‘The red card killed us’ – Robertson on Scotland’s Nations League defeat to Switzerland | OneFootball

Andy Robertson admits that Scotland’s game plan went “completely out the window” after going a man down in the 3-0 home defeat to Switzerland. It was a dismal home debut for new boss Sébastien Pocognoli. Scotland’s prospects were dashed within 10 minutes when centre-back Jack Hendry was shown red for pulling down Dan Ndoye, with Ricardo Rodriguez curling in from the resulting free kick. Scotland showed endeavour for 80 minutes but did not register a single shot on target, as Switzerland dominated comfortably, finding the net twice more from an array of second-half chances. But in what was Robertson’s 99th appearance for his country, the Scotland captain was proud of his teammates for keeping up the fight against a team ranked 13th in the world. “I think the red card killed us,” Robertson told the BBC post-match. “It was incredibly tough with 11 men on the pitch and it becomes even harder with 10, but you saw that the lads were still fighting. “We hardly touched the ball in the second-half but it didn’t stop the lads putting their bodies on the line and running for each other.“You could see the fight, but you’re coming up against a really good team, and with 10 men it’s pretty much impossible. The lads looked tired, and rightly so with how much effort we put in.”

The Spurs man showed sympathy for Jack Hendry, who was trying to stop Ndoye from running through one-on-one with Scotland keeper Angus Gunn. “Football is about split second decisions. Jack tried to nick the ball. To give someone a free shot is difficult to process as a defender because you always want to try and block it. “Hindsight is a wonderful thing and if he could replay it again I’m sure he would do it differently a hundred times over. “It’s a difficult night but we won’t let it get in the way of our process. We’ve got a new manager and a new squad and we have to still be positive. “We can take certain things from this game but we need to try and move on quickly from it.” Pocognoli’s side are without a goal in his opening two games, and pressure is mounting on the new manager to deliver a big performance against North Macedonia on Saturday. Robertson maintained that the loss against Switzerland was not a fair reflection of the team, and trusts in the work the squad have been doing behind the scenes. “The manager was proud of the fight that we showed. Of course what we planned for the last three days just went completely out the window. “We wanted to be good on the ball and press them higher up, but when you go a man down against a quality team, unfortunately you have to rip that up and try something else. “He was proud that we all stuck together. I’m still upbeat with how the camp has been so far and we need to show it in results now.”