TALKING up his midfield all week, George Burley had insisted that the combined force of Barry Ferguson, Darren Fletcher and Scott Brown could match anybody. Er, not quite. Well, not on their own. Last night they were charged with the task of patrolling the middle of the park in the Amsterdam Arena and up against Mark van Bommel, Nigel de Jong and Robin van Persie, they were caught out.
It may have been only once or twice in the first half but it was enough to give the Dutch an advantage that would not be overhauled.
For the opening 30 minutes they had pressed and denied the hosts the space and the opportunity to play about the n
eat passes which generate the Dutch confidence. Which Gary Teale and Ross McCormack had their own conundrums in the shape of Dirk Kuyt and Arjen Robben to mull over on the flanks, the central three chased and frustrated their opposite numbers to such an extent that when the crass challenges were flying in, it was the likes of the Bayern Munich captain Van Bommel and his fellow midfield marshal De Jong who were the culprits. It wasn't representative of the total football the nation is renowned for.
But the question was how disciplined the Scottish team would be, how well they could hold their shape for the duration. Because as others drifted, it forced them to move in to plug gaps.
Fletcher, and more often Brown, were dragged back to cover for Graham Alexander as he was sucked forward into the void between the Scottish rearguard and the five-man line stretched across the pitch infront of them. Time and again he was penalised by the pace of Ajen Robben, who left him spectating. Those salvage operations simply left space in the heart of the Scottish line-up. And space is something the Dutch are always more than capable of exploiting.
Van Bommel was in yards of the stuff when he took his time to pick out Klaas-Jan Huntelaar for the opening goal. For the first half an hour Ferguson had kept tabs on him, sticking close by, suffocating any moves he tried, but he was caught napping and didn't really rouse from his slumber. Sitting too deep and inviting the Dutch to come at Scotland, he afforded the Bundesliga star the luxury of a long-ball pinged into the box.
The crucial factor was that the Dutchman found a striker capable of capitalising. On the other side, Fletcher could not boast the same good fortune. He had been just as accurate in his vision and execution in the 11th minute when he had sent a perfectly timed and flighted ball over the top of the Dutch defence. It permitted Kenny Miller to nip through one-on-one with Maarten Stekelenburg. But the Rangers striker was not as clinical as his Dutch counterpart.
Eight games and 14 months into the job and this was the first time Burley has had all three of his preferred midfield available to him at the same time. It was a prospect he had been relishing and while he got carried away with the hyperbole, the fact is the triumverate make a solid centre. More of a stomach than backbone but guts were what Scotland needed in this encounter.
In the early skirmishes, they all seemed to be shouldering the responsibility thrust upon them by their manager. When they pressed, both Fletcher and Brown proved capable of squeezing some gusto out of fledgling Dutch moves, while also, on occasion, bursting beyond the likes of Van Bommel and De Jong to win the odd corner or force the Dutch defence to step in.
But it was in defensive duties they were utilised most. Fletcher, defied those who claim he shrinks to a shadow of the player he can be for Manchester United when he is in the presence of the Rangers skipper. Of the two of them yesterday, the Old Trafford player was the more valuable presence. But, he wasn't infallible and he couldn't get close enough to Van Persie when he arrived in the box to head home the second goal.
After that it was tough. The Dutch pushed them further and further back and while they had struggled to find a cohesive and direct way through Brown, Fletcher and Ferguson in their early escapades, it proved less of a difficulty as the match progressed and Ferguson, in particular, shrunk into the background.
Pre-match Burley said his captain was a man who "gets on the ball and makes things happen." Not in this game.
In spells Fletcher backed up his pre-match billing as a box-to-box player, though, and Brown played his part. Always tenacious and full of energy, he offered his defence some cover on a night when they were grateful for it. But as a trio they were not a match for anybody. They were certainly not a match for the Dutch.
The full article contains 839 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
