Northern Ireland’s relatively modest assignment was an opportunity to boost morale after their 4-0 loss to the Netherlands on Friday. However, the guests failed to read the script, and Andy Robertson’s hobbling off added to the misery of the Scottish people.
Despite Clarke’s reserved demeanor with the media, tension was evident when he was questioned about the team’s loss and the jeers they received at the conclusion of each half.”June will find us prepared,” the head coach declared. “It is what it is.”
There is hope, since I would prefer to be in our situation—qualifying for Euro 2024—than to see Wales eliminated on penalties.When questioned about the specific injury that Robertson had sustained and the outlook, Clarke remained more silent. “I’m not here to comment,” he stated. “Let the injuries heal on its own; when he returns to his club, they’ll evaluate it, hopefully conclusively.The outcome was clearly disappointing because we expected to win the game, but the performance was passable. The most crucial thing will be that we’ll be prepared in June, not that we’re counting on the losing streak.”We made every effort to let them in. This was a very different kind of game for us than the ones we’ve played recently against the best teams, when we might have required a little cunning and skill at the top of the pitch.”We lost the game because we couldn’t find it; despite having the majority of the possession and 14 shots, we weren’t able to find the back of the net.”
With their first win over its Celtic neighbor since 1983 thanks to Conor Bradley’s debut international goal, Scotland will have to wait until their June trip to Gibraltar to attempt to stop the bleeding.Following early bursts of Scottish flair, such as a dribble by Scott McTominay and a blocked shot by John McGinn, there was none of the penetrating play that was shown in Amsterdam before to the surrender to the Netherlands.Rather, catastrophe struck both Nathan Patterson and the home team. Due to a bad touch, the right wing-back originally gave up possession. He recovered effectively, rushing back along his side to regain possession, but he overextended and gave the ball back to Bradley. The right-back for Liverpool turned, fired, and the ball shaved off Jack Hendry before looping in and beyond Angus Gunn.
As Robertson—who had previously required medical attention—went down once more and was replaced by Lewis Ferguson, injury followed insult. If Shea Charles hadn’t missed so terribly, Scotland would have trailed by two goals at the interval after another Patterson mistake gave Michael O’Neill’s team the lead.The Tartan Army boos now arrived, giving their soldiers forty-five minutes to change the score. In the opening seconds, McGinn attempted to do so, but his attempt slipped across the turf, allowing Bailey Peacock-Farrell to collect.Patterson, Lyndon Dykes, McGinn, and Patterson again formed a combination down the right that was superior to anything anyone wearing dark blue could have created. 
But, in a classic display of Scottish bluntness prior to goal, the Patterson cross that brought this to a close again went straight to Peacock-Farrell.Not very long after, a microcosm of their annoyance appeared. Scotland was turned around by one more Patterson mishandle, and as Brodie Spencer raced down the left, Billy Gilmour ran across to take him out.A McGinn free-kick that drifted to Liam Cooper in a crowded area was a more encouraging development for the home team, but the defender was unable to direct his header. Subsequently, McGinn requested a penalty for what he believed to be a shove by Spencer, but referee Robert Jones was not amused. Clarke moved now, replacing Ché Adams and Kenny McLean with Gilmour and Dykes. Even so, he was unsuccessful.”It was a very good performance,” stated O’Neill. We put a lot of effort into practicing our ball-out technique because we knew it would be difficult and that we needed to instill that in the guys.