NOT SO SLICK
Steve Clarke admits under-fire Cieran Slicker wasn’t ready for his Scotland debut as he reveals injury in warm-up
He faces a major goalkeeper crisis
STEVE CLARKE admits rookie keeper Cieran Slicker wasn’t ready for his Scotland debut.
The Ipswich back-up goalie had a Hampden howler against Iceland.
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Clarke was forced to throw on rookie Slicker, 22, as an early substitute for injured Angus Gunn after No2 Robby McCrorie got crocked the warm-up.
And Clarke said: “It was a difficult night.
“It didn’t get off to the best of starts when we lost our number two goalkeeper in the warm-up then two minutes into the game our number one gets injured as well.
“It was a tough night and I feel a little bit for young Cieran.
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“I’ll sit with him over the next couple of days and have a little chat about it.
“I’ll give him reassurance because he probably went in when it was too early.
“He wasn’t quite ready for it. That wasn’t his fault. That’s the circumstances that dictated that.
“We’ll now try and support him as much as can.
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“Listen, he’ll get over it.
“Goalkeepers are a resilient bunch.
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“His character is good in and around the squad. He’s comfortable.
“This was probably just an opportunity that came a little bit too early for him. But we’ll be there to support him and help him.
“Our options are not exactly jumping off the page at me.
“We will go away and see how he reacts, how he is overnight, how he is tomorrow and at training on Sunday.
“Listen, we could talk about might about Cieran and what happened for him, but it’s a circumstance I pointed out in March.
“I could see something like this possibly happening.
“The only crumb of comfort to take from it is that it happened in a friendly match.
“And hopefully we can be better prepared when it comes to the autumn.
“It is pretty unusual to have your five first choice goalkeepers all injured.
“Not everyone plays regularly at their club. It is something we have to address and look at.
“But it is not going to change in a click of the fingers.
“It is more for the long term, and the next head coach and the next head coach after that.”
How they rated
Angus Gunn - Came for a cross in the first minute but crumpled with an ankle problem so was unable to continue. Terrible timing given he is without a club having left Norwich. 1
Max Johnston - Given his chance on the right hand side and made a positive impact. Will be disappointed he didn’t make more of a back post chance to score. A decent start. 6
John Souttar - Showed great strength inside the box to hold off his marker and head home Max Johnston’s wicked corner. Will be furious at the goals Scotland lost. 5
Grant Hanley - Tried to show Andri Gudjohnsen inside after Cieran Slicker’s poor kick but ended up with egg on his face as he whipped it into the top corner from 25 yards. Grim night. 4
Kieran Tierney - 50th cap and a poor occasion to hit that milestone. Matched Albert Gudmindsson’s runs all night before going off for debut man Lennon Miller in the closing stages. 5
Andy Robertson - Bombed up and down the left flank as he usually does but final balls were lacking the precision to really hurt Iceland. Skipper has to drag Scotland’s defence out of this rot. 5
John McGinn - Patrolled the middle of the park as he usually does but nothing really came off for him high up the pitch. Scotland will need him refreshed and flying in September. 5
Billy Gilmour - Did precisely what you expect from him now. Kept possession and the ball ticking over as the link man all over the pitch. Below his best like so many. 5
Lewis Ferguson - Didn’t know much about it at the own goal which put Iceland back in front. Unlucky as a comedy pinball moment saw the ball crack off him and squirm past Cieran Slicker. 5
Scott McTominay - Started on the left of midfield, tasked with supporting George Hirst. Few flashes of what he can do but a big game player so he keeps the real heroics for when it counts. 5
George Hirst - Missed an early header then denied his first Scotland goal by two great saves from the Iceland goalie then an offside call after scoring. Showed he’s got some promise. 6
Subs:
Cieran Slicker (Gunn 6) - Debut didn’t go to plan, that’s for sure. Poor kick for the opener, flailing at the second, even worse at the third. Difficult not to feel sorry for him at times. 2
Lennon Miller (Tierney 67) - First cap. 3
Scott McKenna (Hanley 67) - Shored it up a bit late on. 3
Che Adams (Hirst 67) - No chances. 3
Nathan Patterson (Johnston 79) - Replaced Johnston. 2
Tommy Conway (McTominay 79) - On for McTominay. 2
Clarke will now hunt for a back-up goalie for Monday’s clash with Liechtenstein.
Ex-Queen’s Park kid Callan McKenna will be called up.
But Clarke added: “Angus and Robby are both out.
“Angus hurt his ankle and Robby has a thigh injury.
“Craig Gordon is injured, Liam Kelly is injured, Zander Clake in injured.
“Now Angus Gunn is injured and Robby McCrorie is injured.
“Fortunately we had young Callan McKenna in training with us this week so he’ll join the squad.
“I’ll also have a little scout around and see if anybody is not on the beach and is available to come.”
Clarke admits he’s now got concerns ahead of the World Cup qualifiers that kick off in September.
He added: “After the disruption at the start, we were quite lacklustre.
“It took us a while to get into the game.
“We made a few chances, their keeper made some good saves.
“We got ourselves back into it and then conceded a bad goal before half time. “Like the last game v Greece, when we conceded a bad goal just before half time, we conceded a bad goal just after half time.
“We need to eliminate that type of concession and be more solid going into the half.
“That is something we can work on.”
Scott McTominay and Kieran Tierney are now injury doubts for the trip to Vaduz
Clarke added: “It looked like Scott has tweaked his knee a little bit, he was struggling a little bit. Kieran was starting to flag a bit.”
Iceland boss Arnar Gunnlaugsson, meanwhile, admits Iceland targeted rookie Slicker.
He said: “It was an instruction to press him straight away.
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“It’s always difficult for a goalkeeper to come into a game when he’s cold.
“It’s especially difficult with his feet so it was an opportunity to give it a go.”
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