Scotland 0 Serbia 0

By Ed_ScottishFitba
Updated Saturday, 8th September 2012

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An ultimately disappointing opening game in the Brazil 2014 campaign

Scotland start on the road to the sunshine of Brazil in the sunshine of Glasgow as Serbia arrived at the national stadium today for the first of the double header that kicks of the World Cup 2014 campaign. Macedonia will be the visitors next Tuesday evening when manager Craig Levein may make adjustments to his team depending on how today goes. Not a full house to welcome Scotland's new mascot Roary or the teams but perhaps the next time I check the stand they will be fuller. Gary Caldwell picked up his 50th cap while Alan Hutton and Andy Webster securing their 25th ahead of kick-off. The crowd got right behind Scotland from the off with each touch of the ball by a Serbian player being greeted with a chorus of boos. Kenny Miller was once again the lone striker but supported by Steven Naismith on the left in the opening minutes. And it was Naismith that threatened the visitors goal on the five minute mark as he drove forward against five defenders. He won a corner which came to nothing but is showed that with support, a quick break could pay off. Allan McGregor was called into action diving to his right just a minute later to stop a free-kick from Aleksandar Kilraov sneaking in at the post. McGregor was alert enough to be on his feet to grab the ball when Milos Ninkovic tried to cross the ball again from his push out. Serbia were tackling hard in the middle of the park and the flow of the game was disturbed by frequent free-kicks. The first ten minutes had flown by with Scotland probably edging the procession and dangerous moves table. Scotland were moving forward with purpose with willing runners providing options as the ball reached the penalty box. Goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic was not dominating his box when corners of free kicks rained in which may pay off for the home side in due course. 15 minutes gone and Scotland were still in control but will have to get more of their passes spot on. The speed of the ball was tricking some players in the strength of their passes which does not help the running for Miller. Willing to run down a lost cause he may be but you want him with the ball at his feet occasionally. Robert Snodgrass was making sure he didn't give up on things as he tackled and protected the ball. He almost scored with this attitude when beating defenders and just sending the ball past Stojkovic's right hand post to win a corner. The ground had filled up by the 30 minute mark and the roar was in evidence with perhaps the loudest noise I have heard from the crowd in years. They were seeing some good football from Scotland but I could do without defensive heroics in the home penalty area being required on the occasional forays Serbia made towards McGregor. Serbia will have gained confidence from the five minute spell they spent encamped in the Scotland half after the half-hour. Scotland had enough bodies back but did not get the ball off the visitors quickly enough as an uneasy feeling affected the murmuring of the crowd. Serbia were speculating on long range efforts to test McGregor but they were failing to get the ball past the first man. However, it just take a little bit of luck for one of these strikes to pay off. With just four minutes to go to half-time, the defensive tactics of Serbia nearly failed as they tried to pass the ball out to midfield. A slip and a poor forward pass allowed Miller to drive forward and his attempt at a gentle lob over the keeper just beat the bar as well as Stojkovic's out stretched hand. Half time arrived after one minute of additional time but no goals.

The first ten minutes of second half were not as noteworthy as that of the first half. Scotland were slow to get started again with perhaps the half-time tea affecting them. However, things spiced up a bit after that period of lethargy with Scotland spending more time on the attack. Probing and chasing seems to be the order of the day as the Serbians were determined in their defensive task. It could be that the only way to score would be from a dead-ball situation as Scotland won so many corners. I thought a goal was going to be scored on the 15 minute mark when a corner was sent out to James Morrison outside the box who floated the ball in for the on-rushing and onside Miller to get his head onto. Unfortunately, Miller was half an inch too small to get the ball past the visiting 'keeper. Naismith was nearly the goal hero for Scotland in the 65 minute when he was released in the box by Miller, but the on-rushing Stojkovic did enough to put the winger off and his ball went past the post. Pressure was building on the Serbians but that does not earn three points. Scotland need to convert the pocession into goals. Manager Levein brought on James Forrest to end Snodgrass' time on the pitch and liven up a tiring attack. 15 minutes to go and the whistling starts as frustration gets at the fans. Still right behind Scotland when on the attack but the chances are and time is running out. I did not need to look up to see who was coming on as a sub with ten minutes to go as the crowd was chanting Jordan Rhodes name as soon as he was stripped. He was joined by James Mackie who did not get such a roar of welcome when he took the field. I noted that one of the barrier adverts was for Cash convertors. I was hoping for procession convertors in the last seven minutes as the real nerves kicked in. It was nearly frayed nerves when sub Duscan Tadic was one on one with McGregor in the last minute by thankfully the 'keeper put the ball out for a corner. Three minutes of additional time and Scotland were driving forward with the hope of scoring a winner. However, it was not to be and the dream of six o from two home games was not to come true. A very subdued 47,000 crowd drifted away thinking of what might have been. All the more important that Scotland secure a win on Tuesday

Scotland: McGregor, Hutton, Dixon, Berra, Caldwell, Adam, Morrison, Webster, Miller, Snodgrass, Naismith
Subs: Gilks, Hanley, Rhodes, Mackie, Maloney, Forrest, Cowie, Dorrans, McCormack, Marshall, Phillips, Forster

Serbia: Stojkovic, Ivanovic, Bisevac, Nastasic, Kolarov, Mijailovic, Ignjovski, Ninkovic, Duricic, Tosic, Lazovic
Subs: Kahriman, Brkic, Tomovic, Maksimovic, Petrovic, Lekic, Tadic, Lukovic, Matic, Fejsa, Subotaic, Markovic

Attendance: 47,369

Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)

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