Ally McCoist questions Steve Clarke's decision to play two upfront
Ally McCoist questions Steve Clarke’s decision to play two up front during Scotland’s World Cup semi-final defeat by Ukraine… and credits ‘absolutely outstanding’ Oleksandr Zinchenko for dominating the game
- Scotland’s World Cup dreams were crushed when Ukraine beat them 3-1
- Ally McCoist has criticised boss Steve Clarke’s decision to play two up front
- He felt like Scotland were ‘dominated the middle of the park’ on Wednesday
- McCoist also credited Ukraine’s Oleksandr Zinchenko for dominating the game
- Click here for all the latest World Cup 2022 news and updates
Former Scotland international Ally McCoist has criticised Steve Clarke’s decision to play two up front against Ukraine on Wednesday evening.
Scotland’s World Cup dreams were crushed when Ukraine beat them 3-1 at Hampden Park to set up a showdown with Wales for a place at Qatar 2022.
McCoist felt like Scotland were ‘dominated the middle of the park’ during their World Cup semi-final play-off and credited Oleksandr Zinchenko for dominating the game.
Former Scotland international Ally McCoist has criticised Steve Clarke decision-making
The Sky co-commentator said: ‘I don’t think it was a case of the occasion being too big for some of the players, I just think it’s the brutal fact that Scotland have been beaten by a far better team.’
McCoist went on to add: ‘We’re [Scotland] a good side but we were beaten tonight [Wednesday] by a very good side who were better than I thought they would be.
‘It was a brave and bold decision to play two up front which I don’t think worked for us. When you do that, they dominated the middle of the park and they utilised that very well.
Scotland’s World Cup dreams were crushed when Ukraine beat them 3-1 on Wednesday
McCoist criticised Clarke’s decision to play two up front against Ukraine at Hampden Park
‘The two players wide would start high up the park and drop into areas and outnumber us in the middle. They were very clever and Zinchenko was the best player on the park. He was absolutely outstanding.’
Graeme Souness agreed with McCoist’s comments about Zinchenko – claiming he ‘ran the show’ against Scotland on Wednesday night.
Souness said: ‘Zinchenko ran the show and I don’t think there were any surprises in what we saw from him tonight.
‘The way he plays at Man City, he flips in and out of playing as a left-back and in the centre of midfield.
McCoist felt like Scotland were ‘dominated the middle of the park’ on Wednesday evening
McCoist also credited Ukraine’s Oleksandr Zinchenko (left) for dominating the game
‘When he goes into midfield, he’s a really good footballer and he was the catalyst for Ukraine keeping the ball, threading it through when the time was right.
‘He played like a seasoned midfielder. I’m reluctant to be harsh on Scotland as we play with spirit but we didn’t have the quality to match Ukraine in vital areas. It saddens me to say this but we just weren’t good enough.’
Meanwhile, Scotland boss, Clarke, told Sky Sports after the game: ‘It’s a disappointing night. You have to be honest, the best team on the night won.
‘I wish Ukraine luck in Cardiff, but you have to wish the Welsh luck as well. First half we didn’t play enough, we didn’t get the ball down.
‘I made the change at half-time and we didn’t give ourselves the chance to utilise that.
Manager, Clarke, described Scotland’s loss against Ukraine as a ‘very disappointing night’
‘John (McGinn) missed a big chance that would’ve given us half an hour to get back into the game. We chased it well, we tried as hard as we could.
‘Ukraine pressed us really well, especially Billy Gilmour and Callum McGregor. It become a little bit frantic. We did have some chances but we didn’t take them on the night.
‘Now is a night to suffer, we’ll suffer together. It’s going to take at least 48 hours just to move on. When you lose a game of this magnitude it hurts. We will try build into the Nations League campaign.’
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