Sebastien Pocognoli harmed by dismal Scotland decision and recurring trait - now action is needed

Head coach Sebastien Pocognoli's home debut turned sour just eight minutes in when defender Jack Hendry was sent off for denying Dan Ndoye a clear goalscoring opportunity. Ricardo Rodriguez netted the resultant free-kick, allowing the Swiss to dominate the game thereafter. Nico Elvedi added a second goal on 55 minutes and then Zeki Amdouni netted eight minutes from the end.

Mark Atkinson was at Hampden to cover proceedings for The Scotsman and picks out some talking points from the match:

Little margin for error in next two matches

Pocognoli’s fledgling tenure as Scotland head coach should not be defined by this international window, but the next two matches offer little margin for error as the Belgian bids to curry favour with the Tartan Army.

Pocognoli’s appointment and the attack-minded, front-foot football he preaches has caught the imagination of many Scotland supporters, but he needs to back it up with results. A goalless draw in Slovenia was a positive but this 3-0 defeat by Switzerland was, in the words of midfielder John McGinn, a “big setback” in Scotland’s learning curve under the new boss.

Beating the Swiss, ranked 14 in the world, was always going to be a tall order. They don’t lose very often and are laden with classy players. So when Hendry was sent off early on for a dismal decision to haul back Ndoye, it rendered a lot of this match redundant. Not much can be gleaned from a Swiss training exercise against ten men.

The trip to Skopje on Saturday to play a struggling North Macedonia side is a far more palatable assignment for Pocognoli. They lost 3-0 at home to Switzerland as well - with 11 men - and were beaten 2-0 by Slovenia in Ljubljana on Tuesday night. The North Macedonians prop up Nations League B1 with zero points and are a downgrade on every level to the Swiss.

Scotland haven’t scored yet under Pocognoli - and never looked like doing so at Hampden. But opportunities should present themselves in eastern Europe against morale-sapped opponents. It will be a truer test of what this Scotland team can achieve in this new era.

As will the game against Slovenia at Hampden next week, the final match of this four-pronged international break. Scotland showed in Ljubljana that they can dominate the Slovenians. They now have to take their chances in these next two matches.

Scotland made a good habit under Pocognoli’s predecessor Steve Clarke of taking down the low-hanging fruit. Sometimes it wasn’t done with much panache, but it was done. Winning gets you places, gets you to tournaments. Playing North Macedonia and Slovenia gives Scotland a chance to kick on after a challenging night at Hampden.

Scotland are being let down by early defensive errors

There is a worrying trait developing in this Scotland team against strong opponents.

At the World Cup, Grant Hanley’s suspect positioning was punished by Morocco’s Ismael Saibari to net what turned out to be the winning goal on two minutes.

Against Brazil, Scott McKenna’s poor distribution allowed Vini Jnr to net after seven minutes. Scotland went on to lose 3-0.

And here, against the Swiss, Hendry’s moment of madness to pull down Ndoye on eight minutes rather than take his chances and let goalkeeper Angus Gunn try to stop the winger led to a red card, with Rodriguez rubbing salt into the wound by scoring the free-kick.

Hendry was caught out by Ndoye’s pace by playing a high line - a request of his manager - but it was the decision to foul him that was so costly. Even if Ndoye had went on to score, Scotland would have had more than 80 minutes to respond with 11 men.

Regardless of the head coach, regardless of the system, the men in the dugout cannot control the snap decision-making of experienced players. Pocognoli is not one to throw anyone under the bus, but Hendry’s aberration will surely have vexed him.

The debutant

Pocognoli handed a Scotland debut to Luis Binks, a 25-year-old central defender who plays his football in Denmark for Brondby. Deployed on the left side of a back three, this was a difficult match to make an international bow.

Binks was keen to make an impression from the off. He slid in with purpose on Nico Elvedi in the opening stages and then towards the end of the first half, he floored Remo Freuler with a shoulder barge - and was perhaps fortunate not to receive a yellow card.

Like the whole Scotland team, Binks was stretched. He was unable to shut down Ndoye for the all-important second goal, left trying to cover too much ground. Nevertheless, he dug deep and pushed to the end. It was not his fault that Scotland were left exposed so early on.

Binks will probably get another chance in this international break with Hendry now suspended. We should get a better indication of what he can offer on a more level playing field.

McBurnie and Bowie deserve a second chance

It was hard not to feel sorry for Kieron Bowie, whose first Scotland chance lasted ten minutes. The Sassuolo man was the sacrificial lamb after Hendry’s red card.

It would be nice for Bowie if he was given a second chance in Skopje - potentially alongside Oli McBurnie, who remains goalless after 18 caps.

The Hull man was withdrawn before the hour mark, which suggests Pocognoli is keeping him fresh for North Macedonia. He was Scotland’s best player, linking play, being aggressive and driving towards goal. He was given a warm applause by the Hampden crowd.

Surely a goal isn’t far away. The Hull man ought to get more service against weaker opposition - and with a full compliment of players.