  

 

Haaland was probably knackered after all his recent partying, with internationals coming up after the CL final he should have been more professional and respectful to Norway.

[Marky]

2 hours ago, mccaughey85 said:

 you have already resorted to calling me a bellend like the child you are. If you dont like my opinion then ignore it and move on. If you want to discuss it like an adult then fair enough but learn to respect others opinions. 

If you think we played well then fair enough, i dont and i think we didnt deserve the victory. I was perhaps over the top in saying we didnt deserve the draw but i dont think we really deserved much out the match going by our performance. Even when we got the first goal i was kind of gobsmacked that we might get a draw out the game and i was extremely happy with that. 

Getting the victory was insane and it really was rarity to see us pull off a result in that manner.

If you want to tell yourself we played well up until the goals then fair enough but resorting to calling me a bellend because you dont like my opinion is pretty pathetic.

Where/when did I call you a bellend??

I’ll take a wee apology for that whenever you’re ready. 

[mccaughey85]

6 minutes ago, Marky said:

Where/when did I call you a bellend??

I’ll take a wee apology for that whenever you’re ready. 

Lol yeh fair enough i apologise buddy. I got you mixed up with someone else.

[Marky]

8 minutes ago, mccaughey85 said:

Lol yeh fair enough i apologise buddy. I got you mixed up with someone else.

Aye. I was going to say, at 57 years old I’d be a hairy ersed child 🤣🤣

[mccaughey85]

1 hour ago, Caledonian Craig said:

Statuesque defending equates to shite play in my book but yet you say Norway fans should be distraught they lost. Sorry but if I were a Scotland my take would be with shite defending like that you do not deserve anything from a game.

You are not grasping the rudimentary facts of the game so let me explain it to you. This was a must win game for Norway and a game that a draw would have been a good result for is. We ended up with the same shots on goal as them and scored the goal of the night. That tells me Norway's play and gameplan was inferior to ours. Their play never created more chances than us who were set up defensively and their gameplan was inferior given the end result.

Kenny Miller summed it up for me on Sportscene last night - overall we have the better team. Norway have a couple of superstars but throughout the team we have the better quality. This is backed up by recent form of both sides.

I really do not understand why you are so vociferously arguing the point we were lucky and/or did not deserve it. We came with a gameplan to stifle Haaland which we did and avoid defeat which we did. We get that you are adamant we didn't deserve it but to hear,a Scotland fan today argue so vocally about it is bizarre.

I am a scotland fan but i am able to admit when we get lucky and when we play poorly.

Most ppl should be able to separate their emotions from reality. Deluding myself that we played well and deserved that victory would be lying to myself and i prefer to be honest about it.

Doesnt make me less chuffed about the result. 

Norway were brutal as well but with them being 1 nil up it felt like a complete capitulation from them and i doubt they thought to themselves "wow we got beaten by the better team". I am guessing the norway fans must be thinking how did they managed to fuck up against a team who looked so ordinary/poor for most of the match.

Its a case of trying to see things from other peoples perspective.

I will give us credit for our defending which was mostly pretty decent but to look so ordinary against a team of norways standing is strange considering how well we have played in the last couple of years under clarke.

[Marky]

2 minutes ago, mccaughey85 said:

I am a scotland fan but i am able to admit when we get lucky and when we play poorly.

Most ppl should be able to separate their emotions from reality. Deluding myself that we played well and deserved that victory would be lying to myself and i prefer to be honest about it.

Doesnt make me less chuffed about the result. 

Norway were brutal as well but with them being 1 nil up it felt like a complete capitulation from them and i doubt they thought to themselves "wow we got beaten by the better team". I am guessing the norway fans must be thinking how did they managed to fuck up against a team who looked so ordinary/poor for most of the match.

Its a case of trying to see things from other peoples perspective.

I will give us credit for our defending which was mostly pretty decent but to look so ordinary against a team of norways standing is strange considering how well we have played in the last couple of years under clarke.

I’m going to have one last go at this. 

We absolutely were not shite last night.

The performance was very similar to the away game against Ukraine. We went there needing a draw. We defended really well (still had a couple of scares) and had 2 or 3 minor flurries forward but didn’t really trouble them too much. We got our draw, won the group and everyone was delighted. Maybe you said we were poor that night too. I don’t know.

The only difference last night was that we conceded a soft penalty to probably the best striker in the world. But despite that, we proved we had the mettle to come back and win the game. Give me that every time over the Ukraine game.

What’s not to love?

[mccaughey85]

5 minutes ago, Marky said:

I’m going to have one last go at this. 

We absolutely were not shite last night.

The performance was very similar to the away game against Ukraine. We went there needing a draw. We defended really well (still had a couple of scares) and had 2 or 3 minor flurries forward but didn’t really trouble them too much. We got our draw, won the group and everyone was delighted. Maybe you said we were poor that night too. I don’t know.

The only difference last night was that we conceded a soft penalty to probably the best striker in the world. But despite that, we proved we had the mettle to come back and win the game. Give me that every time over the Ukraine game.

What’s not to love?

Yeh but we only got a draw against ukraine and truthfully we didnt play that well in that match either, ukraine had clear cut chances that they didnt make the most of. 

We defended well and grinded out a draw which was good.

Last night looked like a similar job but we somehow managed a victory from a game where we were mostly average/poor. Thats great, i will lap it up all day long but i wont pretend like we somehow dominated the match and deserved to win.

Truthfully i was just thankful that we might get a draw after the first goal went in. It was a sense of relief that we might walk away with a point in a match where we had created zero chances and hardly troubled their goalkeeper. If you think thats playing well then fair enough. 

[Marky]

3 minutes ago, mccaughey85 said:

Yeh but we only got a draw against ukraine and truthfully we didnt play that well in that match either, ukraine had clear cut chances that they didnt make the most of. 

We defended well and grinded out a draw which was good.

Last night looked like a similar job but we somehow managed a victory from a game where we were mostly average/poor. Thats great, i will lap it up all day long but i wont pretend like we somehow dominated the match and deserved to win.

Truthfully i was just thankful that we might get a draw after the first goal went in. It was a sense of relief that we might walk away with a point in a match where we had created zero chances and hardly troubled their goalkeeper. If you think thats playing well then fair enough. 

I’m not sure anyone has suggested we dominated the match. 

[0Neils40yarder]

Jeezo this guy is tedious 

[daviebee]

2 minutes ago, 0Neils40yarder said:

Jeezo this guy is tedious 

You calling a Chripper alert?  😂

[mccaughey85]

Just now, Marky said:

I’m not sure anyone has suggested we dominated the match. 

Its not just that. We never created one chance until the winning goal. We hardly even spent anytime in their final third. It was brutal to watch at times. I will give us credit for our defensive work. We limited them to very few clean cut chances. 

Overall it was tough watch until the last ten mins and even then our first goal was gifted to us to a certain extent.

Saying that the result is what matters and i am more than happy for us to win all our games like that.

[supersub]

Brilliant 3 points and two goals when it mattered.

The performance was poor. We should have went toe to toe with Norway and I think we would have dominated the game. Instead we showed them too much respect and camped in our own half.  Pretty much only started to play at 1-0 down. A set up like that is expected against class teams but we seem to do it far too often against teams of a similar or slightly lower level and make hard work of things.

Delighted that the boys got a massive win. Roll on Tuesday night.