Morrison eager to revive form and qualifying hopes

Chief Sports Writer

Monday 10 September 2012

THE search for positivity among Scottish players in the aftermath of the draw with Serbia was unrelenting and almost certainly rehearsed.

James Morrison will be crucial if Scotland are to breach the Macedonia defence but he does not expect that to be easy. Picture: Stewart Attwood

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Hugh MacDonald

They negotiated the gauntlet of the press without a glove being laid on them. A similar result against Macedonia tomorrow night will, however, ensure the mixed zone at Hampden is the scene of highly uncomfortable questioning.

There are indications that it could be a testing evening. Macedonia lost the opening match to Croatia by a single goal and will employ the cautious tactics that almost denied Luka Modric and his cohorts. The defensive area will be controlled by Vanche Shikov, a physical 27-year-old who plays his club football in Ukraine. Macedonia were undone by a Nikica Jelavic header on Friday but Craig Levein has some thinking about who to employ up front and in what system. The clamour for the inclusion of Jordan Rhodes increased after a goalless performance and missed chances by Kenny Miller on Saturday.Rhodes was bright, polite and utterly unenlightening when talking to reporters after his brief appearance against the Serbs. He restricted comments on any starting place against Macedonia with a promise to "give it my best shot". The Blackburn Rovers striker is, though, the sort of personality who is assertive and confident on the pitch. Levein's dilemma is not just restricted to whether to start with Rhodes but whether to employ the £8m player as part of a front two.The Scotland manager will have learned by viewing Macedonia's match with Croatia that Cedomir Janevski, his counterpart in the technical area tomorrow night, is a coach who will employ two defensive midfielders in front of a back four. Muhamed Demiri, who plays for FC Thun in Switzerland, and Nikola Grigorov, who plays in Larnaca, frustrated Croatia for much of the match in Skopje and will seek to do the same at Hampden.A revival in the form of James Morrison will therefore be crucial to Scotland's hopes of breaking down a disciplined defence. The West Bromwich Albion midfielder had a poor match on Saturday and knows it. "It wasn't one of my better days. I can tell when I have had a bad game," he admitted. However, he knows Macedonia will not offer him an easy path to redemption. "It will be a very tough game. Croatia struggled to beat them so they will be coming here to park the bus," he said.The problem for Scotland, of course, is not limited to scoring. Goran Pandev, the 29-year-old Napoli attacker, has been scoring goals for his country for 10 years and has made a recent habit of doing so in 1-0 wins for his nation. "We will have to be aware of the counter-attack," said Morrison. "It will be about patience. We have to lift the tempo, get the fans on our side. They were great today. It was unfortunate that we just didn't get that goal. We knew [Serbia] were going to keep the ball. We got our chances when we nicked the ball and broke on them."This strategy of defending and then springing a counter-attack will be used by Macedonia. They have justifiable faith in Pandev, who has scored 25 times in 65 internationals, a remarkable rate for someone playing in a side rated normally outside the top 100 in the world but with a current ranking of 97.Janevski is without 21-year-old Dragan Gjorgiev, of FC Vardar, for the trip to Hampden as the striker was late in applying for a visa to enter the UK. Gjorgiev, who had a brief spell in German football, has the talent and the capability either to relieve or complement Pandev but a replacement must now be sought.No matter who plays up front, Andy Webster is prepared for a "tough match" in the centre of the Scottish defence with demands being made on his concentration as Macedonia seek to deny Scotland rather than threaten them. The Hearts defender was keen to emphasise that the draw against Serbia was not fatal to Scotland's chances of qualification. "We can equal or better that result when we go to Belgrade," he said. "We've seen them now, we know what they're about but we'll take confidence from our display."

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Morrison eager to revive form and qualifying hopes

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