All great coaches are, at heart, problem solvers. Guys who find solutions that wouldn’t always occur to even the above-average armchair gaffer.
If Scotland’s players are rightly earning praise for the fight and heart they showed in coming back to beat Norway at the Ullevaal Stadion, no-one should overlook a masterful bit of management by Steve Clarke. In switching formation and bringing on precisely the right players for a difficult situation, Clarke not only demonstrated quick thinking in the midst of a potential crisis – but underlined just how effective and adaptable Scotland have become under his guidance.
Be honest, now. Plenty of us Scotland punters, whether basking in the Oslo sunshine or glued to our TV screens back home, were calling for changes from the moment Norway took the lead through Erling Haaland’s penalty. And a majority would have been more than delighted to see Clarke change from a 5-4-1 to a 4-2-3-1 that put John McGinn closer to the action in a No. 10 role.
But was anyone clamouring for Kenny McLean to come on and play on the left wing? And surely Lyndon Dykes needed to be replaced by someone with fresher legs …
That’s where Clarke’s knowledge of his players, work on the training ground and ability to change a game with a single sentence came to the fore. With McLean instructed to drive into the centre at every opportunity, McGinn given licence to bring his usual chaos to proceedings and Dykes trusted to carry on as a focal point, this new Holy Trinity combined for both Scotland goals. Hallelujah, indeed.
So, sure, the Norwegians will complain about being the better team. One or two might back up their argument with a few tasty statistics, the most obvious being Expected Goals, where the hosts “scored” a 1.62 to the visitors’ 0.58.
If Scotland had to cling on for dear life at times, however, the truth is that they (mostly) managed to contain Erling Haaland. It’s just that restricting the world’s most fearsome No. 9 to one penalty won and converted came at a cost.
Clarke’s men had to be a bit unbalanced to cope with Haaland, a man capable of tipping the scales towards his team just by making the starting XI; the entire Scottish back three were compelled keep an eye on the Man City star, with right wingback Aaron Hickey also sitting a little deeper than usual, just in case.
Photo 1 shows how content Scotland were to sit in from the off, forcing Norway to play around a solid mass of white jerseys for most of the game. Big Haaland was still a threat, of course, with Photo 2 illustrating his desire to spin in behind Jack Hendry and get onto any sort of half-decent service we were lucky that his team-mate made an Aursnes of this opportunity.
The Champions League winner’s presence did force Hendry into conceding a booking late in the first half. But, as Photo 3 shows, part of that scare was caused by Ryan Porteous having to step into a big gap in midfield – not part of the Clarke plan.
Going forward, Andy Robertson was a constant threat on the left wing (Photo 4), the skipper turning in a performance that came very close to defying all description, given the levels reached.
And McGinn? Asked to play a sort of hybrid role in the starting XI, taking one for the team by defending on the left wing while still trying to get close to centre forward Dykes, you could see he was itching to drop into that golden zone just in front of the Norwegian defence (Photo 5). That’s where he does his best work.
Norway won their penalty from virtually the only successful attack they mounted down Robertson’s side of the park, the captain being left short of cover as he allowed a cross that found Haaland using all of his nous to give Porteous only two options – bad and worse.
Clarke could have decided to stick, then. To keep things tight and look to pinch an equaliser on the counter. But his changes meant Bill Gilmour getting on the ball, Stuart Armstrong bringing running power to the team, McGinn getting much closer to Dykes (Photo 6) - and McLean, a central midfielder by trade and inclination, encouraged to roam.
Sure, Norway’s defending for the first Scotland goal was chaotic. But it came from the visitors creating an overload in that area and forcing mistakes (Photo 7).
The winner? Well, Tactics Zone regulars will know that quick switches of play are a favourite subject. Done well, they can leave even the most well organised defence scrambling to cover.
As the ball is whipped in from the right (Photo 8), Dykes pin his defender, McGinn loops around to receive and McLean – just 10 minutes into his shift – held his run to create space for a finish (Photo 9).
It was beautiful. The touch and pass from McGinn, the lay-off by Dykes, the sublime finish. All put together by the wit and wisdom of a gaffer who saw the problem – and found the ideal solution.
Plenty of coaches can come up with a plan that gives them a 51 per cent chance of winning. But changing things up in the heat of battle, whether that involves finding answers on the hoof of implementing a well-rehearsed Plan B? That’s where quality really shows.
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