PAT NEVIN insists Scotland goalkeeper David Marshall should not be dropped for Friday night’s Euro 2020 showdown against England.
The Derby County keeper was caught way off his line as the Czech Republic defeated the Scots at Hampden in their Group D opener.
Patrik Schick spotted Marshall out of his goal as he latched on to a loose ball on the halfway line and he proceeded to loop the ball in with an outrageous effort.
Clarke has defended his goalkeeper’s positioning and Nevin has echoed the words of the national team boss.
"Apart from that one infamous moment, he had a good game,” Nevin explained to bettingexpert.com. “He made a few very good saves. Remember that Marshall is the one that got Scotland here with his penalty saves, he was fantastic in qualification.
“I think on this one occasion he was too far off his line and had he been 15-20 yards further back, he could have done a covering job and also he would have been able to get back to his goal in time. He won't be that far off his line again.
"Do you drop him over that? I would say no. He's just been caught out in a situation where he won't be caught out again. Everything else he did in the game was fine.
“But if Clarke goes for Craig Gordon, and it was a toss-up between the two to start, I wouldn't be disappointed with that because Craig's been a brilliant goalkeeper, there's nothing between them in terms of quality."
Nevin also believes that Scotland should start both Che Adams and Kieran Tierney if both are fit and available for selection.
Southampton striker Adams was benched for the group opener against the Czechs, but Tierney missed out through injury.
Nevin continued: "I think Steve Clarke will try not to compare one game with the other because they're so different. England plays a different system with better quality players, so Scotland will have to be a bit more defensive.
“I know a lot of Scots out there saying they should attack with two strikers, but you do that at your peril against England because they can easily pick you off with their pace on the attack - and Scotland's defence is an area they struggle for pace.
"If Kieran Tierney is back, that makes a massive difference and the fans would get a big boost from him starting - he's the player that the fans want back. They know he is a world-class player, he was really missed in the first game.
“It's not just that he's a player in the back three, he plays it out from the back and he does a brilliant job overlapping alongside Andy Robertson, they have a great understanding on the left-hand side. You want good footballers and Scotland dp have some very good footballers who didn't start against the Czech Republic.
"I think Scotland need to start with Che Adams, because he's technically our best striker - he'll hold it up better and link up play better than anybody else - it's not his favourite position to play on his own because he usually plays alongside Danny Ings, but Adams has to start and they can build it from there."
Nevin does not expect Billy Gilmour to start, but he insists that the Chelsea youngster has more than enough quality to pull the strings in midfield for his country.
He added: "I wouldn't expect him to start, but I wouldn't be disappointed if he does. Scotland will need a three-man midfield against England, so is it McGinn and McTominay - who are both very important players for Scotland - alongside Armstrong.
“Trying to fit a place in there for Billy Gilmour to play is hard, considering that he is just new on the scene with Scotland. He is good enough, I've seen every minute he's played in a Chelsea shirt and he'll be fine. He'll walk onto the big stage at Wembley and not be fazed by it.
“I think Scotland need to try and keep the ball and find time during the game where they're not chasing shadows - if so, they would need Gilmour on the field to do that because he can keep it as well as anybody else in the team.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel