Knowing that a victory would secure their place in the knockout stages of this summer’s European Championship, England could only work for a 0-0 draw.
Barnsley-born John Stones hit the post with a towering header from a corner in the first half, but 60 percent of the possession gave up just one save to former Hull City goalkeeper David Marshall.
“I think it was a frustrating night, we know we can play better,” reflected Southgate. “(We) have to give Scotland the credit that they defended bravely and played well.
“We didn’t do enough to win the game, but what we have to worry about in soccer tournaments is that we have to make sure we don’t lose it.
“We know this is a disappointment for our fans, but we have to dust ourselves off and move on.”
Captain Harry Kane was substituted again looking well below his best and the introduction of substitute Jack Grealish for his first football of the tournament did not have the desired effect.
“We needed more races behind,” said Southgate, when asked about the form of the man who won the golden boot in the last World Cup.
“I felt like (substitute) Marcus Rashford would give us that energy, at that point we had to try to get him. We have to make these decisions based on what we see.
“The whole team can look at ourselves, that starts with me, we have to be better. We didn’t do enough to win the game, we didn’t make enough goal attempts, we have to go and look at that.
“We are playing a high level of low intensity matches and finding space was difficult. Scotland played well and we couldn’t open them.
“It is a young team and some of them will not have experienced a night with this intensity and pressure.”
However, England’s woes shouldn’t detract from a spirited performance by a Scottish team that looked much better for the return of Kieran Tierney (Leeds United captain Liam Cooper missed) and a guaranteed full debut for Billy Gilmour. .
Former Sheffield United striker Che Adams, who had been on the bench against the Czech Republic, missed a good chance at the end and Reece James headed a Lyndon Dykes volley off the line.
English midfielder Declan Rice cautioned against overreacting to the draw.
“There are home games that we should be winning, but the credit goes to Scotland, they ran and defended for their lives,” he said.
“We had our chances to save it, when the John Stones header hit the post, I felt like it could have been one of those nights.
“Scotland got their game plan right and disallowed Harry Kane, he’s a world-class player and we have to get him the ball to score.
“We need to keep working, (we had) chances in the second half, but we don’t need to be too depressed and negative. With the press and social media there could be an overreaction now, but we have to stay positive. “
Scotland manager Steve Clarke was pleased with the way his team responded to Monday’s opening 2-0 loss at Hampden Park.
“We were unfairly criticized after Monday’s game,” he said. “I know I have a good group of players and they showed it.
“We had a chance to win, England also had moments, you wouldn’t have known which is the favorite. The most pleasant thing was that we played when we had the ball and created several chances ”.
The Three Lions play the Czech Republic, ahead of them on goal difference, in their last group match at Wembley on Tuesday.
The two best teams in the group pass automatically, along with the four best third-placed teams.
Scottish insight and analysis: page 2
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Source: www.yorkshirepost.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-06-18 22:35:42
